Judges 3:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah.

NIV: While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the stone images and escaped to Seirah.

NASB: Now Ehud escaped while they were hesitating, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah.

CSB: Ehud escaped while the servants waited. He passed the Jordan near the carved images and reached Seirah.

NLT: While the servants were waiting, Ehud escaped, passing the stone idols on his way to Seirah.

KJV: And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.

NKJV: But Ehud had escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the stone images and escaped to Seirah.

In an act of savage deception, Ehud succeeded both in killing the king of Moab and getting away without being caught. Some commentators note the echo of Jacob's description of the tribe of Benjamin (Genesis 49:27). Ehud, of that tribe (Judges 3:15), certainly acts with the ferocious efficiency of a wolf. After burying his dagger in the king's enormous belly, Ehud calmly locked the door behind him and walked away (Judges 3:17–23). The king's servants, perhaps smelling the unpleasant results of the killing, imagined the door was locked because the king was going to the bathroom (Judges 3:24–25).

This verse says that the servants "delayed," which could also be read as "dallied." They were torn between interrupting the king and a growing sense that something was wrong. When they finally did unlock the door and find the king's body, Ehud had already covered a lot of ground. He had passed "beyond the idols" near Gilgal mentioned in verse 19. These idols were likely enormous statutes, perhaps of the king himself, that served as local landmarks. They stood a safe enough distance from the palace and Ehud could not be chased down at this point.

Ehud made his way to a place called Seirah in the hill country of Ephraim, north and west of Jericho. Once there, Ehud will gather an army of Israelites to attack the now leaderless Moabites.

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).