5:26 Her left 1 hand reached for the tent peg,
her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.
She “hammered” 2 Sisera,
she shattered his skull, 3
she smashed his head, 4
she drove the tent peg through his temple. 5
1 tn The adjective “left” is interpretive, based on the context. Note that the next line pictures Jael holding the hammer with her right hand.
2 tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.
3 tn Or “head.”
4 tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.
5 tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”
6 tn Heb “took a tent peg and put a hammer in her hand.”
7 tn Heb “and it went into the ground.”
8 tn Heb “and exhausted.” Another option is to understand this as a reference to the result of the fatal blow. In this case, the phrase could be translated, “and he breathed his last.”
11 tn Heb “he went to her.”
12 tn Heb “fallen, dead.”