| Chapter 4
|
| 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's 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 honor; 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 showed 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 inquire of
thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No. |
| 21 | Then Jael Heber's 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 show 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. |
