Judges 4
1 After Ehud died, the Israelis again started doing things Yahweh said were very evil.
And the children of Israel continued to do evil against the Lord; and Aod was dead.
2 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.
And the Lord sold the children of Israel into the hand of Jabin king of Chanaan, who ruled in Asor; and the chief of his host was Sisara, and he lived in Arisoth of the Gentiles.
3 Sisera’s [army] had 900 chariots. For 20 years he oppressed the Israelis. Then they pleaded to Yahweh to help them.
And the children of Israel cried to the Lord, because he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and he mightily oppressed Israel twenty years.
4 At that time Deborah, who was the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophetess who had become the leader in Israel.
And Debbora, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, —she judged Israel at that time.
5 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.
And she sat under the palm tree of Debbora between Rama and Baethel in mount Ephraim; and the children of Israel went up to her for judgment.
6 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.
And Debbora sent and called Barac the son of Abineem out of Cades Nephthali, and she said to him, Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded you? and you shall depart to mount Thabor, and shall take with yourself ten thousand men of the sons of Nephthali and of the sons of Zabulon.
7 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.’”
And I will bring to you to the torrent of Kison Sisara the captain of the host of Jabin, and his chariots, and his multitude, and I will deliver them into your hands.
8 Barak replied, “I will go only if you go with me.”
And Barac said to her, If you will go with me, I will go; and if you will not go, I will not go; for I know not the day on which the Lord prospers his messenger with me.
9 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].”
And she said, I will surely go with you; but know that your honor shall not attend on the expedition on which you go, for the Lord shall sell Sisara into the hands of a women: and Debbora arose, and went with Barac out of Cades.
10 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].
And Barac called Zabulon and Nephthali out of Cades, and there went up at his feet ten thousand men, and Debbora went up with him.
11 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.
And Chaber the Kenite had removed from Caina, from the sons of Jobab the father-in-law of Moses, and pitched his tent by the oak of the covetous ones, which is near Kedes.
12 Someone told Sisera that Barak had gone up on Tabor Mountain [with an army].
And it was told Sisara that Barac the son of Abineem was gone up to mount Thabor.
13 So he gathered his troops with their 900 chariots, and they marched from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the Kishon River.
And Sisara summoned all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron and all the people with him, from Arisoth of the Gentiles to the brook of Kison.
14 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.
And Debbora said to Barac, Rise up, for this [is] the day on which the Lord has delivered Sisara into your hand, for the Lord shall go forth before you: and Barac went down from mount Thabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15 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.
And the Lord discomfited Sisara, and all his chariots, and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barac: and Sisara descended from off his chariot, and fled on his feet.
16 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.
And Barac pursued after the chariots and after the army, into Arisoth of the Gentiles; and the whole army of Sisara fell by the edge of the sword, there was not one left.
17 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.
And Sisara fled on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Chaber the Kenite his friend: for there was peace between Jabin king of Asor and the house of Chaber the Kenite.
18 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.
And Jael went, out to meet Sisara, and said to him, Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me, fear not: and he turned aside to her into the tent; and she covered him with a mantle.
19 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.
And Sisara said to her, Give me, I pray you, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty: and she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him to drink, and covered him.
20 He said to her, “Stand in the entrance of the tent. If someone comes and asks ‘Is anyone else here?’, say ‘No.’”
And Sisara said to her, Stand now by the door of the tent, and it shall come to pass if any man come to you, and ask of you, and say, Is there [any] man here? then you shall say, There is not.
21 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.
And Jael the wife of Chaber took a pin of the tent, and took a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him, and fastened the pin in his temple, and it went through to the earth, and he fainted away, and darkness fell upon him and he died.
22 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.
And, behold, Barac [was] pursuing Sisara: and Jael went out to meet him, and he said to him, Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek: and he went in to her; and, behold, Sisara was fallen dead, and the pin [was] in his temple.
23 On that day God enabled the Israelis to defeat [the army of] Jabin, the king of the people of Canaan.
So God routed Jabin king of Chanaan in that day before the children of Israel.
24 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.
And the hand of the children of Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin king of Chanaan, until they utterly destroyed Jabin king of Chanaan.
