Judges 4
1 And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah when Ehud is dead,
After Ehud died, the Israelis again started doing things Yahweh said were very evil.
2 and Jehovah selleth them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who hath reigned in Hazor, and the head of his host [is] Sisera, and he is dwelling in Harosheth of the Goyim;
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 cry unto Jehovah, for he hath nine hundred chariots of iron, and he hath oppressed the sons of Israel mightily 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 inspired, wife of Lapidoth, she is 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 and she is dwelling under the palm-tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Beth-El, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel go up unto 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 sendeth and calleth for Barak son of Abinoam, out of Kedesh-Naphtali, and saith unto him, 'Hath not Jehovah, God of Israel, commanded? go, and thou hast drawn towards mount Tabor, and hast taken with thee ten thousand men, out of the sons of Naphtali, and out 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 have drawn unto thee, unto the brook Kishon, Sisera, head of the host of Jabin, and his chariot, and his multitude, and have given 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 saith unto her, 'If thou dost go with me, then I have gone; and if thou dost not go with me, I do not go;'
Barak replied, “I will go only if you go with me.”
9 and she saith, 'I do certainly go with thee; only, surely thy glory is not on the way which thou art going, for into the hand of a woman doth Jehovah sell Sisera;' and Deborah riseth and goeth 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 calleth Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and he goeth up — at his feet [are] ten thousand men — and Deborah goeth 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 And Heber the Kenite hath been separated from the Kenite, from the sons of Hobab father-in-law of Moses, and he stretcheth out his tent unto the oak in Zaanaim, 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 And they declare to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam hath gone up to mount Tabor,
Someone told Sisera that Barak had gone up on Tabor Mountain [with an army].
13 and Sisera calleth all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who [are] with him, from Harosheth of the Goyim, 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 saith unto Barak, 'Rise, for this [is] the day in which Jehovah hath given Sisera into thy hand; hath not Jehovah gone out before thee?' And Barak goeth 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 And Jehovah destroyeth Sisera, and all the chariots, and all the camp, by the mouth of the sword, before Barak, and Sisera cometh down from off the chariot, and fleeth 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 And Barak hath pursued after the chariots and after the camp, unto Harosheth of the Goyim, and all the camp of Sisera falleth by the mouth of the sword — there hath not been 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 And Sisera hath fled on his feet unto the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite, for peace [is] between Jabin 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 and Jael goeth out to meet Sisera, and saith unto him, 'Turn aside, my lord, turn aside unto me, fear not;' and he turneth aside unto her, into the tent, and she covereth him with 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 saith unto her, 'Give me to drink, I pray thee, a little water, for I am thirsty;' and she openeth the bottle of milk, and giveth him to drink, and covereth 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 And he saith unto her, 'Stand at the opening of the tent, and it hath been, if any doth come in, and hath asked thee, and said, Is there a man here? that thou hast said, 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 And Jael wife of Heber taketh the pin of the tent, and taketh the hammer in her hand, and goeth unto him gently, and striketh the pin into his temples, and it fasteneth in the earth — and he hath been fast asleep, and is weary — and he dieth.
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 is pursuing Sisera, and Jael cometh out to meet him, and saith to him, 'Come, and I shew thee the man whom thou art seeking;' and he cometh in unto her, and lo, Sisera is fallen — dead, and the 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 And God humbleth 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 goeth, going on and becoming hard on Jabin king of Canaan, till that they have 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.
