Judges 4
1 And the children of Israel continued
to do evil against the Lord; and Aod was dead.
2 And the Lord sold the children of
Israel into the hand of Jabin king of Chanaan, who ruled in Asor; and the
chief of his host was Sisara, and he dwelt in Arisoth of the Gentiles.
3 And the children of Israel cried to
the Lord, because he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and he mightily
oppressed Israel twenty years.
4 And Debbora, a prophetess, the wife
of Lapidoth,—she judged Israel at that time.
5 And she sat under the palm-tree of
Debbora between Rama and Bæthel in mount Ephraim; and the children of Israel
went up to her for judgment.
6 And Debbora sent and called Barac
the son of Abineem out of Cades Nephthali, and she said to him, Has not the
Lord God of Israel commanded thee? and thou shalt depart to mount Thabor, and
shalt take with thyself ten thousand men of the sons of Nephthali and of the
sons of Zabulon.
7 And I will bring to thee to the
torrent of Kison
aἐπὶ redundant in the Greek, but accounted for by the Heb. אה.Sisara the captain of the host of Jabin, and his chariots, and his multitude,
and I will deliver them into thine hands.
8 And Barac said to her, If thou wilt
go with me, I will go; and if thou wilt not go, I will not go; for I know not
the day on which the Lord prospers his messenger with me.
9 And she said, I will surely go with
thee; but know that thy honour shall not attend on the expedition on which
thou goest, for the Lord shall sell Sisara into the hands of a woman: and
Debbora arose, and went with Barac out of Cades.
10 And Barac called Zabulon and
Nephthali out of Cades, and there went up at his feet ten thousand men, and
Debbora went up with him.
11 And Chaber the Kenite had removed
from Caina, from the sons of Jobab the father-in-law of Moses, and pitched his
tent by the oak of the covetous ones, which is near Kedes.
12 And it was told Sisara that Barac
the son of Abineem was gone up to mount Thabor.
13 And Sisara
bGr. called.summoned all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron and all the people
with him, from Arisoth of the Gentiles to the brook of Kison.
14 And Debbora said to Barac, Rise
up, for this is the day on which the Lord has
delivered Sisara into thy hand, for the Lord shall go forth before thee: and
Barac went down from mount Thabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15 And the Lord discomfited Sisara,
and all his chariots, and all his army, with the edge of the sword before
Barac: and Sisara descended from off his chariot, and fled on his feet.
16 And Barac
cGr. pursuing.pursued after the chariots and after the army, into Arisoth of the Gentiles;
and the whole army of Sisara fell by the edge of the sword, there was not one
left. 17 And Sisara fled on his feet
to the tent of Jael the wife of Chaber the Kenite his friend: for there was
peace between Jabin king of Asor and the house of Chaber the Kenite.
18 And Jael went out to meet Sisara,
and said to him, Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me, fear not: and he
turned aside to her into the tent; and she covered him with a mantle.
19 And Sisara said to 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 to drink, and covered him.
20 And Sisara said to her, Stand now
by the door of the tent, and it shall come to pass if any man come to thee,
and ask of thee, and say, Is there any man here? then
thou shalt say, There is not. 21 And
Jael the wife of Chaber took
dGr. the pin.a pin of the tent, and took a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him,
and fastened the pin in his temple, and it went through to the earth, and he
fainted away, and
eGr. he was darkened.darkness fell upon him and he died.
22 And, behold, Barac
was pursuing Sisara: and Jael went out to meet him,
and she said to him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest: and
he went in to her; and, behold, Sisara was fallen dead, and the pin
was in his temple.
23 So God routed Jabin king of
Chanaan in that day before the children of Israel.
24 And the hand of the children of
Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin king of Chanaan, until they
utterly destroyed Jabin king of Chanaan.