Judges 4
1 And the sons of Israel again did the thing that was wicked in the sight of Yahweh, —when, Ehud, was dead.
After Ehud died, the Israelis again started doing things Yahweh said were very evil.
2 So Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor, —now, the prince of his host, was Sisera, and, he, dwelt in Harosheth of the nations.
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 sons of Israel made outcry unto Yahweh, —for he had, nine hundred chariots of iron, and, he, oppressed the sons of Israel heavily, 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 woman who was a prophetess, wife of Lapidoth, she, was judging 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 she used to sit, therefore, under the palm-tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel, in the hill country of Ephraim, —and the sons of Israel came up to her, for justice.
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 for Barak son of Abinoam, out of Kadesh-naphtali, —and said unto him—Hath not Yahweh God of Israel, commanded, —Come and draw towards Mount Tabor, and bring with thee—ten thousand men, of the sons of Naphtali, and of the sons 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, unto the torrent of Kishon, Sisera, prince of the host of Jabin, with his chariots, and with his multitude, —and will deliver him 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, go, with thee; only, it shall not be, thine own honour, that shall arise from the journey which thou art about to take, for, into the hand of a woman, will Yahweh sell Sisera. So Deborah arose, and went with Barak, towards Kadesh.
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 together Zebulun and Naphtali, towards Kadesh, and there went up at his feet—ten thousand men, —and 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, Heber the Kenite, had separated himself from the Kenites, even from the sons of Hobab, father-in-law of Moses, —and moved his tent as far as the oak of Zaanaim, which is near Kadesh.
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 Sisera that Barak, son of Abinoam, had gone up to Mount Tabor.
Someone told Sisera that Barak had gone up on Tabor Mountain [with an army].
13 So Sisera called together all his chariots—nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, —from Harosheth of the nations, unto the torrent of Kishon.
So he gathered his troops with their 900 chariots, and they marched from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the Kishon River.
14 Then said Deborah unto Barak—Up! for, this, is the day on which Yahweh hath delivered Sisera into thy hand, hath not, Yahweh, gone forth 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 Yahweh put to flight Sisera and all the chariots and all the host, with the edge of the sword, before Barak, —so Sisera alighted from his chariot, and fled 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 Now, Barak, pursued the chariots, and the host, as far as Harosheth of the nations, —and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword, there was not left so much as 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 Now, Sisera, had fled on foot, unto the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin, king of Hazer, and the house of Heber 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 Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him: Turn aside, my lord, turn aside with me, do not fear. So he turned aside with her into the tent, and she threw over him a coverlet.
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—Let me drink, I pray thee, a little water, for I am thirsty. So she opened the bottle of milk, and gave him to drink, and spread over him the coverlet.
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 entrance of the tent, —and it shall be, if any man come and ask thee and say—Is there here a man? that thou shalt say, There is not.
He said to her, “Stand in the entrance of the tent. If someone comes and asks ‘Is anyone else here?’, say ‘No.’”
21 Then took Jael, wife of Heber, the tent-pin, and put the mallet in her hand, and went in unto him, softly, and smote the tent-pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground, —he being fast asleep and shrouded in darkness, and 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 lo! Barak—in pursuit of Sisera! So Jael went forth to meet him, and said unto him, Come and let me shew thee—the man whom thou art seeking. And he came in with her, and lo! Sisera—lying dead, with the tent-pin in his temples.
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 Thus God subdued, on that day, Jabin king of Canaan, —before the sons 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 sons of Israel went on, waxing more and more heavy upon Jabin king of Canaan, —until they had cut off Jabin 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.
