Judges 4–5

¹And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah when Ehud is dead, ²and Jehovah selleth them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who hath reigned in Hazor, and the head of his host is Sisera, and he is dwelling in Harosheth of the Goyim; ³and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, for he hath nine hundred chariots of iron, and he hath oppressed the sons of Israel mightily twenty years.

⁴And Deborah, a woman inspired, wife of Lapidoth, she is judging Israel at that time, ⁵and she is dwelling under the palm-tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Beth-El, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel go up unto her for judgment. ⁶And she sendeth and calleth for Barak son of Abinoam, out of Kedesh-Naphtali, and saith unto him, ‘Hath not Jehovah, God of Israel, commanded? go, and thou hast drawn towards mount Tabor, and hast taken with thee ten thousand men, out of the sons of Naphtali, and out of the sons of Zebulun, ⁷and I have drawn unto thee, unto the brook Kishon, Sisera, head of the host of Jabin, and his chariot, and his multitude, and have given him into thy hand.’ ⁸And Barak saith unto her, ‘If thou dost go with me, then I have gone; and if thou dost not go with me, I do not go;’ ⁹and she saith, ‘I do certainly go with thee; only, surely thy glory is not on the way which thou art going, for into the hand of a woman doth Jehovah sell Sisera;’ and Deborah riseth and goeth with Barak to Kedesh.

¹⁰And Barak calleth Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and he goeth up—at his feet are ten thousand men—and Deborah goeth up with him. ¹¹And Heber the Kenite hath been separated from the Kenite, from the sons of Hobab father-in-law of Moses, and he stretcheth out his tent unto the oak in Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. ¹²And they declare to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam hath gone up to mount Tabor, ¹³and Sisera calleth all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who are with him, from Harosheth of the Goyim, unto the brook Kishon. ¹⁴And Deborah saith unto Barak, ‘Rise, for this is the day in which Jehovah hath given Sisera into thy hand; hath not Jehovah gone out before thee?’ And Barak goeth down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. ¹⁵And Jehovah destroyeth Sisera, and all the chariots, and all the camp, by the mouth of the sword, before Barak, and Sisera cometh down from off the chariot, and fleeth on his feet. ¹⁶And Barak hath pursued after the chariots and after the camp, unto Harosheth of the Goyim, and all the camp of Sisera falleth by the mouth of the sword—there hath not been left even one.

¹⁷And Sisera hath fled on his feet unto the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite, for peace is between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite; ¹⁸and Jael goeth out to meet Sisera, and saith unto him, ‘Turn aside, my lord, turn aside unto me, fear not;’ and he turneth aside unto her, into the tent, and she covereth him with a coverlet. ¹⁹And he saith unto her, ‘Give me to drink, I pray thee, a little water, for I am thirsty;’ and she openeth the bottle of milk, and giveth him to drink, and covereth him. ²⁰And he saith unto her, ‘Stand at the opening of the tent, and it hath been, if any doth come in, and hath asked thee, and said, Is there a man here? that thou hast said, There is not.’ ²¹And Jael wife of Heber taketh the pin of the tent, and taketh the hammer in her hand, and goeth unto him gently, and striketh the pin into his temples, and it fasteneth in the earth—and he hath been fast asleep, and is weary—and he dieth. ²²And lo, Barak is pursuing Sisera, and Jael cometh out to meet him, and saith to him, ‘Come, and I shew thee the man whom thou art seeking;’ and he cometh in unto her, and lo, Sisera is fallen—dead, and the pin in his temples. ²³And God humbleth on that day Jabin king of Canaan before the sons of Israel, ²⁴and the hand of the sons of Israel goeth, going on and becoming hard on Jabin king of Canaan, till that they have cut off Jabin king of Canaan.

Chapter 5

¹And Deborah singeth—also Barak son of Abinoam—on that day, saying:— ²‘For freeing freemen in Israel, For a people willingly offering themselves Bless ye Jehovah. ³Hear, ye kings; give ear, ye princes, I, to Jehovah, I—I do sing, I sing praise to Jehovah, God of Israel. ⁴Jehovah, in Thy going forth out of Seir, In Thy stepping out of the field of Edom, Earth trembled, also the heavens dropped, Also thick clouds dropped water. ⁵Hills flowed from the face of Jehovah, This one—Sinai—From the face of Jehovah, God of Israel.

⁶In the days of Shamgar son of Anath—In the days of Jael—The ways have ceased, And those going in the paths go in crooked ways. ⁷Villages ceased in Israel—they ceased, Till that I arose—Deborah, That I arose, a mother in Israel. ⁸He chooseth new gods, Then war is at the gates! A shield is not seen—and a spear Among forty thousand in Israel. ⁹My heart is to the lawgivers of Israel, Who are offering themselves willingly among the people, Bless ye Jehovah! ¹⁰Riders on white asses—Sitters on a long robe—And walkers by the way—meditate! ¹¹By the voice of shouters Between the places of drawing water, There they give out righteous acts of Jehovah, Righteous acts of His villages in Israel, Then ruled in the gates have the people of Jehovah.

¹²Awake, awake, Deborah; Awake, awake, utter a song; Rise, Barak, and take captive thy captivity, Son of Abinoam. ¹³Then him who is left of the honourable ones He caused to rule the people of Jehovah, He caused me to rule among the mighty. ¹⁴Out of Ephraim their root is against Amalek. After thee, Benjamin, among thy peoples. Out of Machir came down lawgivers, And out of Zebulun those drawing with the reed of a writer. ¹⁵And princes in Issachar are with Deborah, Yea, Issachar is right with Barak, Into the valley he was sent on his feet. In the divisions of Reuben, Great are the decrees of heart! ¹⁶Why hast thou abode between the boundaries, To hear lowings of herds? For the divisions of Reuben, Great are the searchings of heart! ¹⁷Gilead beyond the Jordan did tabernacle, And Dan—why doth he sojourn in ships? Asher hath abode at the haven of the seas, And by his creeks doth tabernacle. ¹⁸Zebulun is a people who exposed its soul to death, Naphtali also—on high places of the field. ¹⁹Kings came—they fought; Then fought kings of Canaan, In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; Gain of money they took not! ²⁰From the heavens they fought: The stars from their highways fought with Sisera. ²¹The brook Kishon swept them away, The brook most ancient—the brook Kishon. Thou dost tread down strength, O my soul! ²²Then broken were the horse-heels, By pransings—pransings of its mighty ones. ²³Curse Meroz—said a messenger of Jehovah, Cursing, curse ye its inhabitants, For they came not to the help of Jehovah, To the help of Jehovah among the mighty!

²⁴Blessed above women is Jael, Wife of Heber the Kenite, Above women in the tent she is blessed. ²⁵Water he asked—milk she gave; In a lordly dish she brought near butter. ²⁶Her hand to the pin she sendeth forth, And her right hand to the labourers’ hammer, And she hammered Sisera—she smote his head, Yea, she smote, and it passed through his temple. ²⁷Between her feet he bowed—He fell, he lay down; Between her feet he bowed, he fell; Where he bowed, there he fell—destroyed. ²⁸Through the window she hath looked out—Yea, she crieth out—the mother of Sisera, Through the lattice: Wherefore is his chariot delaying to come? Wherefore tarried have the steps of his chariot? ²⁹The wise ones, her princesses, answer her, Yea, she returneth her sayings to herself: ³⁰Do they not find?—they apportion spoil, A female—two females—for every head, Spoil of finger-work for Sisera, Spoil of embroidered finger-work, Finger-work—a pair of embroidered things, For the necks of the spoil! ³¹So do all Thine enemies perish, O Jehovah, And those loving Him are As the going out of the sun in its might!’ and the land resteth forty years.

Chapter 6