20. Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in his room upstairs where it was cool. Ehud said, “I have a word from God for you,” and the king stood up from his throne.
21. Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly.
22. Even the handle went in after the blade, and Eglon’s fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And Eglon’s insides came out.
23. Ehud escaped by way of the porch, closing and locking the doors of the upstairs room behind him.
24. Ehud was gone when Eglon’s servants came in. They looked and found the doors of the upstairs room locked and thought he was relieving himself in the cool room.
25. The servants waited until they became worried and saw that he had still not opened the doors of the upstairs room. So they took the key and opened the doors — and there was their lord lying dead on the floor!
26. Ehud escaped while the servants waited. He crossed over the Jordan near the carved images and reached Seirah.
27. After he arrived, he sounded the ram’s horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hill country, and he became their leader.
28. He told them, “Follow me, because the Lord has handed over your enemies, the Moabites, to you.” So they followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.
29. At that time they struck down about 10,000 Moabites, all strong and able-bodied men. Not one of them escaped.
30. Moab became subject to Israel that day, and the land was peaceful 80 years.
31. After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath became judge. He delivered Israel by striking down 600 Philistines with an oxgoad.