Nations Left to Test Israel

1These are the nacions, whom the LORDE suffred to remayne, yt by them he mighte proue Israel, which had no vnderstondinge in the warres of Canaan: 2onely because yt the trybes of the childre of Israel might knowe & lerne to warre, which afore had no knowlege therof, 3namely: The fyue lordes of ye Philistynes, & all the Cananites, & Sidonians, & the Hethites yt dwelt vpon mount Libanus, fro mount Baal Hermon, vntyll a man come vnto Hemath. 4The same remayned, that Israel mighte be proued by them, that it mighte be knowne whether they wolde herken to the commaundementes of the LORDE, which he commaunded their fathers by Moses. 5Now whan the children of Israel dwelt thus amoge the Cananites, Hethites, Amorites, Pheresites, Heuites & Iebusites, 6they toke their doughters to wyues, & gaue their doughters vnto their sonnes, & serued their goddes,

Othniel

7and wroughte wickednes before the LORDE, & forgat the LORDE their God, & serued Baalim & Astaroth. 8Then ye wrath of ye LORDE waxed whote ouer Israel, & he solde the vnder the hade of Cusan Risathaim kynge of Mesopotamia, & so ye childre of Israel serued Cusan Risathaim viij. yeare.

9The cried the childre of Israel vnto the LORDE, & the LORDE raysed the vp a sauior which delyuered the, namely Athniel ye sonne of Kenas, Calebs yongest brother. 10And the sprete of the LORDE came vpon him, & he was iudge in Israel, & wente out a warre fare. And ye LORDE delyuered Cusan Risathaim the kynge of Syria in to his hade, so yt his hande was to stroge for him. 11Then was the londe in rest fortye yeares. And Athniel the sonne of Kenas dyed.

Ehud

12But the children of Israel dyd yet more euell before the LORDE. Then the LORDE strengthed Eglon the kynge of ye Moabites agaynst ye childre of Israel, because they wrought wickednesse before ye LORDE. 13And he gathered vnto him ye childre of Ammon, & the Amalechites, & wete and smote Israel, and conquered the cite of the palme trees. 14And the children of Israel serued Eglon ye kynge of ye Moabites eightene yeare.

15The cried they vnto the LORDE. And the LORDE raysed the vp a sauioure, namely Ehud the sonne of Gera ye sonne of Iemini, which was a man that mighte do nothinge with his righte hande. And wha the childre of Israel sent a present by him vnto Eglon the kynge of the Moabites, 16Ehud made him a two edged dagger of a spanne longe, & gyrded it vnder his garmet vpo his righte thye, 17& broughte ye present vnto Eglon the kynge of ye Moabites. As for Eglon, he was a very fat man. 18And whan he had delyuered the presente, he let the people go that had caried the present, 19and he himselfe turned backe from the Idols at Gilgall, & caused to saye thus (vnto the kynge:) I haue a secrete thinge to tell the O kynge. And he commaunded to kepe sylence, & all they that stode aboute him, wente out from him. 20And Ehud came in vnto him. He sat in a syled Sommer perler, which was for him selfe alone. And Ehud saide: I haue somwhat to saye vnto the of God. The rose he vp fro his seate. 21But Ehud put forth his lefte hande, & toke the dagger from his righte thye, & thrust it in to his bely, 22so yt the hefte wente in also after the blade, & the fatt closed the hefte: for he drue not ye dagger out of his bely, & ye fylthines departed fro him. 23But Ehud gat him out at the backe dore, & put to ye dore after him, and lockte it.

24Now whan he was gone, his seruauntes came in, and sawe that the dore of the Sommer perler was lockte, and they sayde: peraduenture he is gone to the preuye in the syled Sommer perler. 25But whan they had wayted so loge tyll they were ashamed (for no man opened the perler dore) they toke the keye, and opened it. Beholde, then laye their lorde deed vpo the earth.

26As for Ehud, he was gotten awaye, whyle they made so longe tariege, & he wente ouer by the Idols, and ranne his waye vnto Seirath. 27And whan he came in he blewe ye trompet vpo mount Ephraim, and the children of Israel wente with him from the mount, and he before them, 28and he saide vnto them: Folowe me, for the LORDE hath delyuered the Moabites youre enemies in to yor hande. And they folowed him, & wanne ye ferye of Iordane, yt goeth towarde Moab, & suffred no man to go ouer, 29and at ye same tyme they smote of the Moabites vpo a ten thousande men, all nobles and men of armes, so that there escaped not one. 30Thus were the Moabites broughte vnder the hande of the children of Israel at that tyme, and the londe was in rest foure score yeares.

Shamgar

31Afterwarde was Samgar ye sonne of Anath, which slewe sixe hundreth Philistynes with an oxes gadd, and delyuered Israel also.