What does Judges 3:26 mean?

In an act of savage deception, Ehud succeeded both in killing the king of Moab and getting away without being caught. Some commentators note the echo of Jacob's description of the tribe of Benjamin (Genesis 49:27). Ehud, of that tribe (Judges 3:15), certainly acts with the ferocious efficiency of a wolf. After burying his dagger in the king's enormous belly, Ehud calmly locked the door behind him and walked away (Judges 3:17–23). The king's servants, perhaps smelling the unpleasant results of the killing, imagined the door was locked because the king was going to the bathroom (Judges 3:24–25).

This verse says that the servants "delayed," which could also be read as "dallied." They were torn between interrupting the king and a growing sense that something was wrong. When they finally did unlock the door and find the king's body, Ehud had already covered a lot of ground. He had passed "beyond the idols" near Gilgal mentioned in verse 19. These idols were likely enormous statutes, perhaps of the king himself, that served as local landmarks. They stood a safe enough distance from the palace and Ehud could not be chased down at this point.

Ehud made his way to a place called Seirah in the hill country of Ephraim, north and west of Jericho. Once there, Ehud will gather an army of Israelites to attack the now leaderless Moabites.