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2So the LORD let the Canaanite King Jabin of Hazor conquer Israel. Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, lived in Harosheth-Ha-Goiim.
3Jabin's army had nine hundred iron chariots, and for twenty years he made life miserable for the Israelites, until finally they begged the LORD for help.
4Deborah the wife of Lappidoth was a prophet and a leader of Israel during those days.
5She would sit under Deborah's Palm Tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, where Israelites would come and ask her to settle their legal cases.
6One day, Barak the son of Abinoam was in Kedesh in Naphtali, and Deborah sent word for him to come and talk with her. When he arrived, she said:
I have a message for you from the LORD God of Israel! You are to get together an army of ten thousand men from the Naphtali and Zebulun tribes and lead them to Mount Tabor.
7The LORD will trick Sisera into coming out to fight you at the Kishon River. Sisera will be leading King Jabin's army as usual, and they will have their chariots, but the LORD has promised to help you defeat them.
8" I'm not going unless you go!" Barak told her.
9" All right, I'll go!" she replied. " But I'm warning you that the LORD is going to let a woman defeat Sisera, and no one will honor you for winning the battle."
Deborah and Barak left for Kedesh,
10where Barak called together the troops from Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand soldiers gathered there, and Barak led them out from Kedesh. Deborah went too.
11At this time, Heber of the Kenite clan was living near the village of Oak in Zaanannim, not far from Kedesh. The Kenites were descendants of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, but Heber had moved and had set up his tents away from the rest of the clan.
12When Sisera learned that Barak had led an army to Mount Tabor,
13he called his troops together and got all nine hundred iron chariots ready. Then he led his army away from Harosheth-Ha-Goiim to the Kishon River.
14Deborah shouted, " Barak, it's time to attack Sisera! Because today the LORD is going to help you defeat him. In fact, the LORD has already gone on ahead to fight for you."
Barak led his ten thousand troops down from Mount Tabor.
15And during the battle, the LORD confused Sisera, his chariot drivers, and his whole army. Everyone was so afraid of Barak and his army, that even Sisera jumped down from his chariot and tried to escape.
16Barak's forces went after Sisera's chariots and army as far as Harosheth-Ha-Goiim.
Sisera's entire army was wiped out.
17Only Sisera escaped. He ran to Heber's camp, because Heber and his family had a peace treaty with the king of Hazor. Sisera went to the tent that belonged to Jael, Heber's wife.
18She came out to greet him and said, " Come in, sir! Please come on in. Don't be afraid."
After they had gone inside, Sisera lay down, and Jael covered him with a blanket.
19" Could I have a little water?" he asked. " I'm thirsty."
Jael opened a leather bottle and poured him some milk, then she covered him back up.
20" Stand at the entrance to the tent," Sisera told her. " If someone comes by and asks if anyone is inside, tell them `No.' "
21Sisera was exhausted and soon fell fast asleep. Jael took a hammer and drove a tent-peg through his head into the ground, and he died.
22Meanwhile, Barak had been following Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. " The man you're looking for is inside," she said. " Come in and I'll show him to you."
They went inside, and there was Sisera--dead and stretched out with a tent-peg through his skull.
23That same day the Israelites defeated the Canaanite King Jabin, and his army was no longer powerful enough to attack the Israelites.
24Jabin grew weaker while the Israelites kept growing stronger, and at last the Israelites destroyed him.
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2We praise you, LORD!
Our soldiers volunteered,
ready to follow you.
3Listen, kings and rulers,
while I sing for the LORD,
the God of Israel.
4Our LORD, God of Israel,
when you came from Seir,
where the Edomites live,
5rain poured from the sky,
the earth trembled,
and mountains shook.
6In the time of Shamgar
son of Anath,
and now again in Jael's time,
roads were too dangerous
for caravans.
Travelers had to take
the back roads,
7and villagers couldn't work
in their fields. Then Deborah took command, protecting Israel
as a mother
protects her children.
8The Israelites worshiped
other gods,
and the gates of their towns
were then attacked. But they had no shields
or spears to fight with.
9I praise you, LORD,
and I am grateful
for those leaders and soldiers
who volunteered.
10Listen, everyone!
Whether you ride a donkey
with a padded saddle
or have to walk.
11Even those who carry water to the animals will tell you,
" The LORD has won victories,
and so has Israel."
Then the LORD's people marched
down to the town gates
12and said, " Deborah, let's go!
Let's sing as we march.
Barak, capture our enemies."
13The LORD's people who were left
joined with their leaders
and fought at my side.
14Troops came from Ephraim,
where Amalekites once lived.
Others came from Benjamin;
officers and leaders
came
from Machir and Zebulun.
15The rulers of Issachar
came along with Deborah,
and Issachar followed Barak
into the valley.
But the tribe of Reuben
was no help at all!
16Reuben, why did you stay
among your sheep pens? Was it to listen to shepherds
whistling for their sheep?
No one could figure out
why Reuben wouldn't come.
17The people of Gilead stayed
across the Jordan.
Why did the tribe of Dan
remain on their ships
and the tribe of Asher
stay along the coast
near the harbors?
18But soldiers of Zebulun
and Naphtali
risked their lives
to attack the enemy.
19Canaanite kings fought us
at Taanach by the stream
near Megiddo -- but they couldn't rob us
of our silver.
20From their pathways in the sky
the stars fought Sisera,
21and his soldiers were swept away
by the ancient Kishon River.
I will march on and be brave.
22Sisera's horses galloped off,
their hoofs thundering
in retreat.
23The LORD's angel said,
" Put a curse on Meroz Town!
Its people refused
to help the LORD fight
his powerful enemies."
24But honor Jael,
the wife of Heber
from the Kenite clan.
Give more honor to her
than to any other woman
who lives in tents.
Yes, give more honor to her
than to any other woman.
25Sisera asked for water,
but Jael gave him milk--
cream in a fancy cup.
26She reached for a tent-peg
and held a hammer
in her right hand.
And with a blow to the head,
she crushed his skull.
27Sisera sank to his knees
and fell dead at her feet.
28Sisera's mother looked out
through her window.
" Why is he taking so long?"
she asked.
" Why haven't we heard
his chariots coming?"
29She and her wisest women
gave the same answer:
30" Sisera and his troops
are finding treasures
to bring back--
a woman, or maybe two,
for each man,
and beautiful dresses
for those women to wear."
31Our LORD, we pray
that all your enemies
will die like Sisera.
But let everyone who loves you
shine brightly
like the sun
at dawn.
There was peace in Israel for about forty years.