1 And the sons of Israel again did evil in the eyes of the LORD {YHWH, Moral Judge} after Ehud died {met: ceased to live}.
2 And the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Judge} sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; Sisera, commander of his army, lived at Harosheth {charoshet: boundary fortress} of the nations.
3 And the sons of Israel cried out to the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Defender} because he had nine hundred chariots of iron {rekhev-barzel: formidable war technology}, and he oppressed the sons of Israel with relentless force for twenty years.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess {neviah: divinely inspired woman} and wife of Lappidoth, judged Israel at that time {baet: that specific period}.
5 And she was sitting under the Palm Tree {tomer: meeting place} of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment {mishpat: legal ruling}.
6 She sent and called for Barak, son of Abinoam, from Kedesh of Naphtali, and she said to him, “Has not the LORD God of Israel {YHWH Elohei-Yisrael, Divine Commander} commanded: ‘Go and muster at Mount Tabor, and take with you ten {aseret: numeral completeness} thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and the sons of Zebulun?’”
7 And I {YHWH, Sovereign Deliverer} will draw Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, along with his chariots and his troops, to you at the Kishon River {nachal: seasonal stream}, and I will give him into your hand.
8 And Barak {Barak: Lightning} said to her, “If you go {telekhi: Voluntary Advance} with me, then I will go; but if you do not go with me, I will not go.”
9 And she said, “I will surely go with you; however, your honor {tif'aret: renown} will not accompany you on the way you are going, for the LORD {YHWH, Deliverer} will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak summoned {vayyazaq: mobilizing call} Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and ten thousand {aseret: complete contingent} men went up behind him; and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite {qeni: desert clan} had separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, and he pitched his tent as far as the oak {elon: landmark tree} in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
12 And they reported to Sisera {sisera: Canaanite commander} that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor {har: strategic high ground}.
13 And Sisera {Sisera: Canaanite commander} summoned all his chariotry—nine hundred iron {barzel: war technology} chariots—and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth of the Nations to the wadi Kishon.
14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Arise, for this is the day that the LORD {YHWH, Divine Champion} has given Sisera into your hand {yad: sphere of control}. Has not the LORD gone out before you? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.”
15 And the LORD {YHWH, Divine Warrior} threw Sisera and all the chariotry and all the camp into confusion by the edge of the sword {cherev: instrument of judgment} before Barak, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.
16 And Barak {barak: Delivering Judge} pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth of the Nations, and all Sisera’s camp fell by the sword; not even one remained {nishar: survived}.
17 And Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace {shalom: covenantal alliance} between Jabin, king of Hazor, and the household {beit: clan dwelling} of Heber the Kenite.
18 And Jael {Yael: decisive heroine} went out to meet Sisera, and she said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not fear.” And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with the blanket {semikha: heavy covering}.
19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” She opened the skin of milk {chalav: dairy liquid}, gave him a drink, and covered him {kassehu: concealed fully}.
20 And he said to her, “Stand in the entrance of the tent {ohel: nomadic dwelling}. And it shall be that if a man {ish: adult male} comes and asks you, saying, ‘Is there a man here?’ then you shall say, ‘There is none.’”
21 Then Jael {Ya'el: decisive woman}, wife of Heber, took the tent peg {yetad: pointed stake} and placed the hammer in her hand. She came quietly to him and drove the tent peg into his temple so that it sank into the ground. He was sound asleep and weary, and he died.
22 And behold, Barak was pursuing Sisera, and Yael went out to meet him and said to him, “Go {lekh: command to proceed}, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And he came to her, and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the peg {yated: tent stake} was in his temple.
23 So God {Elohim, Sovereign Overthrower} subdued Jabin, the king of Canaan {melech: foreign ruler}, before the sons of Israel on that day.
24 And the hand {yad: exerted power} of the sons of Israel became increasingly severe against Jabin, king of Canaan, until they destroyed {hikhritu: completely eliminated} Jabin, king of Canaan.