Judges 4
Expanded Bible
Deborah, the Woman Judge
4 After Ehud died, the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] again did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. 2 So he ·let them be defeated by [L sold them into the hands of] Jabin, a king of Canaan who ruled in the city of Hazor. Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim, was the commander of Jabin’s army. 3 Because he had nine hundred ·iron [iron-clad; iron-fitted; 1:19] chariots and ·was very cruel to [harshly oppressed] the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.
4 A prophetess named Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was ·judging [leading; 2:16] Israel at that time. 5 Deborah would sit under the Palm Tree of Deborah, which was between the cities of Ramah and Bethel, in the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim. And the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel would come to her ·to settle their arguments [L for judgment].
6 Deborah ·sent a message to [or sent for; summoned] Barak son of Abinoam. Barak lived in ·the city of Kedesh, which is in the area of Naphtali [L Kedesh-Naphtali]. Deborah said to Barak, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go and gather ten thousand ·men [L sons] of Naphtali and Zebulun [C two tribes covering most of Israel’s area north of the Jezreel Valley] and lead them to Mount Tabor [C a cone-shaped mountain in Jezreel Valley southwest of Lake Galilee]. 7 I will ·make [L draw/pull out] Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, and his chariots, and his army meet you at the Kishon River. I will ·hand Sisera over to you [L give him into your hand].’”
8 Then Barak said to Deborah, “I will go if you will go with me, but if you won’t go with me, I won’t go.”
9 “·Of course [Certainly; L Going] I will go with you,” Deborah answered, “but you will not get ·credit [honor; glory; fame] ·for the victory [L in the road/way/venture you are taking]. The Lord will ·let a woman defeat Sisera [L sell Sisera into the hand of a woman].” So Deborah [L arose and] went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 At Kedesh, Barak ·called [summoned] the people of Zebulun and Naphtali together. ·From them, he gathered ten thousand men to follow him [L Ten thousand men went up at his feet], and Deborah went with him also.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had ·left [separated/moved away from] the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ ·brother-in-law [or father-in-law]. Heber had put up his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim, near Kedesh [C this verse introduces the family of Jael, the woman alluded to by Deborah in v. 9; see v. 17].
12 When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera gathered his nine hundred ·iron [iron-clad; iron-fitted; v. 3] chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get up! Today is the day the Lord ·will hand over Sisera [L has given Sisera into your hand]. The Lord has ·already cleared the way for [L gone out before] you.” So Barak led ten thousand men down Mount Tabor. 15 As Barak approached, the Lord ·confused [caused to panic; or routed] Sisera and his army and chariots. The Lord defeated them with the [L edge of the] sword, but Sisera ·left [jumped out of] his chariot and ran away on foot. 16 Barak and his men chased Sisera’s chariots and army to Harosheth Haggoyim. ·With their swords [L By the edge of the sword] they killed all of Sisera’s men; not one of them was left alive.
17 But Sisera himself ran away to the tent where Jael lived. She was the wife of Heber, one of the Kenite family groups [v. 11]. ·Heber’s family [L The house of Heber] ·was at peace [or had an alliance] with Jabin king of Hazor. 18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “·Come into my tent [L Turn aside], master! Come in. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera went into Jael’s tent, and she covered him with a ·rug [or blanket].
19 Sisera said to Jael, “I am thirsty. Please give me some water to drink.” So she opened a ·leather bag [goatskin] of milk and gave him a drink. Then she covered him up.
20 He said to her, “Go stand at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’”
21 But Jael, the wife of Heber, took a tent peg and a hammer and ·quietly [secretly] went to Sisera. Since he was very tired, he was in a deep sleep. She hammered the tent peg through the side of Sisera’s ·head [temple; or mouth] and into the ground. And so Sisera died.
22 ·At that very moment [T And behold] Barak came by Jael’s tent, chasing Sisera. Jael went out to meet him and said, “Come. I will show you the man you are looking for.” So Barak entered her tent, and there Sisera lay dead, with the tent peg in his ·head [temple; or mouth].
23 On that day God ·defeated [subdued; humiliated] Jabin king of Canaan ·in the sight of [L before the sons/T children of] Israel.
24 ·Israel became stronger and stronger [L The hand of sons/T children of Israel pressed harder and harder] against Jabin king of Canaan until finally they destroyed him.
Judges 4
American Standard Version
4 And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, when Ehud was dead. 2 And Jehovah sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth of the [a]Gentiles. 3 And the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel at that time. 5 And she [b]dwelt under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in the hill-country of Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not Jehovah, the God of Israel, commanded, saying, Go and draw unto mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? 7 And I will draw unto thee, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thy hand. 8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go; but if thou wilt not go with me, I will not go. 9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding, the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor; for Jehovah will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh; and there went up ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber [c]the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab the [d]brother-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far as the [e]oak in Zaanannim, which is by Kedesh.
12 And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor. 13 And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the [f]Gentiles, unto the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which Jehovah hath delivered Sisera into thy hand; is not Jehovah gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. 15 And Jehovah discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot, and fled away on his feet. 16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the [g]Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there was not a man left.
17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And he turned in unto her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. 20 And he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No. 21 Then Jael Heber’s wife took a tent-pin, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground; for he was [h]in a deep sleep; so he swooned and died. 22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And he came unto her; and, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent-pin was in his temples.
23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. 24 And the hand of the children of Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
Footnotes
- Judges 4:2 Or, nations
- Judges 4:5 Or, sat
- Judges 4:11 Hebrew Kain. See Num. 24:22.
- Judges 4:11 Or, father-in-law
- Judges 4:11 Or, terebinth
- Judges 4:13 Or, nations
- Judges 4:16 Or, nations
- Judges 4:21 Or, in a deep sleep and weary; so he died
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