Judges 4
1 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did what was evil in the Lord's sight.
But after the death of Ehud, the sons of Israel resumed doing evil in the sight of the Lord.
2 So the Lord sold them to Jabin, king of Canaan, who ruled from Hazor. His army commander was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.
And the Lord delivered them into the hands of Jabin, the king of Canaan, who reigned at Hazor. And he had a commander of his army named Sisera, but this man lived at Harosheth of the Gentiles.
3 The Israelites cried out to the Lord to help them, for Sisera had nine hundred iron chariots and he cruelly mistreated them for twenty years.
And the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. For he had nine hundred chariots with scythes, and he vehemently oppressed them for twenty years.
4 Deborah, wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet, and she was leading Israel as a judge at that time.
Now there was a prophetess, Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, who judged the people in that time.
5 She would sit under Deborah's Palm between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for her decisions.
And she was sitting under a palm tree, which was called by her name, between Ramah and Bethel, on Mount Ephraim. And the sons of Israel went up to her for every judgment.
6 She sent for Barak, son of Abinoam, from the town of Kedesh in Naphtali and told him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, orders you: ‘Go to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun, and lead them there.
And she sent and called Barak, the son of Abinoam, from Kedesh of Naphtali. And she said to him: “The Lord, the God of Israel, instructs you: ‘Go and lead an army to Mount Tabor, and you shall take with you ten thousand fighting men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun.
7 I will bring Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River, and hand him over to you.”
Then I will lead to you, at the place of the torrent Kishon, Sisera, the leader of the army of Jabin, with his chariots and the entire multitude. And I will deliver them into your hand.’”
8 Barak replied, “If you come with me, I'll go; but if you don't come with me, I won't go.”
And Barak said to her: “If you will come with me, I will go. If you are not willing to come with me, I will not go.”
9 “I'll definitely go with you,” Deborah answered, “but if you're going to take that route then you won't receive any respect, because the Lord will give Sisera into the hands of a woman.” Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.
She said to him: “Indeed, I will go with you. But due to this change, the victory shall not be reputed to you. And so Sisera will be delivered into the hand of a woman.” Therefore, Deborah rose up, and she traveled with Barak to Kedesh.
10 Barak called up the armies of Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men assembled under his command. Deborah was also there with him.
And he, summoning Zebulun and Naphtali, ascended with ten thousand fighting men, having Deborah in his company.
11 (Heber the Kenite had separated from the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, and had set up his tent at the large tree in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.)
Now Heber, the Kenite, had previously withdrawn from the rest of the Kenites, his brothers, the sons of Hobab, the relative of Moses. And he had pitched his tents as far as the valley that is called Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
12 Sisera heard that Barak, son of Abinoam, had gone to Mount Tabor,
And it was reported to Sisera that Barak, the son of Abinoam, had ascended to Mount Tabor.
13 so he summoned all his nine hundred iron chariots and all his men to come from Harosheth-hagoyim to the Kishon River.
And he gathered together the nine hundred chariots with scythes, and the entire army, from Harosheth of the Gentiles to the torrent Kishon.
14 Then Deborah told Barak, “Get going! Today the Lord has handed Sisera to you. Didn't the Lord march out ahead of you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, accompanied by ten thousand men.
And Deborah said to Barak: “Rise up. For this is the day on which the Lord delivers Sisera into your hands. For he is your commander.” And so, Barak descended from Mount Tabor, and the ten thousand fighting men with him.
15 When Barak attacked, the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and warriors into a confused panic. Sisera jumped down from his chariot and ran away.
And the Lord struck Sisera with great fear, and all his chariots and all his multitude with the edge of the sword, in the sight of Barak, so much so that Sisera, leaping from his chariot, fled on foot.
16 Barak chased after the chariots and troops all the way to Harosheth-hagoyim. The whole of Sisera's army was killed—not a single man survived.
And Barak pursued the fleeing chariots, and the army, as far as Harosheth of the Gentiles. And the entire multitude of the enemy was cut down, unto utter annihilation.
17 In the meantime Sisera had run away to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was a peace treaty between Jabin, king of Hazor, and the family of Heber the Kenite.
But Sisera, while fleeing, arrived at 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 Jael went to meet Sisera and told him, “Come on in, my lord, come in with me. Don't be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a thick blanket.
Therefore, Jael went out to meet Sisera, and she said to him: “Enter to me, my lord. Enter, you should not be afraid.” And he entered her tent, and having been covered by her with a cloak,
19 “Please give me a bit of water to drink, because I'm thirsty,” Sisera asked her. So she opened a skin of milk, let him have a drink, and then covered him up again.
he said to her: “Give me, I beg you, a little water. For I am very thirsty.” And she opened a bottle of milk, and she gave him to drink. And she covered him.
20 “Stand guard at the tent door,” he told her. “If anybody comes and asks you, ‘Is there is anyone here?’ just say no.”
And Sisera said to her: “Stand before the door of the tent. And if anyone arrives, questioning you and saying, ‘Could there be any man here?’ you shall respond, ‘There is no one.’”
21 But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and crept quietly over to him where he lay fast sleep and exhausted. She drove the tent peg through his temple and into the ground, and he died.
And so Jael, the wife of Heber, took a spike from the tent, and also took a mallet. And entering unseen and with silence, she placed the spike over the temple of his head. And striking it with the mallet, she drove it through his brain, as far as the ground. And so, joining deep sleep to death, he fell unconscious and died.
22 So when Barak came past, hunting for Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said, “Come here, and I'll show you the man you're looking for.” He went in with her, and there lay Sisera, dead, with the tent peg through his temple.
And behold, Barak arrived, in pursuit of Sisera. And Jael, going out to meet him, said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And when he had entered her tent, he saw Sisera lying dead, with the spike fixed in his temples.
23 That day God defeated Jabin, king of Canaan, in the presence of the Israelites.
Thus did God humble Jabin, the king of Canaan, on that day, before the sons of Israel.
24 From then on Israel grew ever more powerful until the destroyed Jabin, king of Hazor.
And they increased every day. And with a strong hand they overpowered Jabin, the king of Canaan, until they wiped him out.
