Judges 3:25

Verse

So they waited until they became worried and saw that he had still not opened the doors of the upper room. Then they took the key and opened the doors—and there was their lord lying dead on the floor.

American Standard Version (1901)

And they tarried till they were ashamed; and, behold, he opened not the doors of the upper room: therefore they took the key, and opened them; and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

Bible in Basic English

And they went on waiting till they were shamed, but the doors were still shut; so they took the key, and, opening them, saw their lord stretched out dead on the floor.

Free Bible Version

So they waited until they couldn't stand it any more, and since he still hadn't opened the doors of the room, they went and found the key and opened the doors. There was their lord, lying dead on the floor.

Geneva Bible 1599

And they taryed till they were ashamed: and seeing he opened not the doores of the parler, they tooke the key, and opened them, and behold, their lord was fallen dead on the earth.

King James (Authorized) Version

And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

Translation for Translators

So they waited, but when the king did not open the doors of the room, after a while they were worried. They got a key and unlocked the doors. And they saw that their king was lying on the floor, dead.

Unlocked Literal Bible

They were growing more concerned until they felt they were neglecting their duty when the king still did not open the doors to the upper room. So they took the key and opened them, and there lay their master, fallen to the floor, dead.

Noah Webster Bible

And they tarried till they were ashamed: and behold, he opened not the doors of the parlor, therefore they took a key and opened them : and behold, their lord lay dead on the earth.

World English Bible

They waited until they were ashamed; and behold, he didn’t open the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their lord had fallen down dead on the floor.

Young's Literal Translation

And they stay till confounded, and lo, he is not opening the doors of the upper chamber, and they take the key, and open, and lo, their lord is fallen to the earth — dead.

Context

Ehud

²⁴After Ehud was gone, Eglon’s servants came in and found the doors of the upper room locked. “He must be relieving himself in the cool room,” they said.²⁵So they waited until they became worried and saw that he had still not opened the doors of the upper room. Then they took the key and opened the doors—and there was their lord lying dead on the floor.

Sermons

What Happened?

K.P. Yohannan

Summary

In Judges 3:25, Ehud, a judge of Israel, had just assassinated Eglon, the Moabite king, and locked the doors to the roof chamber where the king was killed. The servants assumed the king was relieving himself and delayed entering the chamber, giving Ehud time to escape. This verse showcases the cleverness and strategic thinking of Ehud, demonstrating how God used him to deliver Israel from oppression. It also highlights the irony and humor in the situation, as the servants were unaware of the king's death due to their assumptions.

Commentary

John Gill

John Gill Bible Commentary

And Ehud escaped while they tarried,.... While the servants of the king of Moab tarried waiting for the opening of the doors of the parlour, this gave him time enough to make his escape, so as to be out of the reach of pursuers; or else the sense is, that even when they had opened the doors, and found the king dead, while they were in confusion at it, not knowing what to ascribe it to, the dagger being enclosed in the wound, and perhaps but little blood, if any, issued out, being closed up with fat, and so had no suspicion of his being killed by Ehud; but rather supposing it to be an accidental fall from his seat, and might call in the physicians to examine him, and use their skill, if there were any hopes of recovery; all which prolonged time, and facilitated the escape of Ehud: and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped to Seirath; he got beyond the quarries, which were by Gilgal, which shows that it could not be at Jericho where the king of Moab was, as Josephus thinks, but either in his own country beyond Jordan, though no mention is made of Ehud's crossing Jordan, or however some place nearer the fords of Jordan; since Gilgal, from whence he returned, and whither he came again after he had killed the king of Moab, lay on that side of Jericho which was towards Jordan; and this Seirath he escaped to was in or near the mountain of Ephraim, as appears from Jdg 3:27,, but of it we have no account elsewhere; but it is thought by some learned men (l) to be the place where Seth's pillars stood, and they to be the engravings here spoken of, which we translate "quarries": the words of Josephus (m) are, that the posterity of Seth, who very much studied astronomy, having heard that Adam foretold the destruction of the universe at one time by fire, and at another by water, erected two pillars, one of stone, and the other of brick, on which they inscribed their inventions (in astronomy), that they might be preserved, and which remain to this day in the land of Siriad; but this account of Josephus seems to be taken from a fabulous relation of Manetho, the Egyptian, and is abundantly confuted by Dr. Stillingfleet (n). Jarchi interprets this of Seirath, a thick wood or forest, the trees of which grew as thick as the hair on a man's head, and so a proper place to escape to, and hide in: it may be it was the woody part of the mount Ephraim, see Jos 17:18. (l) Marsham. Chronicon, p. 39. Vossius de 70 Interpret. p. 271. (m) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 2. sect. 3. (n) Origines Sacrae, l. 1. c. 2.