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.
Parallel translations
- WEB But he himself turned back from the stone idols that were by Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” The king said, “Keep silence!” All who stood by him left him.
- KJV But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.
- BSB But upon reaching the idols near Gilgal, he himself turned back and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” “Silence,” said the king, and all his attendants left him.
- NKJV But he himself turned back from the stone images that were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” He said, “Keep silence!” And all who attended him went out from him.
- NASB But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And the king said, “Silence!” And all who were attending him left him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Ehud returns and gains a private audience by claiming a secret message for the king.
Overview
The reference to the idols at Gilgal marks the place where Israel once renewed covenant, now associated with Moabite idolatry. Ehud's claim of a secret word secures a private setting, and the king dismisses his attendants. The stage is set for God's judgment to fall on the oppressor in isolation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Josh 4:20Joshua set up those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, in Gilgal.
- Acts 23:18–19So he took him, and brought him to the commanding officer, and said, “Paul, the prisoner, summoned me and asked me to bring this young man to you, who has something to tell you.”
- 2 Kgs 9:5–6When he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting. Then he said, “I have a message for you, captain.” Jehu said, “To which of us all?” He said, “To you, O captain.”
- Judg 3:20Ehud came to him; and he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room. Ehud said, “I have a message from God to you.” He arose out of his seat.
- Gen 45:1Then Joseph couldn’t control himself before all those who stood before him, and he cried, “Cause everyone to go out from me!” No one else stood with him, while Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 3:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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