Judges 4:1–5:31
*And athe children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead. 2 And the Lord bsold them into the hand of cJabin king of Canaan, that reigned in cHazor; the captain of whose host was ||Sisera, which dwelt in dHarosheth of the Gentiles. 3 And the children of Israel ecried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred fchariots of iron; and twenty years ghe mightily oppressed the children of Israel. 4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. 5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between hRamah and Beth-el in imount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 *And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of kKedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount lTabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? 7 And I will draw unto thee to the mriver Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and nI will deliver him into thine hand. 8 And Barak said unto her, oIf thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. 9 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 psell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called qZebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men rat his feet: and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber sthe Kenite, which was of the children of tHobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto uthe plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. 12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount lTabor. 13 And Sisera †gathered together all his fchariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon. 14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which nthe Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: wis not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount lTabor, and ten thousand men after him. 15 And the Lord xdiscomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet. 16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not †a man left. 17 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 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a ||mantle. 19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle yof milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. 20 Again 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 Then Jael Heber’s wife took za nail of the tent, and †took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. 22 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 when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples. 23 So aGod subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. 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.
5 Then asang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,
2 Praise ye the Lord for the bavenging of Israel,
cWhen the people willingly offered themselves.
3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye dprinces;
I, even I, will sing unto the Lord;
I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.
4 Lord, eWhen thou wentest out of Seir,
fWhen thou marchedst out of the field of Edom,
gThe earth trembled, and the heavens dropped,
The clouds also dropped water.
5 hThe mountains †melted from before the Lord,
Even that iSinai from before the Lord God of Israel.
6 In the days of jShamgar the son of Anath,
In the days of kJael, lthe highways were unoccupied,
And the †travellers walked through †byways.
7 The inhabitants of the mvillages ceased, they ceased in Israel,
Until that I Deborah arose,
That I arose a mother in Israel.
8 They nchose new gods;
Then was war in the gates:
oWas there a shield or spear seen
Among forty thousand in Israel?
9 My heart is toward the governors of Israel,
That poffered themselves willingly among the people.
Bless ye the Lord.
10 ||Speak, ye qthat ride on white asses,
rYe that sit in judgment,
And walk by the way.
11 They that are delivered from the noise of archers in sthe places of drawing water,
There shall they rehearse the †righteous acts of the Lord,
Even the †righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his mvillages in Israel:
Then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates.
12 tAwake, awake, Deborah:
Awake, awake, utter a song:
Arise, Barak,
And ulead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.
13 Then he made him that remaineth xhave dominion over the nobles among the people:
The Lord made me have dominion over the mighty.
14 Out of yEphraim was there a root of them against zAmalek;
After thee, Benjamin, among thy people;
Out of aMachir came down bgovernors,
And out of Zebulun they that †handle the pen of the writer.
15 And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
Even Issachar, and also cBarak:
He was sent on †foot into the valley.
||For the divisions of Reuben there were great †thoughts of heart.
16 Why abodest thou among the dsheepfolds,
To hear the ebleatings of fthe flocks?
||For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
17 gGilead abode beyond Jordan:
And why did hDan remain in ships?
iAsher continued on the sea ||shore,
And abode in his ||breaches.
18 jZebulun and Naphtali were a people that †jeoparded their lives unto the death
In the high places of the field.
Then fought the kings of Canaan
In kTaanach by the waters of lMegiddo;
mThey took no gain of money.
The stars in their †courses fought against Sisera.
21 The nriver of Kishon swept them away,
That ancient river, the river Kishon.
O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
22 Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the ||pransings,
The pransings of their omighty ones.
23 Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord,
Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof;
pBecause they came not qto the help of the Lord,
To the help of the Lord against the mighty.
24 Blessed above women shall rJael the wife of Heber the Kenite be,
Blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
25 sHe asked water, and she gave him milk;
She brought forth butter in a lordly dish.
26 tShe put her hand to the nail,
And her right hand to the workmen’s hammer;
And †with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head,
When she had pierced and stricken through his temples.
27 †At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down:
†At her feet he bowed, he fell:
Where he bowed, there he fell down †dead.
28 The mother of Sisera ulooked out at a window,
And cried wthrough the lattice,
Why is his chariot so xlong in coming?
Why tarry the wheels of his chariots?
29 Her wise ladies answered her,
Yea, she returned †answer to herself,
30 Have they not sped? have they not ydivided the prey;
†To every man a damsel or two;
To Sisera a prey of divers colours,
A prey of divers colours of needlework,
Of divers colours of needlework on both sides,
Meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?
31 zSo let all thine enemies perish, O Lord:
But let them that love him be aas the sun bwhen he goeth forth in his might.
And cthe land had rest forty years.