Chapter 4

¹And the children of Israel continued to do evil against the Lord; and Aod was dead. ²And 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. ³And the children of Israel cried to the Lord, because he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and he mightily oppressed Israel twenty years.

⁴And Debbora, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth,--she judged Israel at that time.

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⁵And 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 judgement.

⁶And 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.

⁷And I will bring to thee to the torrent of Kison ¹Sisara the captain of the host of Jabin, and his chariots, and his multitude, and I will deliver them into thine hands.

⁸And 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. ⁹And 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 women: and Debbora arose, and went with Barac out of Cades. ¹⁰And Barac called Zabulon and Nephthali out of Cades, and there went up at his feet ten thousand men, and Debbora went up with him.

¹¹And 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.

¹²And it was told Sisara that Barac the son of Abineem was gone up to mount Thabor. ¹³And Sisara ²summoned all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron and all the people with him, from Arisoth of the Gentiles to the brook of Kison.

¹⁴And 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. ¹⁵And 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. ¹⁶And Barac ³pursued 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. ¹⁷And 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. ¹⁸And 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.

¹⁹And 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. ²⁰And 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

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say, There is not. ²¹And Jael the wife of Chaber took ⁴a 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 ⁵darkness fell upon him and he died. ²²And, behold, Barac was pursuing Sisara: and Jael went out to meet him, and he 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. ²³So God routed Jabin king of Chanaan in that day before the children of Israel.

²⁴And the hand of the children of Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin king of Chanaan, until they utterly destroyed Jabin king of Chanaan.