Judges 4:6–22

⁶She sent and called for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh Naphtali and said to him, “Has not Yahweh the God of Israel commanded you? ‘Go, march toⁱ Mount Tabor, and take ten thousand men from the descendants^j of Naphtali and Zebulun. ⁷I will draw out^k Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and troops, to the wadi^l of Kishon, and I will give him into your hand.’ ” ⁸Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you do not go with me, I will not go.” ⁹She said, “Surely I will go with you; however, there will be no glory for you in the path you are taking,^m for Yahweh will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” And Deborah stood up and went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and they went up behind him,ⁿ ten thousand men, and Deborah went up with him.

¹¹And Heber the Kenite was separated from the other Kenites,^o that is, from the descendants^p of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses. And he was encamped^q at Elon-bezaanannim, which is near Kedesh.

¹²When they^r reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, ¹³Sisera summoned all his chariots—all nine hundred chariots^s of iron—and the entire army that was with him from Harosheth Haggoyim to the wadi^t of Kishon. ¹⁴And Deborah said to Barak, “Get up! This is the day that Yahweh has given Sisera into your hand. Has Yahweh not gone out before you?” So Barak went out from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. ¹⁵And Yahweh threw Sisera and all his chariots and army into confusion^u before the edge of Barak’s sword;^v and Sisera dismounted from his chariot and fled on foot. ¹⁶But Barak pursued after the chariots^w and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all of Sisera’s army fell to the edge of the sword;^x no one was left.

¹⁷Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. ¹⁸And Jael came out to meet Sisera, and she said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me and do not be afraid.” So he turned aside into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.^{y 19}And he said to her, “Please, give me a drink of water, because I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin vessel of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. ²⁰And he said to her, “Stand at the doorway of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks you, and says, ‘Is there anyone here?’ You must answer, ‘No.’ ” ²¹But Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, took in her hand a tent peg and a hammer, and she went softly^z to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; he was fast asleep since he was exhausted, and he died. ²²And behold, Barak was pursuing Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him, and she said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And he came with her and saw that Sisera was lying dead with the peg in his temple.