Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his body:
The writer may have recorded this last disgusting detail to draw a parallel with the unclean Moabites’ departure from the land following Ehud’s victory. Notice the cool way Ehud behaved after he slew the king in his cool room (Judges 3:23). Perhaps it was the odor of Eglon’s excrement as well as the locked doors that led the servants to conclude that the king was relieving himself (Judges 3:24).