Judges 4
1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud was dead.
After Ehud died, the Israelis again started doing things Yahweh said were very evil.
2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who dwelt 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 And the 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.
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 prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she 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 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount 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 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedeshnaphtali, and said to him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee 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 And I will draw to thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver 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 said to her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.
Barak replied, “I will go only if you go with me.”
9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: however the journey that thou takest shall not be for thy honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And 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 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: 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, who was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent to the plain of 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 showed 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 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 to the river of Kishon.
So he gathered his troops with their 900 chariots, and they marched from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the Kishon River.
14 And Deborah said to Barak, Arise; for this is the day when the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thy hand: hath not the LORD gone out before thee? 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 And the LORD destroyed Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera came down from 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 host, to Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and 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 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in to her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.
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 said to 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 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 Again he said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt 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 nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he 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 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail 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 on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children 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 children of Israel prospered, and prevailed 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.
