The Daily Audio Bible

4 But after Ehud had died, the people of Isra’el again did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective. ² So Adonai handed them over to Yavin king of Kena‘an. He ruled from Hatzor; and the commander of his army was Sisra, who lived in Haroshet-HaGoyim. ³ The people of Isra’el cried out to Adonai, because he had 900 iron chariots, and for twenty years he cruelly oppressed the people of Isra’el.

⁴ Now D’vorah, a woman and a prophet, the wife of Lapidot, was judging Isra’el at that time. ⁵ She used to sit under D’vorah’s Palm between Ramah and Beit-El, in the hills of Efrayim; and the people of Isra’el would come to her for judgment. ⁶ She sent for Barak the son of Avino‘am, from Kedesh in Naftali, and said to him: “Adonai has given you this order: ‘Go, march to Mount Tavor, and take with you 10,000 men from the people of Naftali and Z’vulun. ⁷ I will cause Sisra, the commander of Yavin’s army, to encounter you at the Kishon River with his chariots and troops; and I will hand him over to you.’”

⁸ Barak answered her: “If you go with me, I’ll go; but if you won’t go with me, I won’t go.” ⁹ She replied, “Yes, I will gladly go with you; but the way you are doing it will bring you no glory; because Adonai will hand Sisra over to a woman.” Then D’vorah set out and went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰ Barak summoned Z’vulun and Naftali to come to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him, and D’vorah went up with him.

¹¹ Now Hever the Keini had cut himself off from the rest of Kayin, the descendants of Hovav Moshe’s father-in-law; he had pitched his tent near the oak at Tza‘ananim, which is close to Kedesh. ¹² Sisra was informed that Barak the son of Avino‘am had gone up to Mount Tavor. ¹³ So Sisra rallied his chariots, all 900 iron chariots, and all the troops he had with him, from Haroshet-HaGoyim to the Kishon River.

¹⁴ D’vorah said to Barak: “Get going! This is the day when Adonai will hand Sisra over to you! Adonai has gone out ahead of you!” So Barak went down from Mount Tavor with 10,000 men following him; ¹⁵ and Adonai threw Sisra, all his chariots and his entire army into a panic before Barak’s sword; so that Sisra got down from his chariot and fled on foot. ¹⁶ But Barak pursued the chariots and the army all the way to Haroshet-HaGoyim. Sisra’s entire army was put to the sword; not one man was left.

¹⁷ However, Sisra ran on foot to the tent of Ya‘el the wife of Hever the Keini, because there was peace between Yavin the king of Hatzor and the family of Hever the Keini. ¹⁸ Ya‘el went out to meet Sisra and said to him, “Come in, my lord; stay here with me; and don’t be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. ¹⁹ He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink — I’m thirsty.” She opened a goatskin of milk, gave him some to drink, and covered him up again. ²⁰ He said to her, “Stand at the entrance to the tent; and if anyone asks you if somebody is here, say, ‘No.’” ²¹ But when he was deeply asleep, Ya‘el the wife of Hever took a tent peg and a hammer in her hand, crept in to him quietly and drove the tent peg into his temple, right through to the ground; so that he died without waking up. ²² So here is Barak pursuing Sisra, and Ya‘el steps out to meet him and says, “Come, I will show you the man you are looking for.” He goes into her tent; and there is Sisra, lying dead with the tent peg through his temple.

²³ Thus God on that day defeated Yavin the king of Kena‘an in the presence of the people of Isra’el. ²⁴ The hand of the people of Isra’el came down more and more heavily against Yavin the king of Kena‘an, until they had completely destroyed Yavin the king of Kena‘an.

5 On that day D’vorah and Barak the son of Avino‘am sang this song:

Then the land had rest for forty years.

³⁵ He said to them, “When I sent you out without wallet, pack or shoes, were you ever short of anything?” “Not a thing,” they answered. ³⁶ “But now,” he said, if you have a wallet or a pack, take it; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your robe to buy one. ³⁷ For I tell you this: the passage from the Tanakh that says, ‘He was counted with transgressors,’^[a] has to be fulfilled in me; since what is happening to me has a purpose.” ³⁸ They said, “Look, Lord, there are two swords right here!” “Enough!” he replied.

³⁹ On leaving, Yeshua went as usual to the Mount of Olives; and the talmidim followed him. ⁴⁰ When he arrived, he said to them, “Pray that you won’t be put to the test.” ⁴¹ He went about a stone’s throw away from them, kneeled down and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, let not my will but yours be done.” ⁴³ There appeared to him an angel from heaven giving him strength, ⁴⁴ and in great anguish he prayed more intensely, so that his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. ⁴⁵ On rising from prayer and coming to the talmidim, he found them sleeping because of their grief. ⁴⁶ He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you won’t be put to the test!”

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, a crowd of people arrived, with the man called Y’hudah (one of the Twelve!) leading them. He came up to Yeshua to kiss him, ⁴⁸ but Yeshua said to him, “Y’hudah, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” ⁴⁹ When his followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we use our swords?” ⁵⁰ One of them struck at the slave of the cohen hagadol and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹ But Yeshua answered, “Just let me do this,” and, touching the man’s ear, he healed him.

⁵² Then Yeshua said to the head cohanim, the officers of the Temple guard and the elders who had come to seize him, “So you came out just as you would to the leader of a rebellion, with swords and clubs? ⁵³ Every day I was there with you in the Temple court, yet you didn’t arrest me. But this is your hour — the hour when darkness rules.”