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20 Ehud went to King Eglon, as he was sitting alone in the ·room above his summer palace [L cool upper room; C probably a breezy roof-top room with lattice windows; perhaps a bathroom].

Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king stood up from his chair [C perhaps an act of reverence to receive the divine oracle], 21 Ehud reached with his left hand and took out the sword that was tied to his right hip [C the unusual location on the right allowed concealment and caught the king by surprise]. Then he stabbed the sword deep into the king’s belly! 22 Even the handle sank in, and ·the blade came out his back [or his bowels discharged]. The king’s fat covered the whole sword, so Ehud left the sword in Eglon.

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20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace[a](A) and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose(B) from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword(C) from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. 22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 3:20 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verse 24.