7 So the Israelites did what was bad in Jehovah’s eyes, and they forgot Jehovah their God and were serving the Baʹals+ and the sacred poles.+ 8 At this Jehovah’s anger blazed against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cuʹshan-rish·a·thaʹim the king of Mes·o·po·taʹmi·a. The Israelites served Cuʹshan-rish·a·thaʹim for eight years. 9 When the Israelites called to Jehovah for help,+ Jehovah raised up a savior to rescue the Israelites,+ Othʹni·el+ the son of Keʹnaz, the younger brother of Caʹleb. 10 The spirit of Jehovah came upon him,+ and he became the judge of Israel. When he went out to battle, Jehovah gave Cuʹshan-rish·a·thaʹim the king of Mes·o·po·taʹmi·a into his hand so that he prevailed over Cuʹshan-rish·a·thaʹim. 11 After that the land had rest for 40 years. Then Othʹni·el the son of Keʹnaz died.
12 And once again the Israelites began doing what was bad in Jehovah’s eyes.+ So Jehovah let Egʹlon the king of Moʹab+ prevail over Israel, because they did what was bad in Jehovah’s eyes. 13 Furthermore, he brought against them the Amʹmon·ites+ and the A·malʹek·ites.+ They attacked Israel and captured the city of palm trees.+ 14 The Israelites served Egʹlon the king of Moʹab for 18 years.+ 15 Then the Israelites called to Jehovah for help,+ so Jehovah raised up for them a savior,+ Eʹhud+ the son of Geʹra, a Benʹja·min·ite+ who was left-handed.+ In time the Israelites sent tribute through him to Egʹlon the king of Moʹab. 16 Meanwhile, Eʹhud made for himself a two-edged sword, a cubit long, and he strapped it underneath his garment on his right thigh. 17 He then presented the tribute to Egʹlon the king of Moʹab. Now Egʹlon was a very fat man.
18 When Eʹhud finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 19 But after reaching the carved images at Gilʹgal,+ he himself went back and said: “I have a secret message for you, O king.” So the king said: “Silence!” With that all his attendants left him. 20 So Eʹhud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. Then Eʹhud said: “I have a message from God for you.” So he rose up from his throne. 21 Then Eʹhud drew the sword from his right thigh with his left hand and plunged it into his belly. 22 The handle went in after the blade, and the fat closed in over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly, and the fecal matter came out. 23 Eʹhud went out through the porch, closing the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locking them. 24 After he left, the servants returned and saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked. So they said: “He must be relieving himself in the cool interior room.” 25 They kept waiting until they were embarrassed, but when they saw that he was still not opening the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them and saw their lord fallen to the floor dead!
26 Eʹhud escaped while they were lingering, and he passed by the carved images+ and made it safely to Se·iʹrah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the horn+ in the mountainous region of Eʹphra·im;+ and the Israelites went down out of the mountainous region, with him at their head. 28 Then he said to them: “Follow me, because Jehovah has given your enemies, the Moʹab·ites, into your hand.” So they followed him and captured the fords of the Jordan against the Moʹab·ites, and they did not allow anyone to cross. 29 At that time they struck down about 10,000 Moʹab·ites,+ all strong and valiant men; not a single one escaped.+ 30 So Moʹab was subdued on that day under Israel’s hand; and the land had rest for 80 years.+
31 After him was Shamʹgar+ the son of Aʹnath, who struck down 600 Phi·lisʹtine men+ with a cattle goad;+ he too saved Israel.
4 But after Eʹhud died, the Israelites again did what was bad in Jehovah’s eyes.+ 2 So Jehovah sold them into the hand of Jaʹbin the king of Caʹnaan,+ who reigned in Haʹzor. The chief of his army was Sisʹe·ra, who lived in Ha·roʹsheth+ of the nations. 3 The Israelites cried out to Jehovah,+ because Jaʹbin had 900 war chariots with iron scythes,+ and he harshly oppressed the Israelites+ for 20 years.
4 Now Debʹo·rah, a prophetess,+ the wife of Lapʹpi·doth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 She used to sit under Debʹo·rah’s palm tree between Raʹmah+ and Bethʹel+ in the mountainous region of Eʹphra·im; the Israelites would go up to her for judgment. 6 She sent for Baʹrak+ the son of A·binʹo·am out of Keʹdesh-naphʹta·li+ and said to him: “Has not Jehovah the God of Israel given the command? ‘Go and march to Mount Taʹbor, and take 10,000 men of Naphʹta·li and Zebʹu·lun with you. 7 I will bring to you Sisʹe·ra, the chief of Jaʹbin’s army, along with his war chariots and his troops to the stream of Kiʹshon,+ and I will give him into your hand.’”+
8 At this Baʹrak said to her: “If you go with me, I will go, but if you do not go with me, I will not go.” 9 To this she said: “I will certainly go with you. However, the campaign you are going on will not bring you glory, for it will be into the hand of a woman that Jehovah will give Sisʹe·ra.”+ Then Debʹo·rah got up and went with Baʹrak to Keʹdesh.+ 10 Baʹrak summoned Zebʹu·lun and Naphʹta·li+ to Keʹdesh, and 10,000 men followed his steps. Debʹo·rah also went up with him.
11 Incidentally, Heʹber the Kenʹite had separated from the Kenʹites,+ the descendants of Hoʹbab, Moses’ father-in-law,+ and his tent was pitched near the big tree in Za·a·nanʹnim, which is at Keʹdesh.
12 They reported to Sisʹe·ra that Baʹrak the son of A·binʹo·am had gone up to Mount Taʹbor.+ 13 At once Sisʹe·ra assembled all his war chariots—900 chariots with iron scythes—and all the troops that were with him from Ha·roʹsheth of the nations to go to the stream of Kiʹshon.+ 14 Debʹo·rah now said to Baʹrak: “Rise up, for this is the day that Jehovah will give Sisʹe·ra into your hand. Is Jehovah not going out before you?” And Baʹrak descended from Mount Taʹbor with 10,000 men following him. 15 Then Jehovah threw Sisʹe·ra and all his war chariots and all the army into confusion+ before the sword of Baʹrak. Finally Sisʹe·ra got down from his chariot and fled on foot. 16 Baʹrak chased after the war chariots and the army as far as Ha·roʹsheth of the nations. So Sisʹe·ra’s whole army fell by the sword; not even one remained.+
17 But Sisʹe·ra fled on foot to the tent of Jaʹel+ the wife of Heʹber+ the Kenʹite, for there was peace between Jaʹbin+ the king of Haʹzor and the house of Heʹber the Kenʹite. 18 Then Jaʹel came out to meet Sisʹe·ra and said to him: “Come in, my lord, come in here. Do not be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. 19 Then he said to her: “Give me, please, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin bottle of milk and gave him a drink,+ after which she again covered him. 20 He told her: “Stand at the entrance of the tent, and if anybody comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No!’”
21 But Jaʹel the wife of Heʹber took a tent pin and a hammer in her hand. Then while he was fast asleep and exhausted, she stealthily approached him and drove the pin through his temples and beat it into the ground, and he died.+
22 Baʹrak went there in pursuit of Sisʹe·ra, and Jaʹel now came out to meet him and said: “Come and I will show you the man you are looking for.” He went in with her and saw Sisʹe·ra lying dead, with the tent pin through his temples.
23 So on that day, God subdued Jaʹbin the king of Caʹnaan before the Israelites.+ 24 The hand of the Israelites came down harder and harder against Jaʹbin the king of Caʹnaan,+ until they destroyed Jaʹbin the king of Caʹnaan.+