Judges 3:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute.

NIV: After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it.

NASB: And it came about, when he had finished presenting the tribute, that Ehud sent away the people who had carried the tribute.

CSB: When Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the people who had carried it.

NLT: After delivering the payment, Ehud started home with those who had helped carry the tribute.

KJV: And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.

NKJV: And when he had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute.

Ehud (Judges 3:15–17) and those with him have delivered their tribute to Eglon, the king of Moab, who has been described as morbidly obese. We're not told what the required tribute from the Israelites to the king consisted of, whether food or material goods or tradable precious metals. It is not important to the story. This would have been common for subjugated people. Being "enslaved," as a nation, would not have meant chains and imprisonment. Rather, it would be mostly a matter of taxes, tributes, seizure of land and property, and oppression of the people.

The tribute party has left the king's palace and have headed back toward home. However, Ehud sends the others away and prepares to head back to Eglon's residence at Jericho (Judges 3:19). This will be just one of the risks taken in Ehud's plan. The king is not expecting him.

Judges 3:12–30 describes another phase of sin, judgment, and deliverance in Israel. The people again provoke God's anger, so He strengthens Eglon, the king of Moab, to defeat and enslave them. After eighteen years, He raises up Ehud as the deliverer. In an infamously graphic assassination, Ehud kills Eglon in his palace in Jericho, then leads an army of Ephraim fighters to take the fords of the Jordan River. Having cut off the Moabites' escape route, the Israelites wipe out the Moabite army, leading to eighty years of peace.

God leaves several Canaanite nations in and around the Promised Land to test Israel's reliance on Him. Some live among the people, others are part of unconquered territories. The Israelites immediately ignore God's commands and begin serving other gods. First, the Lord subjects them to Mesopotamia. After eight years, the first judge, Othniel, leads them to victory and peace. Israel again rebels and is conquered by Moab for 18 years. Ehud's brutal assassination of the Moabite king sparks another period of freedom and peace. In a single brief statement, the obscure Shamgar is celebrated for his victory.

After Israel's failure to complete their mission, as described in chapters 1 and 2, chapter 3 begins by describing the idolatrous nations God left intact to test Israel. In the first of many such cycles, the people sin, are conquered, then are rescued by a "judge." This chapter describes the victories of Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar. Chapter 4 mentions the first of the truly famous names among the judges, describing the careers of Deborah and Barak. This is followed in chapter 6, which introduces Gideon.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).

Accessed 5/1/2024 7:29:16 PM