Judges 4
1 After Ehud died, the Israelis again started doing things Yahweh said were very evil.
And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud 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 them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth 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 unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
4 At that time Deborah, who was the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophetess who had become the leader in Israel.
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, 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 dwelt 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 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 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 unto mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
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 draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.
8 Barak replied, “I will go only if you go with me.”
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 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 thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
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 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 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.
Now Heber the Kenite had severed himself from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab the brother in law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaanannim, which is by Kedesh.
12 Someone told Sisera that Barak had gone up on Tabor Mountain [with an army].
And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.
13 So he gathered his troops with their 900 chariots, and they marched from Harosheth-Haggoyim 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 of the Gentiles, unto the river Kishon.
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 Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, 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 Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera lighted down from his chariot, and fled away 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.
But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there was not a man 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.
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 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 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 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 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 He said to her, “Stand in the entrance of the tent. If someone comes and asks ‘Is anyone else here?’, 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 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.
Then Jael Heber’s wife took a tent-pin, and took an 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 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, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew 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 On that day God enabled the Israelis to defeat [the army of] Jabin, the king of the people of Canaan.
So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan 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 the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
