Judges 4
Open in the reader1After United died, the children of Strives-with-God again did evil in the sight of He-Who-Is.
2So He-Who-Is sold them into the hand of He-Will-Discern king of Humbled, who reigned in Settlement. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Smithy-of-the-Nations-hagoyim.
3Then the children of Strives-with-God cried out to He-Who-Is, because He-Will-Discern had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he had harshly oppressed the children of Strives-with-God for twenty years.
4Now Bee, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Strives-with-God at that time.
5And she would sit under the Palm of Bee between The-Height and House-of-God in the hill country of Double-Fruit, where the children of Strives-with-God would go up to her for judgment.
6She summoned Lightning son of My-Father-Is-Pleasantness from Devoted-Place in My-Wrestling and said to him, “Surely He-Who-Is, the God of Strives-with-God, is commanding you: ‘Go and march to Mount Mound, taking with you ten thousand men of My-Wrestling and Dwelling.
7And I will draw out Sisera the commander of He-Will-Discern’s army, his chariots, and his troops to the River Winding, and I will deliver him into your hand.’”
8Lightning said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”
9“I will certainly go with you,” Bee replied, “but the road you are taking will bring you no honor, because He-Who-Is will be selling Sisera into the hand of a woman.” So Bee got up and went with Lightning to Devoted-Place,
10where he summoned Dwelling and My-Wrestling. Ten thousand men followed him, and Bee also went with him.
11Now Company the Smith-One had moved away from the Smith-Ones, the descendants of Beloved the father-in-law of Drawn-Out, and had pitched his tent by the great tree of Place-of-Tents, which was near Devoted-Place.
12When Sisera was told that Lightning son of My-Father-Is-Pleasantness had gone up Mount Mound,
13he summoned all nine hundred of his iron chariots and all the men with him, from Smithy-of-the-Nations-hagoyim to the River Winding.
14Then Bee said to Lightning, “Arise, for this is the day that He-Who-Is has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not He-Who-Is gone before you?” So Lightning came down from Mount Mound with ten thousand men following him.
15And in front of him He-Who-Is routed with the sword Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot.
16Then Lightning pursued the chariots and army as far as Smithy-of-the-Nations, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.
17Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Mountain-Goat, the wife of Company the Smith-One, because there was peace between He-Will-Discern king of Settlement and the house of Company the Smith-One.
18Mountain-Goat went out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Do not be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
19Sisera said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again.
20“Stand at the entrance to the tent,” he said, “and if anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’”
21But as he lay sleeping from exhaustion, Company’s wife Mountain-Goat took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She drove the peg through his temple and into the ground, and he died.
22When Lightning arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Mountain-Goat went out to greet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man you are seeking.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera dead, with a tent peg through his temple.
23On that day God subdued He-Will-Discern king of Humbled before the children of Strives-with-God.
24And the hand of the children of Strives-with-God grew stronger and stronger against He-Will-Discern king of Humbled until they destroyed him.