Judges 4 | King James Version

King James Version

1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead. 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, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. 3 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he 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 Ramah and Bethel in mount 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 Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto 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? 7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin' army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. 8 And Barak said unto her, If 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 sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. 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. 11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. 12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor. 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 unto the river of Kishon. 14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. 15 And the LORD discomfited 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 of 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 enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No. 21 Then Jael Heber' wife took a 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 God 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.

New International Reader’s Version

Deborah

1 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 2 So the LORD handed them over to the power of Jabin. He was a king in Canaan. He ruled in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera. He lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Jabin used 900 chariots that had some iron parts. He treated the Israelites very badly for 20 years. So they cried out to the LORD for help. 4 Deborah was a prophet. She was the wife of Lappidoth. She was leading Israel at that time. 5 Under the Palm Tree of Deborah she served the people as their judge. That place was between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites went up to her there. They came to have her decide cases for them. She settled matters between them. 6 Deborah sent for Barak. He was the son of Abinoam. Barak was from Kedesh in the land of Naphtali. Deborah said to Barak, ‘The LORD, the God of Israel, is giving you a command. He says, “Go! Take 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun with you. Then lead them up to Mount Tabor. 7 I will lead Sisera into a trap. He is the commander of Jabin’s army. I will bring him, his chariots and his troops to the River Kishon. There I will hand him over to you.” ’ 8 Barak said to her, ‘If you go with me, I’ll go. But if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.’ 9 ‘All right’, Deborah said. ‘I’ll go with you. But because of the way you are doing this, you won’t receive any honour. Instead, the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman.’ So Deborah went to Kedesh with Barak. 10 There he sent for men from Zebulun and Naphtali. And 10,000 men followed him into battle. Deborah also went with him. 11 Heber, the Kenite, had left the other Kenites. They came from the family line of Hobab. He was the brother-in-law of Moses. Heber set up his tent by the large tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh. 12 Sisera was told that Barak, the son of Abinoam, had gone up to Mount Tabor. 13 So Sisera gathered together his 900 chariots that had some iron parts. He also gathered together all his men. He brought them from Harosheth Haggoyim to the River Kishon. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, ‘Go! Today the LORD will hand Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the LORD gone ahead of you?’ So Barak went down Mount Tabor. His 10,000 men followed him. 15 As Barak’s men marched out, the LORD drove Sisera away from the field of battle. The LORD scattered all of Sisera’s chariots. Barak’s men struck down Sisera’s army with their swords. Sisera got down from his chariot. He ran away on foot. 16 Barak chased Sisera’s chariots and army. Barak chased them all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. All of Sisera’s troops were killed by swords. Not even one was left. 17 But Sisera ran away on foot. He ran to the tent of Jael. She was the wife of Heber, the Kenite. Sisera ran there because there was a treaty between Heber’s family and Jabin, the king of Hazor. 18 Jael went out to meet Sisera. ‘Come in, sir,’ she said. ‘Come right in. Don’t be afraid.’ So he entered her tent. Then she covered him with a blanket. 19 ‘I’m thirsty,’ he said. ‘Please give me some water.’ So Jael opened a bottle of milk. The bottle was made out of animal skin. She gave him a drink of milk. Then she covered him up again. 20 ‘Stand in the doorway of the tent,’ he told her. ‘Someone might come by and ask you, “Is anyone in there?” If that happens, say “No”. ’ 21 But Heber’s wife Jael picked up a tent stake and a hammer. She went quietly over to Sisera. He was lying there, fast asleep. He was very tired. She drove the stake through his head right into the ground. So he died. 22 Just then Barak came by because he was chasing Sisera. Jael went out to meet him. ‘Come right in,’ she said. ‘I’ll show you the man you are looking for.’ So he went in with her. Sisera was lying there with the stake through his head. He was dead. 23 On that day God brought Jabin under Israel’s control. He was a king in Canaan. 24 Israel’s power grew stronger and stronger against King Jabin. The Israelites became so strong that they destroyed him.