Judges 4
King James Version
4 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead.
2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
3 And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount 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 Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward 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 thine 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, then 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 honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.
12 And they shewed 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 Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.
14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15 And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.
16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and 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 when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.
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 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail 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 prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
Judges 4
Lexham English Bible
Deborah and Barak
4 And again the Israelites[a] did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Ehud died. 2 So Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, and he was living in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 And the Israelites[b] cried to Yahweh, as he had nine hundred iron chariots,[c] and he oppressed the Israelites[d] cruelly[e] for twenty years.[f]
4 Now at that time Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging[g] Israel. 5 And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites[h] went up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and called for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh Naphtali and said to him, “Has not Yahweh the God of Israel commanded you? ‘Go, march to[i] Mount Tabor, and take ten thousand men from the descendants[j] of Naphtali and Zebulun. 7 I will draw out[k] Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and troops, to the wadi[l] of Kishon, and I will give him into your hand.’” 8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you do not go with me, I will not go.” 9 She said, “Surely I will go with you; however, there will be no glory for you in the path you are taking,[m] for Yahweh will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” And Deborah stood up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and they went up behind him,[n] ten thousand men, and Deborah went up with him.
11 And Heber the Kenite was separated from the other Kenites,[o] that is, from the descendants[p] of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses. And he was encamped[q] at Elon-bezaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
12 When they[r] reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera summoned all his chariots—all nine hundred chariots[s] of iron—and the entire army that was with him from Harosheth Haggoyim to the wadi[t] of Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Get up! This is the day that Yahweh has given Sisera into your hand. Has Yahweh not gone out before you?” So Barak went out from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 15 And Yahweh threw Sisera and all his chariots and army into confusion[u] before the edge of Barak’s sword;[v] and Sisera dismounted from his chariot and fled on foot. 16 But Barak pursued after the chariots[w] and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all of Sisera’s army fell to the edge of the sword;[x] no one was left.
17 Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera, and she said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me and do not be afraid.” So he turned aside into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.[y] 19 And he said to her, “Please, give me a drink of water, because I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin vessel of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the doorway of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks you, and says, ‘Is there anyone here?’ You must answer, ‘No.’” 21 But Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, took in her hand a tent peg and a hammer, and she went softly[z] to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; he was fast asleep since he was exhausted, and he died. 22 And behold, Barak was pursuing Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him, and she said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And he came with her and saw that Sisera was lying dead with the peg in his temple. 23 On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites.[aa] 24 And the hand of the Israelites[ab] pressed harder[ac] and harder on Jabin king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
Footnotes
- Judges 4:1 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Judges 4:3 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Judges 4:3 Hebrew “chariot”
- Judges 4:3 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Judges 4:3 Literally “with force”
- Judges 4:3 Hebrew “year”
- Judges 4:4 Or “leading”
- Judges 4:5 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Judges 4:6 Literally “take the lead at”
- Judges 4:6 Or “sons/children”
- Judges 4:7 Literally “I will draw to you”
- Judges 4:7 A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
- Judges 4:9 Or “the way you are going”
- Judges 4:10 Literally “they went up in his feet”
- Judges 4:11 Hebrew “Kenite”
- Judges 4:11 Or “sons/children”
- Judges 4:11 Literally “he spread his tent”
- Judges 4:12 The subject is not specified in Hebrew
- Judges 4:13 Hebrew “chariot”
- Judges 4:13 A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
- Judges 4:15 Or “routed Sisera and all his chariots and army”
- Judges 4:15 Literally “the mouth of the sword before Barak”
- Judges 4:16 Hebrew “chariot”
- Judges 4:16 Literally “the mouth of the sword”
- Judges 4:18 Literally “with a covering/rug”
- Judges 4:21 Or “secretly”
- Judges 4:23 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Judges 4:24 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Judges 4:24 Literally “went harder”
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software