Judges 4
1 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did what was evil in the Lord's sight.
And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.
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 gave them over into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth-goiim.
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 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 Deborah, wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet, and she was leading Israel as a judge at that time.
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel at 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 sat 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 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 out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him: 'Hath not the LORD, the 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 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.”
And I will draw unto thee to the brook Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thy 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 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 “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.
And she said: 'I will surely go with thee; notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thy honour; for the LORD will give Sisera over into the hand of a woman.' And Deborah arose, and went 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 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 (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 severed himself from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far as Elon-bezaanannim, which is by Kedesh.
12 Sisera heard that Barak, son of Abinoam, had gone to Mount Tabor,
And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up 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 Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth-goiim, unto the brook 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 unto Barak: 'Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thy hand; is not the LORD gone out before thee?' So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after 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 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 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.
But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth-goiim; and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there was not a man left.
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.
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 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.
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 “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.
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 “Stand guard at the tent door,” he told her. “If anybody comes and asks you, ‘Is there is anyone here?’ just say no.”
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 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.
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 in a deep sleep; so he swooned 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, 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 That day God defeated Jabin, king of Canaan, in the presence of the Israelites.
So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.
24 From then on Israel grew ever more powerful until the destroyed Jabin, king of Hazor.
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.
