Judges 4

1 And the children of Israel again did what was evil before the Lord; and Ehud was dead. 2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, and he himself lived in Harosheth of the nations. [a] 3 And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, because he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he oppressed Israel by force for twenty years.

4 And Deborah, a woman, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth — she judged Israel at that time. 5 And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel went up to her for judgment.

6 And Deborah sent and called Barak son of Abinoam out of Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has the Lord, the God of Israel, not commanded you — that you are to go to Mount Tabor and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun? 7 And I will bring to you, at the brook Kishon, Sisera the commander of Jabin's army, and his chariots and the great number of his men; and I will give him into your hands.”

8 And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; and if you will not go, I will not go — for I do not know the day on which the Lord prospers the messenger with me.” [b] 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you; only know that the advantage on the road you are going will not be yours, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” And Deborah got up and went with Barak from Kedesh.

10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali from Kedesh, and ten thousand men went up at his heels; and Deborah went up with him. 11 And Heber the Kenite had separated himself from Kain, from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak of the greedy ones, which is near Kedesh. [c]

12 And it was reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. 13 And Sisera summoned all his chariots — nine hundred chariots of iron — and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth of the nations to the brook Kishon.

14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Get up, for this is the day on which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand; for the Lord will go out ahead of you.” And Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. 15 And the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and his whole camp into confusion before Barak, with the edge of the sword; and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot. 16 And Barak pursued after the chariots and after the camp as far as Harosheth of the nations; and the whole camp of Sisera fell with the edge of the sword — not one of them was left.

17 And Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber, the companion of the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me. Do not be afraid.” And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a blanket. 19 And Sisera said to her, “Give me a little water to drink, please, for I am thirsty.” And she opened the skin of milk and gave him a drink, and covered him.

20 And Sisera said to her, “Stand at the door of the tent, and if a man comes to you and questions you and says, ‘Is there a man here?’ then you are to say, ‘There is not.’” 21 And Jael the wife of Heber took the peg of the tent and set the hammer in her hand, and went in to him secretly, and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; and he was stunned out of his senses, and darkness came over him, and he died. [d]

22 And there was Barak, pursuing Sisera; and Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man you are looking for.” And he went in to her, and there was Sisera, flung down dead, with the peg in his temple. [e] 23 So God routed Jabin king of Canaan that day before the children of Israel. 24 And the hand of the children of Israel pressed on and grew harder against Jabin king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.