Now these are the nations which Jehovah left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as beforetime knew nothing thereof:
namely, the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon unto the entrance of Hamath.
And they were left, to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah, which he commanded their fathers by Moses.
And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites:
and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.
And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and forgat Jehovah their God, and served the Baalim and the Asheroth.
Therefore the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of {Hebrew: Aram-naharaim.}Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
And when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah, Jehovah raised up a saviour to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.
And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and Jehovah delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of {Hebrew: Aram.}Mesopotamia into his hand: and his hand prevailed against Cushan-rishathaim.
And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and Jehovah strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah.
And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and smote Israel, and they possessed the city of palm-trees.
And the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
But when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah, Jehovah raised them up a saviour, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a man left-handed. And the children of Israel sent tribute by him unto Eglon the king of Moab.
And Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right thigh.
And he offered the tribute unto Eglon king of Moab: now Eglon was a very fat man.
And when he had made an end of offering the tribute, he sent away the people that bare the tribute.
But he himself turned back from the {Or, graven images}quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king. And he said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.
And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.
And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his body:
and the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, for he drew not the sword out of his body; and {Or, he went out into the antechamber}it came out behind.
Then Ehud went forth into the porch, and shut the doors of the upper room upon him, and locked them.
Now when he was gone out, his servants came; and they saw, and, behold, the doors of the upper room were locked; and they said, Surely he is covering his feet in the upper chamber.
And they tarried till they were ashamed; and, behold, he opened not the doors of the upper room: therefore they took the key, and opened them, and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the {Or, graven images}quarries, and escaped unto Seirah.
And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel went down with him from the hill-country, and he before them.
And he said unto them, Follow after me; for Jehovah hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of the Jordan {Or, toward Moab}against the Moabites, and suffered not a man to pass over.
And they smote of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, every lusty man, and every man of valor; and there escaped not a man.
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.
And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who smote of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox-goad: and he also saved Israel.
Querverweise zu Richter 3,7 Ri 3,7
And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and Jehovah strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah.
And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said unto him, Take thy father's bullock, {Or, and}even the second bullock seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is {Or, upon}by it;
And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and served the Baalim;
and they forsook Jehovah, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and bowed themselves down unto them: and they provoked Jehovah to anger.
And they forsook Jehovah, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.
but ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their {Or, obelisks}pillars, and ye shall cut down their {Probably the wooden symbols of a goddess Asherah.}Asherim;
Thou shalt not plant thee an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of Jehovah thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
And Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did yet more to provoke Jehovah, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, that eat at Jezebel's table.
And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Jehovah, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast the dust thereof upon the graves of the {Hebrew: children of the people.}common people.
And he brake in pieces the {Or, obelisks}pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and filled their places with the bones of men.
And also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being {Or, queen mother}queen, because she had made an abominable image {Or, for Asherah}for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
And they forsook the house of Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guiltiness.
For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he reared up altars for the Baalim, and made Asheroth, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
His prayer also, and how God was entreated of him, and all his sin and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up the Asherim and the graven images, before he humbled himself: behold, they are written in the history of {Or, the seers}Hozai.
For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the Asherim, and the graven images, and the molten images.
And he brake down the altars, and beat the Asherim and the graven images into powder, and hewed down all the sun-images throughout all the land of Israel, and returned to Jerusalem.