Judges 4:1-10

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Deborah and Barak

4 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud had died. ² So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin^(A) king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.^(B) The commander of his forces was Sisera^(C) who lived in Harosheth of the Nations.^{[a] 3} Then the Israelites cried out^(D) to the Lord, because Jabin had 900 iron chariots, and he harshly oppressed them 20 years.

⁴ Deborah, a woman who was a prophetess^(E) and the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. ⁵ It was her custom to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her for judgment.^(F)

⁶ She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Hasn’t the Lord, the God of Israel,^(G) commanded you: ‘Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor,^(H) and take with you 10,000 men from the Naphtalites^(I) and Zebulunites?^{(J) 7} Then I will lure Sisera commander of Jabin’s forces, his chariots, and his army at the Wadi Kishon^(K) to fight against you, and I will hand him over to you.’”^(L)

⁸ Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go.”

⁹ “I will go with you,” she said, “but you will receive no honor on the road you are about to take, because the Lord will sell Sisera into a woman’s hand.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰ Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; 10,000 men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.