New Living Translation
Judges 3:15
15But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord again raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed man of the tribe of Benjamin. The Israelites sent Ehud to deliver their tribute money to King Eglon of Moab.
Judges 3:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.
- New International Version (NIV)Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. By him the children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
Context of Judges 3:15
13Eglon enlisted the Ammonites and Amalekites as allies, and then he went out and defeated Israel, taking possession of Jericho, the city of palms. 14And the Israelites served Eglon of Moab for eighteen years. But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord again raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed man of the tribe of Benjamin. The Israelites sent Ehud to deliver their tribute money to King Eglon of Moab. 16So Ehud made a double-edged dagger that was about a foot long, and he strapped it to his right thigh, keeping it hidden under his clothing. 17He brought the tribute money to Eglon, who was very fat.
Read all of Judges 3Judges 3:15 word by word
וַיִּזְעֲק֣וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ אֶל־יְהוָה֒ וַיָּקֶם֩ יְהוָ֨ה לָהֶ֜ם מוֹשִׁ֗יעַ אֶת־אֵה֤וּד בֶּן־גֵּרָא֙ בֶּן־הַיְמִינִ֔י אִ֥ישׁ אִטֵּ֖ר יַד־יְמִינ֑וֹ וַיִּשְׁלְח֨וּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֤ל בְּיָדוֹ֙ מִנְחָ֔ה לְעֶגְל֖וֹן מֶ֥לֶךְ מוֹאָֽב׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But when the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- criedזָעַקzâ‛aq · to cry outH2199
- unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- raised them upקוּםqûm · to arise: raiseH6965
- a delivererיָשַׁעyâsha‛ · to saveH3467
- Ehudאֵהוּד'êhûd · EhudH164
- the sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of Geraגֵּרָאgêrâ' · GeraH1617
- a Benjamiteבֶּן־יְמִינִיben-yemîynîy ben-ha-yemînîy ben-'îysh yemîynîy · BenjaminiteH1145
- a manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- lefthandedיָמִיןyâmîyn · rightH3225
- lefthandedאִטֵּר'iţţêr · lefthandedH334
- and by himיָדyâd · handH3027
- sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- a presentמִנְחָהminchâh · offering: tributeH4503
- unto Eglonעֶגְלוֹן‛eglôn · EglonH5700
- the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Moabמוֹאָבmô'âb · MoabH4124
Cross-references for Judges 3:15
- Judges 3:9But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother, Kenaz.
- Psalms 50:15Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”
- Psalms 78:34When God began killing them, they finally sought him. They repented and took God seriously.
- Psalms 90:15Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good.
- Jeremiah 29:12In those days when you pray, I will listen.
- Jeremiah 33:3Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.
- Judges 20:16Among Benjamin’s elite troops, 700 were left-handed, and each of them could sling a rock and hit a target within a hairsbreadth without missing.
- 1 Chronicles 12:2All of them were expert archers, and they could shoot arrows or sling stones with their left hand as well as their right. They were all relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin.
- 1 Samuel 10:27But there were some scoundrels who complained, “How can this man save us?” And they scorned him and refused to bring him gifts. But Saul ignored them. [Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the people of Gad and Reuben who lived east of the Jordan River. He gouged out the right eye of each of the Israelites living there, and he didn’t allow anyone to come and rescue them. In fact, of all the Israelites east of the Jordan, there wasn’t a single one whose right eye Nahash had not gouged out. But there were 7,000 men who had escaped from the Ammonites, and they had settled in Jabesh-gilead.]
- Proverbs 18:16Giving a gift can open doors; it gives access to important people!
- Proverbs 19:6Many seek favors from a ruler; everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts!
- Proverbs 21:14A secret gift calms anger; a bribe under the table pacifies fury.
- Isaiah 36:16“Don’t listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me—open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well.
Commentaries on Judges 3:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Ehud the son of Gera - a man left handed - ימינו יד אטר איש ish itter yad yemino, a man lame in his right hand, and therefore obliged to use his left. The Septuagint render it , an ambidexter, a man who could use both hands alike. The Vulgate, qui utraque manu pro dextera utebatur, a man who could use either hand as a right hand, or to whom right and left were equally ready. This is not the sense of the original, but it is the sense in which most…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer - The very same words as are used at Judges 3:9. See, too, Judges 2:16, Judges 2:18, and Nehemiah 9:27. Ehud “the Benjamite” was of the family or house of Gera 2 Samuel 16:5, the son of Bela, Benjamin‘s first-born, born before Jacob‘s descent into Egypt Genesis 46:21, and then included among “the sons of Benjamin.” The genealogy in 1 Chronicles 8:6 intimates that Ehud…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-30Verses 12-30 When Israel sins again, God raises up a new oppressor. The Israelites did ill, and the Moabites did worse; yet because God punishes the sins of his own people in this world, Israel is weakened, and Moab strengthened against them. If lesser troubles do not do the work, God will send greater. When Israel prays again, God raises up Ehud. As a judge, or minister of Divine justice, Ehud put to death Eglon, the king of Moab, and thus executed the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15left-handed (literally restricted in the right hand): This trait allowed Ehud to hide his weapon on his right hip. The Greek Old Testament translates this phrase as “ambidextrous.” The term is linked to the tribe of Benjamin (“son of my right hand,” Genesis 35:18; see Judges 20:16) and is associated with heroic military skills (compare 1 Chronicles 12:1–2). The tribute money was either pieces of metal or, more likely, agricultural goods that needed a team…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. Ehud the son of Gera--descended from Gera, one of Benjamin's sons (Ge 46:21). left-handed--This peculiarity distinguished many in the Benjamite tribe (Jud 20:16). But the original word is rendered in some versions "both-handed," a view countenanced by 1Ch 12:2. by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab--the yearly tribute, which, according to Eastern fashion, would be borne with ostentatious ceremony and offered (Jud…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 3:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
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