The Israelites sinned against the Lord again. So the Lord made Eglon king of Moab more powerful than Israel.
Eglon joined the Amorites and the Amalekites and defeated Israel and captured the city of palm trees.
Eglon enslaved Israel for 18 years.
Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord and he sent someone to save them. He was Ehud, a man of valor, son of Gera from the tribe of Benjamin. The Israelites sent gifts through Ehud to Eglon king of Moab. Ehud made a double-edged dagger half a meter long. She tucked it on her right side under her dress.
Then he brought the gifts to Eglon. Eglon was a very fat man.
When Ehud had brought the gifts to Eglon, he sent the men who brought the gifts home. 19But Ehud came to the king at Gilgal, and said,
"Sir, I have a secret to tell you."
The king said to his servants, "Leave us first!" So they came out.
While the king was sitting alone in his cool upper room, Ehud came to him and said,
"I have a message from God for you." The king stood up
With his left hand Ehud grabbed the dagger from his right side and stabbed the king in the abdomen.
The whole dagger covered even the tip of it and buried it in the fat because it had no hair on Ehud and remained in the king's belly and dirt came out of it.
Then Ehud went out, and shut the doors of the parlor upon him, and locked them, and went out. The servants came and found the doors locked. They expected the king to take refuge inside.
They waited a long time, but the king never came out. So they took the key and opened the door. They saw their master lying on the floor dead.
Ehud fled while they waited. He passed through the carved stones and fled to Seirath.
When he arrived, he blew a ram's horn in the hill country of Ephraim to call the Israelites to war. Then he led them from the hill country.
He told them,
"Follow me! The Lord will give you victory over your enemies in Moab. "
So they followed him into the plain and captured the place where the Moabites had crossed over to the Jordan.
They did not allow even one person to cross.
On that day they killed about 10,000 brave and strong Moabite soldiers. None of them escaped.
On that day Israel defeated Moab. And the country has been at peace for 80 years.