Judges:4-6
Seeker Overlay ON
*
And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD ,
when Ehud was dead .
*
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 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 .
*
And Deborah ,
a prophetess ,
the wife of Lapidoth ,
she judged Israel at that time .
*
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 .
*
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 ?
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel .
*
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 .
*
Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day ,
saying ,
*
Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel ,
when the people willingly offered themselves .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
The mountains melted from before the LORD ,
even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel .
*
In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath ,
in the days of Jael ,
the highways were unoccupied ,
and the travellers walked through byways .
*
The inhabitants of the villages ceased ,
they ceased in Israel ,
until that I Deborah arose ,
that I arose a mother in Israel .
*
They chose new gods ;
then was war in the gates :
was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel ?
*
My heart is toward the governors of Israel ,
that offered themselves willingly among the people .
Bless ye the LORD .
*
Speak ,
ye that ride on white asses ,
ye that sit in judgment ,
and walk by the way .
*
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 .
*
Awake ,
awake ,
Deborah :
awake ,
awake ,
utter a song :
arise ,
Barak ,
and lead thy captivity captive ,
thou son of Abinoam .
*
Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people :
the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds ,
to hear the bleatings of the flocks ?
For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart .
*
Gilead abode beyond Jordan :
and why did Dan remain in ships ?
Asher continued on the sea shore ,
and abode in his breaches .
*
Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field .
*
The kings came and fought ,
then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo ;
they took no gain of money .
*
They fought from heaven ;
the stars in their courses fought against Sisera .
*
The river of Kishon swept them away ,
that ancient river ,
the river Kishon .
O my soul ,
thou hast trodden down strength .
*
Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings ,
the pransings of their mighty ones .
*
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 .
*
Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be ,
blessed shall she be above women in the tent .
*
He asked water ,
and she gave him milk ;
she brought forth butter in a lordly dish .
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
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 ?
*
Her wise ladies answered her ,
yea ,
she returned answer to herself ,
*
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 ?
*
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 .
*
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 .
*
And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel :
and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains ,
and caves ,
and strong holds .
*
And so it was ,
when Israel had sown ,
that the Midianites came up ,
and the Amalekites ,
and the children of the east ,
even they came up against them ;
*
And they encamped against them ,
and destroyed the increase of the earth ,
till thou come unto Gaza ,
and left no sustenance for Israel ,
neither sheep ,
nor ox ,
nor ass .
*
For they came up with their cattle and their tents ,
and they came as grasshoppers for multitude ;
for both they and their camels were without number :
and they entered into the land to destroy it .
*
And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites ;
and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD .
*
And it came to pass ,
when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites ,
*
That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel ,
which said unto them ,
Thus saith the LORD God of Israel ,
I brought you up from Egypt ,
and brought you forth out of the house of bondage ;
*
And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians ,
and out of the hand of all that oppressed you ,
and drave them out from before you ,
and gave you their land ;
*
And I said unto you ,
I am the LORD your God ;
fear not the gods of the Amorites ,
in whose land ye dwell :
but ye have not obeyed my voice .
*
And there came an angel of the LORD ,
and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah ,
that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite :
and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress ,
to hide it from the Midianites .
*
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him ,
and said unto him ,
The LORD is with thee ,
thou mighty man of valour .
*
And Gideon said unto him ,
Oh my Lord ,
if the LORD be with us ,
why then is all this befallen us ?
and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of ,
saying ,
Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt ?
but now the LORD hath forsaken us ,
and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites .
*
And the LORD looked upon him ,
and said ,
Go in this thy might ,
and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites :
have not I sent thee ?
*
And he said unto him ,
Oh my Lord ,
wherewith shall I save Israel ?
behold ,
my family is poor in Manasseh ,
and I am the least in my father '
s house .
*
And the LORD said unto him ,
Surely I will be with thee ,
and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man .
*
And he said unto him ,
If now I have found grace in thy sight ,
then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me .
*
Depart not hence ,
I pray thee ,
until I come unto thee ,
and bring forth my present ,
and set it before thee .
And he said ,
I will tarry until thou come again .
*
And Gideon went in ,
and made ready a kid ,
and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour :
the flesh he put in a basket ,
and he put the broth in a pot ,
and brought it out unto him under the oak ,
and presented it .
*
And the angel of God said unto him ,
Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes ,
and lay them upon this rock ,
and pour out the broth .
And he did so .
*
Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand ,
and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes ;
and there rose up fire out of the rock ,
and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes .
Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight .
*
And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD ,
Gideon said ,
Alas ,
O Lord GOD !
for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face .
*
And the LORD said unto him ,
Peace be unto thee ;
fear not :
thou shalt not die .
*
Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD ,
and called it Jehovahshalom :
unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites .
*
And it came to pass the same night ,
that the LORD said unto him ,
Take thy father '
s young bullock ,
even the second bullock of seven years old ,
and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath ,
and cut down the grove that is by it :
*
And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock ,
in the ordered place ,
and take the second bullock ,
and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down .
*
Then Gideon took ten men of his servants ,
and did as the LORD had said unto him :
and so it was ,
because he feared his father '
s household ,
and the men of the city ,
that he could not do it by day ,
that he did it by night .
*
And when the men of the city arose early in the morning ,
behold ,
the altar of Baal was cast down ,
and the grove was cut down that was by it ,
and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built .
*
And they said one to another ,
Who hath done this thing ?
And when they enquired and asked ,
they said ,
Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing .
*
Then the men of the city said unto Joash ,
Bring out thy son ,
that he may die :
because he hath cast down the altar of Baal ,
and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it .
*
And Joash said unto all that stood against him ,
Will ye plead for Baal ?
will ye save him ?
he that will plead for him ,
let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning :
if he be a god ,
let him plead for himself ,
because one hath cast down his altar .
*
Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal ,
saying ,
Let Baal plead against him ,
because he hath thrown down his altar .
*
Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together ,
and went over ,
and pitched in the valley of Jezreel .
*
But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon ,
and he blew a trumpet ;
and Abiezer was gathered after him .
*
And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh ;
who also was gathered after him :
and he sent messengers unto Asher ,
and unto Zebulun ,
and unto Naphtali ;
and they came up to meet them .
*
And Gideon said unto God ,
If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand ,
as thou hast said ,
*
Behold ,
I will put a fleece of wool in the floor ;
and if the dew be on the fleece only ,
and it be dry upon all the earth beside ,
then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand ,
as thou hast said .
*
And it was so :
for he rose up early on the morrow ,
and thrust the fleece together ,
and wringed the dew out of the fleece ,
a bowl full of water .
*
And Gideon said unto God ,
Let not thine anger be hot against me ,
and I will speak but this once :
let me prove ,
I pray thee ,
but this once with the fleece ;
let it now be dry only upon the fleece ,
and upon all the ground let there be dew .
*
And God did so that night :
for it was dry upon the fleece only ,
and there was dew on all the ground .
*
Then Jerubbaal ,
who is Gideon ,
and all the people that were with him ,
rose up early ,
and pitched beside the well of Harod :
so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them ,
by the hill of Moreh ,
in the valley .
![[pBiblx2]](/img/menu.png)
![[pBiblx2]](/img/pbiblx2_logo3.png){kind=logo}
![[BookofJudges]](/img/book.png)
![[Judges:3]](/img/chapterprevious.png)
![[Judges:4-6]](/img/chapterup.png)
![[Judges:5]](/img/chapternext.png)
![[Discuss]](/img/discuss.png)
![[Audio]](/img/media.png)
![[Presentation]](/img/presentation.png)