Judges · Catholic Public Domain Version
Judges 4 Catholic Public Domain Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (3)
- Esther and Daniel are the Vulgate books (Esther 1–16 with the Greek additions as chapters 10:4–16; Daniel 1–14 with the Song of the Three, Susanna and Bel). Baruch 6 is the Letter of Jeremiah.
- The translator's footnotes, cross-references, chapter summaries and book introductions in the CrossWire module are not shown.
- No imprimatur; single translator.
1 But after the death of Ehud, the sons of Israel resumed doing evil in the sight of the Lord.
1 The children of Israel again did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, when Ehud was dead.
2 And the Lord delivered them into the hands of Jabin, the king of Canaan, who reigned at Hazor. And he had a commander of his army named Sisera, but this man lived at Harosheth of the Gentiles.
2 Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
3 And the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. For he had nine hundred chariots with scythes, and he vehemently oppressed them for twenty years.
3 The children of Israel cried to Yahweh, for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and he mightily oppressed the children of Israel for twenty years.
4 Now there was a prophetess, Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, who judged the people in that time.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, judged Israel at that time.
5 And she was sitting under a palm tree, which was called by her name, between Ramah and Bethel, on Mount Ephraim. And the sons of Israel went up to her for every judgment.
5 She lived under Deborah’s palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
6 And she sent and called Barak, the son of Abinoam, from Kedesh of Naphtali. And she said to him: “The Lord, the God of Israel, instructs you: ‘Go and lead an army to Mount Tabor, and you shall take with you ten thousand fighting men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun.
6 She sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh Naphtali, and said to him, “Hasn’t Yahweh, the God of Israel, commanded, ‘Go and lead the way to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
7 Then I will lead to you, at the place of the torrent Kishon, Sisera, the leader of the army of Jabin, with his chariots and the entire multitude. And I will deliver them into your hand.’ ”
7 I will draw to you, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your hand.’”
8 And Barak said to her: “If you will come with me, I will go. If you are not willing to come with me, I will not go.”
8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”
9 She said to him: “Indeed, I will go with you. But due to this change, the victory shall not be reputed to you. And so Sisera will be delivered into the hand of a woman.” Therefore, Deborah rose up, and she traveled with Barak to Kedesh.
9 She said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the journey that you take won’t be for your honor; for Yahweh will sell Sisera into a woman’s hand.” Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And he, summoning Zebulun and Naphtali, ascended with ten thousand fighting men, having Deborah in his company.
10 Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him; and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber, the Kenite, had previously withdrawn from the rest of the Kenites, his brothers, the sons of Hobab, the relative of Moses. And he had pitched his tents as far as the valley that is called Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaanannim, which is by Kedesh.
12 And it was reported to Sisera that Barak, the son of Abinoam, had ascended to Mount Tabor.
12 They told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.
13 And he gathered together the nine hundred chariots with scythes, and the entire army, from Harosheth of the Gentiles to the torrent Kishon.
13 Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles, to the river Kishon.
14 And Deborah said to Barak: “Rise up. For this is the day on which the Lord delivers Sisera into your hands. For he is your commander.” And so, Barak descended from Mount Tabor, and the ten thousand fighting men with him.
14 Deborah said to Barak, “Go; for this is the day in which Yahweh has delivered Sisera into your hand. Hasn’t Yahweh gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15 And the Lord struck Sisera with great fear, and all his chariots and all his multitude with the edge of the sword, in the sight of Barak, so much so that Sisera, leaping from his chariot, fled on foot.
15 Yahweh confused Sisera, all his chariots, and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled away on his feet.
16 And Barak pursued the fleeing chariots, and the army, as far as Harosheth of the Gentiles. And the entire multitude of the enemy was cut down, unto utter annihilation.
16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth of the Gentiles; and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword. There was not a man left.
17 But Sisera, while fleeing, arrived at 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.
17 However 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 Therefore, Jael went out to meet Sisera, and she said to him: “Enter to me, my lord. Enter, you should not be afraid.” And he entered her tent, and having been covered by her with a cloak,
18 Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; don’t be afraid.” He came in to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.
19 he said to her: “Give me, I beg you, a little water. For I am very thirsty.” And she opened a bottle of milk, and she gave him to drink. And she covered him.
19 He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.” She opened a container of milk, and gave him a drink, and covered him.
20 And Sisera said to her: “Stand before the door of the tent. And if anyone arrives, questioning you and saying, ‘Could there be any man here?’ you shall respond, ‘There is no one.’ ”
20 He said to her, “Stand in the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there any man here?’ you shall say, ‘No.’”
21 And so Jael, the wife of Heber, took a spike from the tent, and also took a mallet. And entering unseen and with silence, she placed the spike over the temple of his head. And striking it with the mallet, she drove it through his brain, as far as the ground. And so, joining deep sleep to death, he fell unconscious and died.
21 Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and struck the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground, for he was in a deep sleep; so he fainted and died.
22 And behold, Barak arrived, in pursuit of Sisera. And Jael, going out to meet him, said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And when he had entered her tent, he saw Sisera lying dead, with the spike fixed in his temples.
22 Behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek.” He came to her; and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent peg was in his temples.
23 Thus did God humble Jabin, the king of Canaan, on that day, before the sons of Israel.
23 So God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel on that day.
24 And they increased every day. And with a strong hand they overpowered Jabin, the king of Canaan, until they wiped him out.
24 The hand of the children of Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Abinoam
Named as the father of Barak of Kedesh in Naphtali.
Cited in the guide: Judges 4:6; Judges 4:12; Judges 5:1
Barak
Son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali whom Deborah summoned to lead ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun against Sisera, and who sang Deborah's song with her.
Cited in the guide: Judges 4:6; Judges 4:14; Judges 5:1
Deborah
Prophetess and wife of Lappidoth who judged Israel from under the Palm of Deborah in the hill country of Ephraim, summoned Barak to fight Sisera, and sang the victory song with…
Cited in the guide: Judges 4:4; Judges 4:9; Judges 5:1
Heber
Kenite who had separated from the descendants of Hobab, pitched his tent near Kedesh, and was at peace with Jabin king of Hazor, and whose wife Jael killed Sisera.
Cited in the guide: Judges 4:11; Judges 4:17; Judges 5:24
Hobab
The son of Moses' father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, whom Moses urged to guide Israel through the wilderness and who answered that he would return to his own land and people.
Cited in the guide: Numbers 10:29–30; Judges 4:11
Jabin
King of Canaan who reigned in Hazor and oppressed Israel twenty years with nine hundred iron chariots until God subdued him after Barak's victory; Scripture does not say whether…
Cited in the guide: Judges 4:2; Judges 4:17; Judges 4:23–24
Jael
Wife of Heber the Kenite who gave the fleeing Sisera shelter and killed him with a tent peg, and whom Deborah's song calls most blessed among tent-dwelling women.
Cited in the guide: Judges 4:17; Judges 4:21; Judges 5:6
Lappidoth
Named only as the husband of the prophetess and judge Deborah.
Cited in the guide: Judges 4:4
Sisera
Commander of Jabin's forces, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim, was routed by Barak at the Kishon, and was killed by Jael with a tent peg.
Cited in the guide: Judges 4:2; Judges 4:15; Judges 4:21
Cross references (24)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Jeremiah 5:3; Leviticus 26:23–25; Judges 3:12; Judges 10:6; Psalm 106:43–45
- 2 Judges 4:13; Joshua 11:1; Judges 4:16; Psalm 83:9; 1 Samuel 12:9
- 3 Judges 1:19; Psalm 106:42; Judges 3:9; Judges 5:8; Judges 10:16
- 4 Exodus 15:20; 2 Kings 22:14; Galatians 3:28; Luke 2:36; Joel 2:28–29
- 5 Exodus 18:19; 1 Samuel 1:1; Joshua 18:25; Deuteronomy 17:8–12; Joshua 16:2
- 6 Acts 13:47; Judges 8:18; Hebrews 11:32; Joshua 19:32; Joshua 19:37
- 7 Psalm 83:9–10; Ezekiel 38:10–16; 1 Kings 18:40; Judges 5:21; Joel 3:11–14
- 8 Exodus 4:10–14; Matthew 14:30–31
- 9 1 Samuel 2:30; Judges 5:24–27; Judges 9:54; Judges 2:14; 2 Samuel 20:21–22
- 10 Judges 5:18; Judges 5:15; 1 Samuel 25:27; Exodus 11:8; Judges 4:14
- 11 Numbers 10:29; Joshua 19:33; Judges 1:16; Joshua 19:37; Exodus 3:1
- 12 Psalm 89:12; Joshua 19:34; Joshua 19:12; Jeremiah 46:18; Judges 4:6
- 13 Judges 4:2–3; Judges 4:7
- 14 2 Samuel 5:24; Deuteronomy 9:3; Isaiah 52:12; Psalm 68:7–8; Micah 2:13
- 15 Joshua 10:10; Psalm 83:9–10; 2 Chronicles 13:15–17; Hebrews 11:32; Judges 5:20–21
- 16 Romans 2:12; James 2:13; Leviticus 26:7–8; Isaiah 43:17; Joshua 10:19–20
- 17 Isaiah 57:21; Psalm 37:35–36; Psalm 69:22; Job 12:19–21; Job 18:7–12
- 18 2 Kings 6:19
- 19 Judges 5:25–26; John 4:7; Genesis 24:43; 1 Kings 17:10; Isaiah 41:17
- 20 Joshua 2:3–5; 2 Samuel 17:20
- 21 Psalm 3:7; Judges 5:26–27; 1 Corinthians 1:27; Judges 3:21; 1 Corinthians 1:19
- 22 2 Samuel 17:3; 2 Samuel 17:10–15
- 23 Psalm 18:47; Nehemiah 9:24; Psalm 18:39; 1 Chronicles 22:18; 1 Corinthians 15:28
- 24 1 Samuel 3:12
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences