Judges 4

¹And the children of Israel again did evil in the eyes of the Lord when Ehud was dead.

²And the Lord gave them up into the hands of Jabin, king of Canaan, who was ruling in Hazor; the captain of his army was Sisera, who was living in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

³Then the children of Israel made prayer to the Lord; for he had nine hundred iron war-carriages, and for twenty years he was very cruel to the children of Israel.

⁴Now Deborah, a woman prophet, the wife of Lapidoth, was judge of Israel at that time.

⁵(And she had her seat 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 to be judged.)

⁶And she sent for Barak, the son of Abinoam, from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, given orders saying, Go and get your force into line in Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

⁷And I will make Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his war-carriages and his forces, come against you at the river Kishon, where I will give him into your hands.

⁸And 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.

⁹And she said, I will certainly go with you: though you will get no honour in your undertaking, for the Lord will give Sisera into the hands of a woman. So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.

¹⁰Then Barak sent for Zebulun and Naphtali to come to Kedesh; and ten thousand men went up after him, and Deborah went up with him.

¹¹Now Heber the Kenite, separating himself from the rest of the Kenites, from the children of Hobab, the brother-in-law of Moses, had put up his tent as far away as the oak-tree in Zaanannim, by Kedesh.

¹²And word was given to Sisera that Barak, the son of Abinoam, had gone up to Mount Tabor.

¹³So Sisera got together all his war-carriages, nine hundred war-carriages of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles as far as the river Kishon.

¹⁴Then Deborah said to Barak, Up! for today the Lord has given Sisera into your hands: has not the Lord gone out before you? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor and ten thousand men after him.

¹⁵And the Lord sent fear on Sisera and all his war-carriages and all his army before Barak; and Sisera got down from his war-carriage and went in flight on foot.

¹⁶But Barak went after the war-carriages and the army as far as Harosheth of the Gentiles; and all Sisera's army was put to the sword; not a man got away.

¹⁷But Sisera went in flight on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin, king of Hazor, and the family of Heber the Kenite.

¹⁸And Jael went out to Sisera, and said to him, Come in, my lord, come in to me without fear. So he went into her tent, and she put a cover over him.

¹⁹Then he said to her, Give me now a little water, for I have need of a drink. And opening a skin of milk, she gave him drink, and put the cover over him again.

²⁰And he said to her, Take your place at the door of the tent, and if anyone comes and says to you, Is there any man here, say, No.

²¹Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent-pin and a hammer and went up to him quietly, driving the pin into his head, and it went through his head into the earth, for he was in a deep sleep from weariness; and so he came to his end.

²²Then Jael went out, and meeting Barak going after Sisera, said to him, Come, and I will let you see the man you are searching for. So he came into her tent and saw, and there was Sisera stretched out dead with the tent-pin in his head.

²³So that day God overcame Jabin, king of Canaan, before the children of Israel.

²⁴And the power of the children of Israel went on increasing against Jabin, king of Canaan, till he was cut off.

Judges 4

¹The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead.

²The Lord 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.

³The children of Israel cried to the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

⁴Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

⁵She lived under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

⁶She sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh Naphtali, and said to him, "Hasn't the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded, 'Go and draw to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

⁷I 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.'"

⁸Barak 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."

⁹She said, "I will surely go with you: nevertheless, the journey that you take shall not be for your honor; for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

¹⁰Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh; and there went up ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

¹¹Now Heber the Kenite had separated 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.

¹²They told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to Mount Tabor.

¹³Sisera 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.

¹⁴Deborah said to Barak, "Go; for this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand. Hasn't the Lord gone out before you?" So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

¹⁵The Lord confused Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera got off from his chariot, and fled away on his feet.

¹⁶But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after 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.

¹⁷However 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.

¹⁸Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, "Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; do not be afraid." He came in to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.

¹⁹He said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty." She opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.

²⁰He said to her, "Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man comes and inquires of you, and says, 'Is there any man here?' that you shall say, 'No.'"

²¹Then 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 swooned and died.

²²Behold, 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.

²³So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.

²⁴The hand of the children of Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.