Judges 5:23-27

5:23 ‘Call judgment down on ¹  Meroz,’ says the Lord’s angelic ²  messenger;

‘Be sure ³  to call judgment down on ⁴  those who live there,

because they did not come to help in the Lord’s battle, ⁵ 

to help in the Lord’s battle against the warriors.’ ⁶ 

5:24 The most rewarded ⁷  of women should be Jael,

the wife of Heber the Kenite!

She should be the most rewarded of women who live in tents.

5:25 He asked for water,

and she gave him milk;

in a bowl fit for a king, ⁸ 

she served him curds.

5:26 Her left ⁹  hand reached for the tent peg,

her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.

She “hammered” ¹⁰  Sisera,

she shattered his skull, ¹¹ 

she smashed his head, ¹² 

she drove the tent peg through his temple. ¹³ 

5:27 Between her feet he collapsed,

he fell limp ¹⁴  and was lifeless; ¹⁵ 

between her feet he collapsed and fell limp,

in the spot where he collapsed,

there he fell limp – violently murdered! ¹⁶ 

[5:23]  ¹ tn Heb “Curse Meroz.”

[5:23]  ² tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.

[5:23]  ³ tn Heb “Curse, cursing.” The Hebrew construction is emphatic.

[5:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “[to] curse.”

[5:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “to the help of the Lord” (the same Hebrew phrase occurs in the following line). Another option is to read “to aid the Lord’s cause.”

[5:23]  ⁶ tn Or “along with the other warriors.”

[5:24]  ⁷ tn Or “blessed.”

[5:25]  ¹³ tn Or “for mighty ones.”

[5:26]  ¹⁹ tn The adjective “left” is interpretive, based on the context. Note that the next line pictures Jael holding the hammer with her right hand.

[5:26]  ²⁰ tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.

[5:26]  ²¹ tn Or “head.”

[5:26]  ²² tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:26]  ²³ tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”

[5:27]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he fell.” The same Hebrew expression occurs two more times in this verse.

[5:27]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and he lay.

[5:27]  ²⁷ tn Or “dead, murdered.”