Judges 3-5 (Young's Literal Translation)

Judges 3

 ¹And these [are] the nations which Jehovah left, to try Israel by them, all who have not known all the wars of Canaan;

 ²(only for the sake of the generations of the sons of Israel's knowing, to teach them war, only those who formerly have not known them) --

 ³five princes of the Philistines, and all the Canaanite, and the Zidonian, and the Hivite inhabiting mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath;

 ⁴and they are to prove Israel by them, to know whether they obey the commands of Jehovah that He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

 ⁵And the sons of Israel have dwelt in the midst of the Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite,

 ⁶and take their daughters to them for wives, and their daughters have given to their sons, and they serve their gods;

 ⁷and the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and forget Jehovah their God, and serve the Baalim and the shrines.

 ⁸And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He selleth them into the hand of Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram-Naharaim, and the sons of Israel serve Chushan-Rishathaim eight years;

 ⁹and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth a saviour to the sons of Israel, and he saveth them -- Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother;

 ¹⁰and the Spirit of Jehovah is upon him, and he judgeth Israel, and goeth out to battle, and Jehovah giveth unto his hand Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram, and strong is his hand against Chushan-Rishathaim;

 ¹¹and the land resteth forty years. And Othniel son of Kenaz dieth,

 ¹²and the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah; and Jehovah strengtheneth Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because that they have done the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah;

 ¹³and he gathereth unto him the Bene-Ammon and Amalek, and goeth and smiteth Israel, and they possess the city of palms;

 ¹⁴and the sons of Israel serve Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.

 ¹⁵And the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth to them a saviour, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjamite (a man -- shut of his right hand), and the sons of Israel send by his hand a present to Eglon king of Moab;

 ¹⁶and Ehud maketh for himself a sword, and it hath two mouths (a cubit [is] its length), and he girdeth it under his long robe on his right thigh;

 ¹⁷and he bringeth near the present to Eglon king of Moab, and Eglon [is] a very fat man.

 ¹⁸And it cometh to pass, when he hath finished to bring near the present, that he sendeth away the people bearing the present,

 ¹⁹and he himself hath turned back from the graven images which [are] at Gilgal, and saith, `A secret word I have unto thee, O king;' and he saith, `Hush!' and go out from him do all those standing by him.

 ²⁰And Ehud hath come unto him, and he is sitting in the upper chamber of the wall which he hath for himself, and Ehud saith, `A word of God I have unto thee;' and he riseth from off the throne;

 ²¹and Ehud putteth forth his left hand, and taketh the sword from off his right thigh, and striketh it into his belly;

 ²²and the haft also goeth in after the blade, and the fat shutteth on the blade, that he hath not drawn the sword out of his belly, and it goeth out at the fundament.

 ²³And Ehud goeth out at the porch, and shutteth the doors of the upper chamber upon him, and hath bolted [it];

 ²⁴and he hath gone out, and his servants have come in, and look, and lo, the doors of the upper chamber are bolted, and they say, `He is only covering his feet in the inner chamber of the wall.'

 ²⁵And 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.

 ²⁶And Ehud escaped during their tarrying, and hath passed by the images, and is escaped to Seirath.

 ²⁷And it cometh to pass, in his coming in, that he bloweth with a trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim, and go down with him do the sons of Israel from the hill-country, and he before them;

 ²⁸and he saith unto them, `Pursue after me, for Jehovah hath given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand;' and they go down after him, and capture the passages of the Jordan towards Moab, and have not permitted a man to pass over.

 ²⁹And they smite Moab at that time, about ten thousand men, all robust, and every one a man of valour, and not a man hath escaped,

 ³⁰and Moab is humbled in that day under the hand of Israel; and the land resteth eighty years.

 ³¹And after him hath been Shamgar son of Anath, and he smiteth the Philistines -- six hundred men -- with an ox-goad, and he saveth -- he also -- Israel.

Judges 4

 ¹And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah when Ehud is dead,

 ²and Jehovah selleth them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who hath reigned in Hazor, and the head of his host [is] Sisera, and he is dwelling in Harosheth of the Goyim;

 ³and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, for he hath nine hundred chariots of iron, and he hath oppressed the sons of Israel mightily twenty years.

 ⁴And Deborah, a woman inspired, wife of Lapidoth, she is judging Israel at that time,

 ⁵and she is dwelling under the palm-tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Beth-El, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel go up unto her for judgment.

 ⁶And she sendeth and calleth for Barak son of Abinoam, out of Kedesh-Naphtali, and saith unto him, `Hath not Jehovah, God of Israel, commanded? go, and thou hast drawn towards mount Tabor, and hast taken with thee ten thousand men, out of the sons of Naphtali, and out of the sons of Zebulun,

 ⁷and I have drawn unto thee, unto the brook Kishon, Sisera, head of the host of Jabin, and his chariot, and his multitude, and have given him into thy hand.'

 ⁸And Barak saith unto her, `If thou dost go with me, then I have gone; and if thou dost not go with me, I do not go;'

 ⁹and she saith, `I do certainly go with thee; only, surely thy glory is not on the way which thou art going, for into the hand of a woman doth Jehovah sell Sisera;' and Deborah riseth and goeth with Barak to Kedesh.

 ¹⁰And Barak calleth Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and he goeth up -- at his feet [are] ten thousand men -- and Deborah goeth up with him.

 ¹¹And Heber the Kenite hath been separated from the Kenite, from the sons of Hobab father-in-law of Moses, and he stretcheth out his tent unto the oak in Zaanaim, which [is] by Kedesh.

 ¹²And they declare to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam hath gone up to mount Tabor,

 ¹³and Sisera calleth all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who [are] with him, from Harosheth of the Goyim, unto the brook Kishon.

 ¹⁴And Deborah saith unto Barak, `Rise, for this [is] the day in which Jehovah hath given Sisera into thy hand; hath not Jehovah gone out before thee?' And Barak goeth down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

 ¹⁵And Jehovah destroyeth Sisera, and all the chariots, and all the camp, by the mouth of the sword, before Barak, and Sisera cometh down from off the chariot, and fleeth on his feet.

 ¹⁶And Barak hath pursued after the chariots and after the camp, unto Harosheth of the Goyim, and all the camp of Sisera falleth by the mouth of the sword -- there hath not been left even one.

 ¹⁷And Sisera hath fled on his feet unto the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite, for peace [is] between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite;

 ¹⁸and Jael goeth out to meet Sisera, and saith unto him, `Turn aside, my lord, turn aside unto me, fear not;' and he turneth aside unto her, into the tent, and she covereth him with a coverlet.

 ¹⁹And he saith unto her, `Give me to drink, I pray thee, a little water, for I am thirsty;' and she openeth the bottle of milk, and giveth him to drink, and covereth him.

 ²⁰And he saith unto her, `Stand at the opening of the tent, and it hath been, if any doth come in, and hath asked thee, and said, Is there a man here? that thou hast said, There is not.'

 ²¹And Jael wife of Heber taketh the pin of the tent, and taketh the hammer in her hand, and goeth unto him gently, and striketh the pin into his temples, and it fasteneth in the earth -- and he hath been fast asleep, and is weary -- and he dieth.

 ²²And lo, Barak is pursuing Sisera, and Jael cometh out to meet him, and saith to him, `Come, and I shew thee the man whom thou art seeking;' and he cometh in unto her, and lo, Sisera is fallen -- dead, and the pin in his temples.

 ²³And God humbleth on that day Jabin king of Canaan before the sons of Israel,

 ²⁴and the hand of the sons of Israel goeth, going on and becoming hard on Jabin king of Canaan, till that they have cut off Jabin king of Canaan.

Judges 5

 ¹And Deborah singeth -- also Barak son of Abinoam -- on that day, saying: --

 ²`For freeing freemen in Israel, For a people willingly offering themselves Bless ye Jehovah.

 ³Hear, ye kings; give ear, ye princes, I, to Jehovah, I -- I do sing, I sing praise to Jehovah, God of Israel.

 ⁴Jehovah, in Thy going forth out of Seir, In Thy stepping out of the field of Edom, Earth trembled, also the heavens dropped, Also thick clouds dropped water.

 ⁵Hills flowed from the face of Jehovah, This one -- Sinai -- From the face of Jehovah, God of Israel.

 ⁶In the days of Shamgar son of Anath -- In the days of Jael -- The ways have ceased, And those going in the paths go [in] crooked ways.

 ⁷Villages ceased in Israel -- they ceased, Till that I arose -- Deborah, That I arose, a mother in Israel.

 ⁸He chooseth new gods, Then war [is] at the gates! A shield is not seen -- and a spear Among forty thousand in Israel.

 ⁹My heart [is] to the lawgivers of Israel, Who are offering themselves willingly among the people, Bless ye Jehovah!

 ¹⁰Riders on white asses -- Sitters on a long robe -- And walkers by the way -- meditate!

 ¹¹By the voice of shouters Between the places of drawing water, There they give out righteous acts of Jehovah, Righteous acts of His villages in Israel, Then ruled in the gates have the people of Jehovah.

 ¹²Awake, awake, Deborah; Awake, awake, utter a song; Rise, Barak, and take captive thy captivity, Son of Abinoam.

 ¹³Then him who is left of the honourable ones He caused to rule the people of Jehovah, He caused me to rule among the mighty.

 ¹⁴Out of Ephraim their root [is] against Amalek. After thee, Benjamin, among thy peoples. Out of Machir came down lawgivers, And out of Zebulun those drawing with the reed of a writer.

 ¹⁵And princes in Issachar [are] with Deborah, Yea, Issachar [is] right with Barak, Into the valley he was sent on his feet. In the divisions of Reuben, Great [are] the decrees of heart!

 ¹⁶Why hast thou abode between the boundaries, To hear lowings of herds? For the divisions of Reuben, Great [are] the searchings of heart!

 ¹⁷Gilead beyond the Jordan did tabernacle, And Dan -- why doth he sojourn [in] ships? Asher hath abode at the haven of the seas, And by his creeks doth tabernacle.

 ¹⁸Zebulun [is] a people who exposed its soul to death, Naphtali also -- on high places of the field.

 ¹⁹Kings came -- they fought; Then fought kings of Canaan, In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; Gain of money they took not!

 ²⁰From the heavens they fought: The stars from their highways fought with Sisera.

 ²¹The brook Kishon swept them away, The brook most ancient -- the brook Kishon. Thou dost tread down strength, O my soul!

 ²²Then broken were the horse-heels, By pransings -- pransings of its mighty ones.

 ²³Curse Meroz -- said a messenger of Jehovah, Cursing, curse ye its inhabitants, For they came not to the help of Jehovah, To the help of Jehovah among the mighty!

 ²⁴Blessed above women is Jael, Wife of Heber the Kenite, Above women in the tent she is blessed.

 ²⁵Water he asked -- milk she gave; In a lordly dish she brought near butter.

 ²⁶Her hand to the pin she sendeth forth, And her right hand to the labourers' hammer, And she hammered Sisera -- she smote his head, Yea, she smote, and it passed through his temple.

 ²⁷Between her feet he bowed -- He fell, he lay down; Between her feet he bowed, he fell; Where he bowed, there he fell -- destroyed.

 ²⁸Through the window she hath looked out -- Yea, she crieth out -- the mother of Sisera, Through the lattice: Wherefore is his chariot delaying to come? Wherefore tarried have the steps of his chariot?

 ²⁹The wise ones, her princesses, answer her, Yea, she returneth her sayings to herself:

 ³⁰Do they not find? -- they apportion spoil, A female -- two females -- for every head, Spoil of finger-work for Sisera, Spoil of embroidered finger-work, Finger-work -- a pair of embroidered things, For the necks of the spoil!

 ³¹So do all Thine enemies perish, O Jehovah, And those loving Him [are] As the going out of the sun in its might!' and the land resteth forty years.