Judges 4:8-21

4:8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go. But if you do not go with me, I will not go.” 4:9 She said, “I will indeed go with you. But you will not gain fame¹ on the expedition you are undertaking,² for the Lord will turn Sisera over to a woman.”³ Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 4:10 Barak summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him;⁴ Deborah went up with him as well. 4:11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away⁵ from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He lived⁶ near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.

4:12 When Sisera heard⁷ that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 4:13 he⁸ ordered⁹ all his chariotry – nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels – and all the troops he had with him to go from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the River Kishon. 4:14 Deborah said to Barak, “Spring into action,¹⁰ for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you!¹¹ Has the Lord not taken the lead?”¹² Barak quickly went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 4:15 The Lord routed¹³ Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword.¹⁴ Sisera jumped out of¹⁵ his chariot and ran away on foot. 4:16 Now Barak chased the chariots and the army all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s whole army died¹⁶ by the edge of the sword; not even one survived!¹⁷

4:17 Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for King Jabin of Hazor¹⁸ and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty.¹⁹ 4:18 Jael came out to welcome Sisera. She said to him, “Stop and rest,²⁰ my lord. Stop and rest with me. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera²¹ stopped to rest in her tent, and she put a blanket over him. 4:19 He said to her, “Give me a little water to drink, because I’m thirsty.” She opened a goatskin container of milk and gave him some milk to drink. Then she covered him up again. 4:20 He said to her, “Stand watch at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes along and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say ‘No.’” 4:21 Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other.²² She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground²³ while he was asleep from exhaustion,²⁴ and he died.

¹tn Or “honor.”

²tn Heb “on [account of (?)] the way which you are walking.” Another option is to translate, “due to the way you are going about this.” In this case direct reference is made to Barak’s hesitancy as the reason for his loss of glory.

³tn Heb “for into the hands of a woman the Lord will sell Sisera.”

⁴tn Heb “went up at his feet.”

⁵tn Or “separated.”

⁶tn Heb “pitched his tent.”

⁷tn Heb “and they told Sisera.”

⁸tn Heb “Sisera.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁹tn Or “summoned.”

¹⁰tn Heb “Arise!”

¹¹tn The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”

¹²tn Heb “Has the Lord not gone out before you?”

¹³tn Or “caused to panic.”

¹⁴tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “before Barak.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁵tn Heb “got down from.”

¹⁶tn Heb “fell.”

¹⁷tn Heb “was left.”

¹⁸map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.

¹⁹tn Heb “for there was peace between.”

²⁰tn Heb “Turn aside” (also a second time later in this verse).

²¹tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²²tn Heb “took a tent peg and put a hammer in her hand.”

²³tn Heb “and it went into the ground.”

²⁴tn Heb “and exhausted.” Another option is to understand this as a reference to the result of the fatal blow. In this case, the phrase could be translated, “and he breathed his last.”