7. The Israelites sinned against the Lord by forgetting him and worshipping idols of Baal and Astarte.
8. This made the Lord angry, so he let Israel be defeated by King Cushan Rishathaim of northern Syria, who ruled Israel eight years and made everyone pay taxes.
9. The Israelites begged the Lord for help, and he chose Othniel to rescue them. Othniel was the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz.
10. The Spirit of the Lord took control of Othniel, and he led Israel in a war against Cushan Rishathaim. The Lord gave Othniel victory,
11. and Israel was at peace until Othniel died about forty years later.
12. Once more the Israelites started disobeying the Lord. So he let them be defeated by King Eglon of Moab,
13. who had joined forces with the Ammonites and the Amalekites to attack Israel. Eglon and his army captured Jericho.
14. Then he ruled Israel for eighteen years and forced the Israelites to pay heavy taxes.
21. Ehud pulled out the dagger with his left hand and shoved it so far into Eglon's stomach
24. and left.When the king's officials came back and saw that the doors were locked, they said, “The king is probably inside relieving himself.”
25. They stood there waiting until they felt foolish, but Eglon never opened the doors. Finally, they unlocked the doors and found King Eglon lying dead on the floor.
26. But by that time, Ehud had already escaped past the statues.Ehud went to the town of Seirah
29. and before the fighting was over, they killed about ten thousand Moabite warriors—not one escaped alive.
30. Moab was so badly defeated that it was a long time before they were strong enough to attack Israel again. And Israel was at peace for eighty years.
31. Shamgar the son of Anath was the next to rescue Israel. In one battle, he used a sharp wooden pole to kill six hundred Philistines.