Study Desk

This made the Lord burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions. He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them.

So the Lord burned with anger against Israel. He said, "Because these people have violated my covenant, which I made with their ancestors, and have ignored my commands,

So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,

So there was peace in the land for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.

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.

But when Ehud reached the stone idols near Gilgal, he turned back. He came to Eglon and said, "I have a secret message for you." So the king commanded his servants, "Be quiet!" and he sent them all out of the room.

The dagger went so deep that the handle disappeared beneath the king's fat. So Ehud did not pull out the dagger, and the king's bowels emptied.

so they waited. But when the king didn't come out after a long delay, they became concerned and got a key. And when they opened the doors, they found their master dead on the floor.

"Follow me," he said, "for the Lord has given you victory over Moab your enemy." So they followed him. And the Israelites took control of the shallow crossings of the Jordan River across from Moab, preventing anyone from crossing.

So Moab was conquered by Israel that day, and there was peace in the land for eighty years.

So the Lord turned them over to King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite king. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-haggoyim.

"Very well," she replied, "I will go with you. But you will receive no honor in this venture, for the Lord 's victory over Sisera will be at the hands of a woman." So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.

Then Deborah said to Barak, "Get ready! This is the day the Lord will give you victory over Sisera, for the Lord is marching ahead of you." So Barak led his 10,000 warriors down the slopes of Mount Tabor into battle.

Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come into my tent, sir. Come in. Don't be afraid." So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

"Please give me some water," he said. "I'm thirsty." So she gave him some milk from a leather bag and covered him again.

But when Sisera fell asleep from exhaustion, Jael quietly crept up to him with a hammer and tent peg in her hand. Then she drove the tent peg through his temple and into the ground, and so he died.

When Barak came looking for Sisera, Jael went out to meet him. She said, "Come, and I will show you the man you are looking for." So he followed her into the tent and found Sisera lying there dead, with the tent peg through his temple.

So on that day Israel saw God defeat Jabin, the Canaanite king.

"From the window Sisera's mother looked out. Through the window she watched for his return, saying, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why don't we hear the sound of chariot wheels?'

The Israelites did evil in the Lord 's sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years.