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Easy-to-Read Version

Judges 3:16

Ehud made himself a sword with two sharp edges that was about 12 inches long. He tied the sword to his right thigh and hid it under his uniform.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Assassination;   Confidence;   Dagger;   Deception;   Eglon;   Ehud;   Falsehood;   Gilgal;   Homicide;   Hypocrisy;   Israel;   Judge;   Regicide;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Arms, Military;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Abishua;   Eglon;   Ehud;   Moabites;   Thigh;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Moab;   Weapons;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Cubit;   Ehud;   Moabite;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Amalekites;   Bela;   Dress;   Eglon;   Ehud;   Gammadims;   Judges, the Book of;   Moab;   Philistia;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Arms and Armor;   Ax, Ax Head;   Dagger;   Government;   Judges, Book of;   Left Hand;   Moab and the Moabite Stone;   Sword;   Thigh;   Tribes of Israel, the;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Armour, Arms;   Ehud;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Judah;   Judges (1);   Levi;   Moab, Moabites;   Quarry;   Thigh;   Weights and Measures;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Eglon ;   Ehud ;   Moab, Moabites ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Armor;   Arms;   Ehud;   Mesopotamia;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Arms, Armor;   Girdle,;   Mo'ab;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Arms;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Reign of the Judges;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Armor;   Crime;   Cubit;   Judges, Book of:;   Thigh;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Benjamin;   Dagger;   Ehud;   Joshua, Book of;   Moab;   Right and Left;   Sword;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Ehud made himself a double-edged sword eighteen inches long. He strapped it to his right thigh under his clothes
Hebrew Names Version
Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he girded it under his clothing on his right thigh.
King James Version
But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.
Lexham English Bible
Ehud made for himself a short, two-edged sword (a cubit in length), and he fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh.
English Standard Version
And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes.
New Century Version
Ehud made himself a sword with two edges, about eighteen inches long, and he tied it to his right hip under his clothes.
New English Translation
Ehud made himself a sword—it had two edges and was eighteen inches long. He strapped it under his coat on his right thigh.
Amplified Bible
Now Ehud made for himself a sword a cubit long, which had two edges, and he bound it on his right thigh under his robe.
New American Standard Bible
Now Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he strapped it on his right thigh under his cloak.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And Ehud made him a dagger with two edges of a cubite length, and he did gird it vnder his rayment vpon his right thigh,
Legacy Standard Bible
These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; and their mouth speaks arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of their own benefit.
Complete Jewish Bible
Ehud made himself a double-edged sword eighteen inches long and strapped it to his right thigh under his clothes.
Darby Translation
And Ehud made him a sword having two edges, it was of a cubit length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right hip.
George Lamsa Translation
So Ehur made for himself a two edged dagger, and he made it short; and he girded it under his garment on his right thigh.
Good News Translation
Ehud had made himself a double-edged sword about a foot and a half long. He had it fastened on his right side under his clothes.
Literal Translation
And Ehud made a sword for himself, and it had two edges, a cubit in length. And he girded it under his long robe, on his right thigh.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Ehud made him a two edged dagger of a spanne longe, & gyrded it vnder his garmet vpo his righte thye,
American Standard Version
And Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right thigh.
Bible in Basic English
So Ehud made himself a two-edged sword, a cubit long, which he put on at his right side under his robe.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
But Ahud made him a dagger with two edges, of a cubite length, and he did gyrde it vnto his raymet vpon his right thygh,
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right thigh.
King James Version (1611)
But Ehud made him a dagger (which had two edges) of a cubite length, and he did gird it vnder his raiment, vpon his right thigh,
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Aod made himself a dagger of two edges, of a span long, and he girded it under his cloak upon his right thigh.
English Revised Version
And Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right thigh.
Berean Standard Bible
Now Ehud had made for himself a double-edged sword a cubit long. He strapped it to his right thigh under his cloak
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
which Aioth made to hym a swerd keruynge on euer either side, hauynge in the myddis a pomel of the lengthe of the pawm of an hond; and he was gird therwith vndir `the sai, `that is, a knyytis mentil, `in the riyt hipe.
Young's Literal Translation
and Ehud maketh for himself a sword, and it hath two mouths (a cubit [is] its length), and he girdeth it under his long robe on his right thigh;
Update Bible Version
And Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he girded it under his raiment on his right thigh.
Webster's Bible Translation
But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right thigh.
World English Bible
Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he girded it under his clothing on his right thigh.
New King James Version
Now Ehud made himself a dagger (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh.
New Living Translation
So 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.
New Life Bible
Ehud made a sword for himself with two sharp sides, almost as long as an arm. He tied it to the top part of his right leg, under his coat.
New Revised Standard
Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length; and he fastened it on his right thigh under his clothes.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, - and girded it under his raiment, upon his right thigh.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he made himself a two-edged sword, with a haft in the midst of the length of the palm of the hand, and was girded therewith, under his garment, on the right thigh.
Revised Standard Version
And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length; and he girded it on his right thigh under his clothes.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak.

Contextual Overview

12 Again the Israelites did things the Lord considered evil, and the Lord saw them doing these things. So the Lord gave King Eglon of Moab power to defeat the Israelites. 13 Eglon got help from the Ammonites and the Amalekites. They joined him and attacked the Israelites. Eglon and his army defeated the Israelites and forced them to leave the City of Palm Trees. 14 King Eglon of Moab ruled over the Israelites for 18 years. 15 The Israelites cried to the Lord for help, so he sent a man named Ehud son of Gera to save them. Ehud was from the tribe of Benjamin and was trained to fight with his left hand. The Israelites sent Ehud with a gift to King Eglon of Moab. 16 Ehud made himself a sword with two sharp edges that was about 12 inches long. He tied the sword to his right thigh and hid it under his uniform. 17 So Ehud brought the gift to King Eglon of Moab. Eglon was a very fat man. 18 After offering the gift, Ehud left the palace with the men who had carried the gift. 19 When Ehud reached the statues near Gilgal, he turned and went back to King Eglon and said, "King, I have a secret message for you." The king told him to be quiet and then sent all the servants out of the room. 20 Ehud went to King Eglon. The king was sitting all alone in the upper room of his palace. Then Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you." The king stood up from his throne. He was very close to Ehud. 21 As the king was getting up from his throne, Ehud reached with his left hand and took out the sword that was tied to his right thigh. Then he pushed the sword into the king's belly.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

two edges: Psalms 149:6, Hebrews 4:12, Revelation 1:16, Revelation 2:12

upon: Judges 3:21, Psalms 45:3, Song of Solomon 3:8

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
The snake was the most clever of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. The snake spoke to the woman and said, "Woman, did God really tell you that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?"
Genesis 3:6
The woman could see that the tree was beautiful and the fruit looked so good to eat. She also liked the idea that it would make her wise. So she took some of the fruit from the tree and ate it. Her husband was there with her, so she gave him some of the fruit, and he ate it.
Genesis 3:7
Then it was as if their eyes opened, and they saw things differently. They saw that they were naked. So they got some fig leaves, sewed them together, and wore them for clothes.
Genesis 3:8
During the cool part of the day, the Lord God was walking in the garden. The man and the woman heard him, and they hid among the trees in the garden.
Genesis 3:9
The Lord God called to the man and said, "Where are you?"
Genesis 3:10
The man said, "I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid. I was naked, so I hid."
Genesis 3:11
God said to the man, "Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from that special tree? I told you not to eat from that tree!"
Genesis 3:12
The man said, "The woman you put here with me gave me fruit from that tree. So I ate it."
Genesis 3:16
Then God said to the woman, "I will cause you to have much trouble when you are pregnant. And when you give birth to children, you will have much pain. You will want your husband very much, but he will rule over you."
Genesis 3:17
Then God said to the man, "I commanded you not to eat from that tree. But you listened to your wife and ate from it. So I will curse the ground because of you. You will have to work hard all your life for the food the ground produces.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But Ehud made him a dagger, which had two edges, of a cubit length,.... A little sword, as Josephus calls it y, with two edges, that it might cut both ways, and do the execution he designed by it, and was about half a yard long; which he could the more easily conceal, and use for his purpose:

and he did gird it under his raiment; that it might not be seen, and give occasion of suspicion; this was a military garment, the "sagum", as the Vulgate Latin version, which was coarse, and made of wool, and reached to the ankle, and was buttoned upon the shoulder, and put over the coat z; the Septuagint makes use of a word Suidas a interprets a coat of mail:

upon his right thigh; whereas a sword is more commonly girt upon the left; though some observe, from various writers, that the eastern people used to gird their swords on their right thigh; or this was done that it might be the less discernible and suspected, and chiefly as being most convenient for him, a lefthanded man, to draw it out upon occasion.

y Ibid. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 4. sect. 2.) z Vid. Valtrinum de re militar. Roman. l. 3. c. 13. a In voce μανδυας.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Upon his right thigh - The proper side for a left-handed man. It would give him the appearance of being unarmed. The narrative shows clearly that his action was premeditated Judges 3:21.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 3:16. A dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length — The word גמד gomed, which we translate cubit, is of very doubtful signification. As the root seems to signify contracted, it probably means an instrument made for the purpose shorter than usual, and something like the Italian stiletto. The Septuagint translate it by σπιθαμη, a span, and most of the versions understand it in the same sense.

Upon his right thigh. — Because he was left-handed. Ordinarily the sword is on the left side, that it may be readily drawn out by the right hand; but as Ehud was left-handed, to be convenient his sword must be on the right side.


 
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