Judges 3:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat.

NIV: Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace and said, 'I have a message from God for you.' As the king rose from his seat,

NASB: Then Ehud came to him while he was sitting in his cool roof chamber alone. And Ehud said, 'I have a message from God for you.' And he got up from his seat.

CSB: Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in his upstairs room where it was cool. Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you," and the king stood up from his throne.

NLT: Ehud walked over to Eglon, who was sitting alone in a cool upstairs room. And Ehud said, 'I have a message from God for you!' As King Eglon rose from his seat,

KJV: And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.

NKJV: So Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber). Then Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” So he arose from his seat.

Israel's judge and deliverer, raised up by God to save the people from their captivity to the Moabites, is on a mission to kill the king of Moab (Judges 3:12–15). Ehud gained a second audience with the king and has succeeded in getting Eglon to clear everyone out of the room so that Ehud can deliver a secret message. What Eglon does not know is that Ehud has concealed a stabbing weapon under his robes (Judges 3:16).

The two men are meeting in Eglon's "cool roof chamber." Some commentators explain that this is a room situated on the roof, so people can escape the heat of the inner rooms in this desert location. Other scholars suggest the text should be translated as "throne room." In any case, Eglon and Ehud are alone in this room with the doors shut.

Ehud tells Eglon he has a secret message from God for the king. This was why the king cleared the room (Judges 3:18–19). He expects to hear an oracle or prophecy from Israel's God. Eglon rises from his seat or throne to hear this important revelation.

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).