Judges 4
1 And the children of Israel again did the evil in the eyes of the Lord, when Ehud was dead.
After Ehud died, the Israelis again started doing things Yahweh said were very evil.
2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of Yabin the king of Canaan, that reigned in Chazor; and the captain of his army was Sissera, who dwelt in Charosheth-hagoyim.
So he allowed the army of Jabin, one of the kings of Canaan land, who ruled in Hazor [city], to conquer the Israelis. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-Haggoyim.
3 And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and he oppressed the children of Israel with might twenty years.
Sisera’s [army] had 900 chariots. For 20 years he oppressed the Israelis. Then they pleaded to Yahweh to help them.
4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, —she judged Israel at that time.
At that time Deborah, who was the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophetess who had become the leader in Israel.
5 And she held her sitting under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el on the mountain of Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
She would sit under her palm tree at a place between Ramah and Bethel, in the hilly area where the descendants of Ephraim lived, and people would come to her and ask her to settle disputes between them.
6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abino'am out of Kedesh-naphtali; and she said unto him, Behold, the Lord the God of Israel hath commanded, Go and lead on toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun.
One day she summoned Barak, the son of Abinoam, when he was in Kedesh, in the area where the descendants of Naphtali lived. She said to him, “This is what Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship, is commanding you to do: ‘Take with you 1,000 men, some from the descendants of Naphtali and some from the descendants of Zebulun, and lead them to Tabor Mountain.
7 And I will draw unto thee, to the brook Kishon, Sissera, the captain of Yabin's army, and his chariots and his multitude; and I will give him up into thy hand.
Yahweh will lure Sisera, the commander of King Jabin’s army, to come with his chariots and his army, to the Kishon River, [a few miles away]. I will enable your men to defeat them there.’”
8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then will I go; but if thou wilt not go with me, I will not go.
Barak replied, “I will go only if you go with me.”
9 And she said, I will indeed go with thee; nevertheless it will not be for thy honor, on the way which thou goest; for into the hand of a woman will the Lord deliver Sissera; and Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
She replied, “Okay, I will go with you. But because that is what you have decided to do, Yahweh will enable a woman to defeat Sisera, and the result will be that (you will not be honored/people will not honor you) [for doing that].”
10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh; and there went up in his train ten thousand men; also Deborah went up with him.
So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. There he summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men came to him, and then they went together with Deborah [to Tabor Mountain].
11 Now Cheber the Kenite had severed himself from the Kenites, from the children of Chobab the father-in-law of Moses; and he had pitched his tent as far as Elon-beza'anannim, which is near Kedesh.
At that time Heber, one of the descendants of the Ken people-group, had moved [with his wife Jael] from the area where that group lived, and set up his tent near the big oak tree at Zaanannim, near Kedesh. Heber was a descendant of Moses’ brother-in-law Hobab.
12 And they told Sissera that Barak the son of Abino'am was gone up to mount Tabor.
Someone told Sisera that Barak had gone up on Tabor Mountain [with an army].
13 And Sissera called together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Charosheth-hagoyim unto the brook Kishon.
So he gathered his troops with their 900 chariots, and they marched from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the Kishon River.
14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up! for this is the day on which the Lord hath given Sissera into thy hand; behold, the Lord is gone out before thee: so Barak went down from mount Tabor, with ten thousand men after him.
Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get ready! This is the day that Yahweh will enable your [army] to defeat the army of Sisera. Yahweh is going ahead of you!” So Barak led his men as they descended from Tabor Mountain.
15 And the Lord confounded Sissera, and all his chariots, and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sissera alighted from his chariot, and fled away on foot.
As they advanced, Yahweh caused Sisera and all his chariots and his army to have great difficulty maneuvering/moving around. So Sisera jumped down from his chariot and ran away.
16 And Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the army, unto Charosheth-hagoyim: and all the army of Sissera fell by the edge of the sword; there was not left even one.
But Barak and his men pursued the other chariots and the enemy soldiers as far as Harosheth-Haggoyim. They killed all of the men in Sisera’s army. Not one man survived.
17 But Sissera had fled away on foot to the tent of Ja'el the wife of Cheber the Kenite; for there was peace between Yabin the king of Chazor and the house of Cheber the Kenite.
But Sisera ran to Jael’s tent. He did that because [his boss], King Jabin of Hazor [city], was a good friend of [Jael’s husband] Heber.
18 And Ja'el went out to meet Sissera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in unto me, fear not: and he turned in unto her into the tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
Jael went out to greet Sisera. She said to him, “Sir, come into my tent! Do not be afraid!” So he went into the tent [and lay down], and she covered him with a blanket.
19 And he said unto her, Give me to drink, I pray thee, a little water; for I am thirsty: and she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him to drink, and covered him up.
He said to her, “I’m thirsty; can you give me some water?” So she opened a leather container of milk, and gave him a drink. Then she covered him with the blanket again.
20 And he said unto her, Stand at the door of the tent; and it shall be, that, when any man should come and ask of thee, and say, Is there any man here? thou shalt say, No.
He said to her, “Stand in the entrance of the tent. If someone comes and asks ‘Is anyone else here?’, say ‘No.’”
21 And Ja'el the wife of Cheber took thereupon the nail of the tent, and placed a hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and struck the nail into his temple, and it became fastened in the ground; but he was fast asleep and weary; so he died.
Sisera was very exhausted, so he soon was asleep. While he was sleeping, Jael crept quietly to him, holding a hammer and a tent peg. She pounded the peg into his skull, and all the way through his head into the ground, and he died.
22 And, behold, Barak came in pursuit of Sissera, and Ja'el came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou art seeking: and he came to her, and behold, Sissera was lying dead, with the nail in his temple.
When Barak passed by Jael’s tent to look for Sisera, she went out to greet him. She said, “Come in, and I will show you the man you are searching for!” So he followed her into the tent, and he saw Sisera lying there, dead, with the tent peg through his head.
23 So did God humble on that day Yabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.
On that day God enabled the Israelis to defeat [the army of] Jabin, the king of the people of Canaan.
24 And the hand of the children of Israel became constantly heavier upon Yabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Yabin the king of Canaan.
From that time, the Israeli people continued to become stronger, and [the army of] King Jabin continued to become weaker. Finally the Israelis were able to completely subdue the people ruled by the king of Canaan.
