4After Ehud died, the Israelites again did what the Lord said was wrong. ²So he let Jabin, a king of Canaan who ruled in the city of Hazor, defeat Israel. Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim, was the commander of Jabin’s army. ³Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and was very cruel to the people of Israel for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.

⁴A prophetess named Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was judge of Israel at that time. ⁵Deborah would sit under the Palm Tree of Deborah, which was between the cities of Ramah and Bethel, in the mountains of Ephraim. And the people of Israel would come to her to settle their arguments.

⁶Deborah sent a message to Barak son of Abinoam. Barak lived in the city of Kedesh, which is in the area of Naphtali. Deborah said to Barak, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go and gather ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them to Mount Tabor. ⁷I will make Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, and his chariots, and his army meet you at the Kishon River. I will hand Sisera over to you.’ ”

⁸Then Barak said to Deborah, “I will go if you will go with me, but if you won’t go with me, I won’t go.”

⁹“Of course I will go with you,” Deborah answered, “but you will not get credit for the victory. The Lord will let a woman defeat Sisera.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰At Kedesh, Barak called the people of Zebulun and Naphtali together. From them, he gathered ten thousand men to follow him, and Deborah went with him also.

¹¹Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law. Heber had put up his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim, near Kedesh.

¹²When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone to Mount Tabor, ¹³Sisera gathered his nine hundred iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River.

¹⁴Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get up! Today is the day the Lord will hand over Sisera. The Lord has already cleared the way for you.” So Barak led ten thousand men down Mount Tabor. ¹⁵As Barak approached, the Lord confused Sisera and his army and chariots. The Lord defeated them with the sword, but Sisera left his chariot and ran away on foot. ¹⁶Barak and his men chased Sisera’s chariots and army to Harosheth Haggoyim. With their swords they killed all of Sisera’s men; not one of them was left alive.

¹⁷But Sisera himself ran away to the tent where Jael lived. She was the wife of Heber, one of the Kenite family groups. Heber’s family was at peace with Jabin king of Hazor. ¹⁸Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come into my tent, master! Come in. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera went into Jael’s tent, and she covered him with a rug.

¹⁹Sisera said to Jael, “I am thirsty. Please give me some water to drink.” So she opened a leather bag of milk and gave him a drink. Then she covered him up.

²⁰He said to her, “Go stand at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’ ”

²¹But Jael, the wife of Heber, took a tent peg and a hammer and quietly went to Sisera. Since he was very tired, he was in a deep sleep. She hammered the tent peg through the side of Sisera’s head and into the ground. And so Sisera died.

²²At that very moment Barak came by Jael’s tent, chasing Sisera. Jael went out to meet him and said, “Come. I will show you the man you are looking for.” So Barak entered her tent, and there Sisera lay dead, with the tent peg in his head.

²³On that day God defeated Jabin king of Canaan in the sight of Israel.

²⁴Israel became stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan until finally they destroyed him.

The Song of Deborah

5On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:

²“The leaders led Israel.

The people volunteered to go to battle.

Praise the Lord!

³Listen, kings.

Pay attention, rulers!

I myself will sing to the Lord.

I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁴“Lord, when you came from Edom,

when you marched from the land of Edom,

the earth shook,

the skies rained,

and the clouds dropped water.

⁵The mountains shook before the Lord, the God of Mount Sinai,

before the Lord, the God of Israel!

⁶“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,

in the days of Jael, the main roads were empty.

Travelers went on the back roads.

⁷There were no warriors in Israel

until I, Deborah, arose,

until I arose to be a mother to Israel.

⁸At that time they chose to follow new gods.

Because of this, enemies fought us at our city gates.

No one could find a shield or a spear

among the forty thousand people of Israel.

⁹My heart is with the commanders of Israel.

They volunteered freely from among the people.

Praise the Lord!

¹⁰“You who ride on white donkeys

and sit on saddle blankets,

and you who walk along the road, listen!

¹¹Listen to the sound of the singers

at the watering holes.

There they tell about the victories of the Lord,

the victories of the Lord’s warriors in Israel.

Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates.

¹²“Wake up, wake up, Deborah!

Wake up, wake up, sing a song!

Get up, Barak!

Go capture your enemies, son of Abinoam!

¹³“Then those who were left came down to the important leaders.

The Lord’s people came down to me with strong men.

¹⁴They came from Ephraim in the mountains of Amalek.

Benjamin was among the people who followed you.

From the family group of Makir, the commanders came down.

And from Zebulun came those who lead.

¹⁵The princes of Issachar were with Deborah.

The people of Issachar were loyal to Barak

and followed him into the valley.

The Reubenites thought hard

about what they would do.

¹⁶Why did you stay by the sheepfold?

Was it to hear the music played for your sheep?

The Reubenites thought hard

about what they would do.

¹⁷The people of Gilead stayed east of the Jordan River.

People of Dan, why did you stay by the ships?

The people of Asher stayed at the seashore,

at their safe harbors.

¹⁸But the people of Zebulun risked their lives,

as did the people of Naphtali on the battlefield.

¹⁹“The kings came, and they fought.

At that time the kings of Canaan fought

at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo.

But they took away no silver or possessions of Israel.

²⁰The stars fought from heaven;

from their paths, they fought Sisera.

²¹The Kishon River swept Sisera’s men away,

that old river, the Kishon River.

March on, my soul, with strength!

²²Then the horses’ hoofs beat the ground.

Galloping, galloping go Sisera’s mighty horses.

²³‘May the town of Meroz be cursed,’ said the angel of the Lord.

‘Bitterly curse its people,

because they did not come to help the Lord.

They did not fight the strong enemy.’

²⁴“May Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite,

be blessed above all women who live in tents.

²⁵Sisera asked for water,

but Jael gave him milk.

In a bowl fit for a ruler,

she brought him cream.

²⁶Jael reached out and took the tent peg.

Her right hand reached for the workman’s hammer.

She hit Sisera! She smashed his head!

She crushed and pierced the side of his head!

²⁷At Jael’s feet he sank.

He fell, and he lay there.

At her feet he sank. He fell.

Where Sisera sank, there he fell, dead!

²⁸“Sisera’s mother looked out through the window.

She looked through the curtains and cried out,

‘Why is Sisera’s chariot so late in coming?

Why are sounds of his chariots’ horses delayed?’

²⁹The wisest of her servant ladies answer her,

and Sisera’s mother says to herself,

³⁰‘Surely they are robbing the people they defeated!

Surely they are dividing those things among themselves!

Each soldier is given a girl or two.

Maybe Sisera is taking pieces of dyed cloth.

Maybe they are even taking

pieces of dyed, embroidered cloth for the necks of the victors!’

³¹“Let all your enemies die this way, Lord!

But let all the people who love you

be as strong as the rising sun!”

Then there was peace in the land for forty years.

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