Judges 4:17-24

4:17 Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for King Jabin of Hazor ¹  and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty. ²  4:18 Jael came out to welcome Sisera. She said to him, “Stop and rest, ³  my lord. Stop and rest with me. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera ⁴  stopped to rest in her tent, and she put a blanket over him. 4:19 He said to her, “Give me a little water to drink, because I’m thirsty.” She opened a goatskin container of milk and gave him some milk to drink. Then she covered him up again. 4:20 He said to her, “Stand watch at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes along and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say ‘No.’” 4:21 Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. ⁵  She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground ⁶  while he was asleep from exhaustion, ⁷  and he died. 4:22 Now Barak was chasing Sisera. Jael went out to welcome him. She said to him, “Come here and I will show you the man you are searching for.” He went with her into the tent, ⁸  and there he saw Sisera sprawled out dead ⁹  with the tent peg in his temple.

4:23 That day God humiliated King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. 4:24 Israel’s power continued to overwhelm ¹⁰  King Jabin of Canaan until they did away with ¹¹  him. ¹² 

[4:17]  ¹ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

[4:17]  ² tn Heb “for there was peace between.”

[4:18]  ³ tn Heb “Turn aside” (also a second time later in this verse).

[4:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “took a tent peg and put a hammer in her hand.”

[4:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “and it went into the ground.”

[4:21]  ⁷ 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.”

[4:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “he went to her.”

[4:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “fallen, dead.”

[4:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “The hand of the Israelites became more and more severe against.”

[4:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “cut off.”

[4:24]  ¹² tn Heb “Jabin king of Canaan.” The proper name and title have been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.