Judges:4-5
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And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD ,
when Ehud was dead .
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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 .
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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 .
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And Deborah ,
a prophetess ,
the wife of Lapidoth ,
she judged Israel at that time .
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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 .
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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 ?
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel .
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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 .
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Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day ,
saying ,
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Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel ,
when the people willingly offered themselves .
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Hear ,
O ye kings ;
give ear ,
O ye princes ;
I ,
even I ,
will sing unto the LORD ;
I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel .
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LORD ,
when thou wentest out of Seir ,
when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom ,
the earth trembled ,
and the heavens dropped ,
the clouds also dropped water .
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The mountains melted from before the LORD ,
even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel .
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In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath ,
in the days of Jael ,
the highways were unoccupied ,
and the travellers walked through byways .
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The inhabitants of the villages ceased ,
they ceased in Israel ,
until that I Deborah arose ,
that I arose a mother in Israel .
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They chose new gods ;
then was war in the gates :
was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel ?
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My heart is toward the governors of Israel ,
that offered themselves willingly among the people .
Bless ye the LORD .
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Speak ,
ye that ride on white asses ,
ye that sit in judgment ,
and walk by the way .
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They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water ,
there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD ,
even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel :
then shall the people of the LORD go down to the gates .
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Awake ,
awake ,
Deborah :
awake ,
awake ,
utter a song :
arise ,
Barak ,
and lead thy captivity captive ,
thou son of Abinoam .
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Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people :
the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty .
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Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek ;
after thee ,
Benjamin ,
among thy people ;
out of Machir came down governors ,
and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer .
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And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah ;
even Issachar ,
and also Barak :
he was sent on foot into the valley .
For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart .
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Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds ,
to hear the bleatings of the flocks ?
For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart .
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Gilead abode beyond Jordan :
and why did Dan remain in ships ?
Asher continued on the sea shore ,
and abode in his breaches .
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Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field .
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The kings came and fought ,
then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo ;
they took no gain of money .
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They fought from heaven ;
the stars in their courses fought against Sisera .
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The river of Kishon swept them away ,
that ancient river ,
the river Kishon .
O my soul ,
thou hast trodden down strength .
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Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings ,
the pransings of their mighty ones .
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Curse ye Meroz ,
said the angel of the LORD ,
curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof ;
because they came not to the help of the LORD ,
to the help of the LORD against the mighty .
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Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be ,
blessed shall she be above women in the tent .
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He asked water ,
and she gave him milk ;
she brought forth butter in a lordly dish .
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She put her hand to the nail ,
and her right hand to the workmen '
s hammer ;
and with the hammer she smote Sisera ,
she smote off his head ,
when she had pierced and stricken through his temples .
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At her feet he bowed ,
he fell ,
he lay down :
at her feet he bowed ,
he fell :
where he bowed ,
there he fell down dead .
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The mother of Sisera looked out at a window ,
and cried through the lattice ,
Why is his chariot so long in coming ?
why tarry the wheels of his chariots ?
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Her wise ladies answered her ,
yea ,
she returned answer to herself ,
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Have they not sped ?
have they not divided the prey ;
to every man a damsel or two ;
to Sisera a prey of divers colours ,
a prey of divers colours of needlework ,
of divers colours of needlework on both sides ,
meet for the necks of them that take the spoil ?
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So let all thine enemies perish ,
O LORD :
but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might .
And the land had rest forty years .
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And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD :
and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years .