Back to BooksSimple English

Judges

Describes a time when Israel was ruled by judges and the cycle of turning away from God, facing trouble, and then returning to Him.

Chapter 4

Back to Chapters

1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.

*The children of Israel did wrong again after Ehud died, making God unhappy.

2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

*And God let them be ruled by King Jabin of Canaan, who was in charge of Hazor. Sisera, the leader of his army, lived in a place called Harosheth of the non-Israelites.

3 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

*The Israelite kids called out to God because he had 900 strong iron chariots. For 20 years, he powerfully ruled over the Israelites in a harsh way.

4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

*Deborah, a prophet, married to Lapidoth, was the leader of Israel during that period.

5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

*She lived near Deborah's palm tree, between Ramah and Bethel, in Ephraim's mountain. The people of Israel visited her for judgments.

6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

*She asked Barak, son of Abinoam from Kedeshnaphtali, to lead 10,000 men from Naphtali and Zebulun to Mount Tabor, as the Lord God of Israel commanded.

7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.

*I will bring Sisera, leader of Jabin's army, along with his chariots and many soldiers, to you at the Kishon River, and you will take control of him.

8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.

*Barak told her, "If you come with me, I'll go. But if you don't come, I won't go either."

9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

*She agreed to go with him. However, the trip wouldn't be easy or honorable. God would give Sisera to a woman. Then Deborah and Barak went to Kedesh together.

10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

*Barak invited Zebulun and Naphtali to join him at Kedesh, and he took 10,000 men with him; Deborah also joined them.

11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.

*Now there was a man named Heber, who was related to Moses's father-in-law Hobab. He left the Kenite people and set up his tent in the area called Zaanaim, near the city of Kedesh.

12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.

*They told Sisera that Barak, son of Abinoam, went to Mount Tabor.

13 And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.

*Sisera brought together 900 iron chariots and all the people with him. This was from a place called Harosheth of the Gentiles to the Kishon River.

14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

*Deborah told Barak, "Get ready! Today, God has given us the chance to defeat Sisera. Hasn't God already gone ahead of you?" So, Barak and 10,000 men went down from Mount Tabor.

15 And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.

*Then God made things difficult for Sisera, along with his chariots and army, by using swords. This happened because of Barak. As a result, Sisera got off his chariot and ran away on foot.

16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.

*But Barak chased the chariots and the large group to Harosheth of the non-Jews. All of Sisera's soldiers were killed by their swords, and no men survived.

17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

*But Sisera ran to Jael's tent, who was married to Heber the Kenite. They had peace with King Jabin of Hazor.

18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.

*Jael approached Sisera and told him to come inside and not be afraid. Once he entered the tent, she covered him with a cloak.

19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.

*He asked her for a small amount of water to drink because he was very thirsty. She opened a container of milk, gave him some to drink, and then covered him.

20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.

*He told her again to stand at the tent entrance and say, "When someone asks if there's a man here, you should reply, 'No.'"

21 Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

*Then Jael's wife quietly approached him, took a tent nail and a hammer, and gently hit the nail into his forehead, pinning it to the ground. He was deeply asleep and exhausted, so he passed away.

22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.

*As Barak chased Sisera, Jael appeared and told him, "Come see the man you're looking for." When he entered her tent, there was Sisera, dead, with a nail in his head.

23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.

*On that day, God defeated Jabin, the ruler of Canaan, for the benefit of the Israelites' kids.

24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

*The children of Israel became successful and defeated King Jabin of Canaan, completely overpowering him.

read summary

Back to Chapters

Back to Books

* work in progress, there will be mistakes