Judges 4
1 The children of Israel again did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, when Ehud was dead.
After Ehud died, the Israelis again started doing things Yahweh said were very evil.
2 Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
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 The children of Israel cried to Yahweh, for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and he mightily oppressed the children of Israel for twenty years.
Sisera’s [army] had 900 chariots. For 20 years he oppressed the Israelis. Then they pleaded to Yahweh to help them.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, 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 She lived under Deborah’s palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country 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 She sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh Naphtali, and said to him, “Hasn’t Yahweh, the God of Israel, commanded, ‘Go and lead the way to Mount Tabor, and take with you 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 I will draw to you, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your 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 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”
Barak replied, “I will go only if you go with me.”
9 She said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the journey that you take won’t be for your honor; for Yahweh will sell Sisera into a woman’s hand.” 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 Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him; 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 children of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaanannim, which is by 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 They told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.
Someone told Sisera that Barak had gone up on Tabor Mountain [with an army].
13 Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles, to the river Kishon.
So he gathered his troops with their 900 chariots, and they marched from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the Kishon River.
14 Deborah said to Barak, “Go; for this is the day in which Yahweh has delivered Sisera into your hand. Hasn’t Yahweh gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and 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 Yahweh confused Sisera, all his chariots, and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled away on his feet.
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 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth of the Gentiles; and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword. There was not a man left.
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 However 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.
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 Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; don’t be afraid.” He came in to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.
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 He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.” She opened a container of milk, and gave him a drink, and covered him.
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 He said to her, “Stand in the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there any man here?’ you shall 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 Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and struck the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground, for he was in a deep sleep; so he fainted and 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 Behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek.” He came to her; and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent peg was 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 So God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel on that day.
On that day God enabled the Israelis to defeat [the army of] Jabin, the king of the people of Canaan.
24 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.
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.
