Judges 3:16-21

3:16 Ehud made himself a sword – it had two edges and was eighteen inches long. ¹  He strapped it under his coat on his right thigh. 3:17 He brought the tribute payment to King Eglon of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.)

3:18 After Ehud brought the tribute payment, he dismissed the people who had carried it. ²  3:19 But he went back ³  once he reached ⁴  the carved images ⁵  at Gilgal. He said to Eglon, ⁶  “I have a secret message for you, O king.” Eglon ⁷  said, “Be quiet!” ⁸  All his attendants left. 3:20 When Ehud approached him, he was sitting in his well-ventilated ⁹  upper room all by himself. Ehud said, “I have a message from God ¹⁰  for you.” When Eglon rose up from his seat, ¹¹  3:21 Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and drove it into Eglon’s ¹²  belly.

[3:16]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term גֹּמֶד (gomed) denotes a unit of linear measure, perhaps a cubit (the distance between the elbow and the tip of the middle finger – approximately 18 inches [45 cm]). Some suggest it is equivalent to the short cubit (the distance between the elbow and the knuckles of the clenched fist – approximately 13 inches [33 cm]) or to the span (the distance between the end of the thumb and the end of the little finger in a spread hand – approximately 9 inches [23 cm]). See BDB 167 s.v.; HALOT 196 s.v.; B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 142.

[3:18]  ² tn Heb “the tribute payment.”

[3:19]  ³ tn Or “returned” (i.e., to Eglon’s palace).

[3:19]  ⁴ tn The words “when he reached” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text simply reads “from.”

[3:19]  ⁵ tn Or “idols.”

[3:19]  ⁶ tn The words “to Eglon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eglon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:19]  ⁸ tn Or “Hush!”

[3:20]  ⁴ tn Or “cool.” This probably refers to a room with latticed windows which allowed the breeze to pass through. See B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 144.

[3:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “word of [i.e., from] God.”

[3:20]  ⁶ tn Or “throne.”

[3:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Eglon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.