Judges 4:1-23

After Ehud died, the Israelites returned to doing evil before the eyes of YAHWEH, so he surrendered them to King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled from Hazor. His army commander Sisera established his base in Harosheth of the Gentiles. Jabin had nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels, and he ruthlessly oppressed Israel for twenty years. Then the Israelites, with shattered hearts, cried out to YAHWEH for help. God raised up Deborah to lead Israel as a champion-deliverer. She was a prophetess and a fiery woman. She presided as Israel’s judge under the Palm of Deborah, a certain palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came to her for wise decisions. One day she sent for Barak son of Abinoam from the city of Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “YAHWEH, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, deploy ten thousand men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun, and march to Mount Tabor. I will draw Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, to fight against you at the Kishon River. He will have his many chariots and soldiers, but I will give you victory over him.’ ” Barak replied, “I will go if you go with me, but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go either.” “Very well,” she answered. “I will go with you, but you will receive no glory in the victory because YAHWEH will hand over Sisera to a woman.” So Deborah set off for Kedesh with Barak. Barak summoned the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and ten thousand warriors followed him and Deborah also. Now Heber the Kenite migrated away from the other Kenites (the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law) and was living close to Kedesh near the oak tree at Zaanannim. When Sisera found out that Barak son of Abinoam was marching toward Mount Tabor, he gathered together his nine hundred iron-rimmed chariots and all his soldiers and sent them from Harosheth of the Gentiles to the Kishon River. Then Deborah prophesied to Barak, “Today, YAHWEH has given you victory over Sisera! Go! YAHWEH is marching out before you!” Immediately, Barak charged down from Mount Tabor with his ten thousand warriors. And YAHWEH threw Sisera and his army into confusion before the onslaught of Barak and his men. Sisera and all his chariots and men were overwhelmed. He leaped from his chariot and fled on foot. Barak pursued the other chariots and the army to Harosheth of the Gentiles until Sisera’s whole army was killed by the sword, and only Sisera survived. He ran for his life to the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was friendship between King Jabin of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. Jael came out of her tent to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord, come in here. You have nothing to fear.” As soon as he entered her tent, she hid him under a blanket. Sisera said to her, “I’m so thirsty. Please let me have some water.” So she opened a skin of milk, gave him some to drink, and covered him again. He said to her, “Stand at the entrance of your tent. If anybody comes and asks you if there is anybody here, tell them, ‘No.’ ” Exhausted, he fell fast asleep under the blanket. While he slept, Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other and tiptoed over to where he was lying. And with a crushing blow, she drove the tent peg through his temple until it went down into the ground—he was dead! Just then, Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera. Jael went out of her tent to greet him and said, “Come, let me show you the man you’re looking for.” He went inside with her, and there was Sisera lying dead with the tent peg through his temple. On that day God humiliated King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites.