¹tn Heb “did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
²tn Heb “the Lord sold them into the hands of.”
³tn Or “King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite ruler.”
map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
⁴tn Or “Harosheth of the Pagan Nations.”
⁵tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁶tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255, and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.
⁷tn Heb “with strength.”
⁸tn Heb “ a woman, a prophetess.” In Hebrew idiom the generic “woman” sometimes precedes the more specific designation. See GKC §135.b.
⁹tn Heb “she was.” The pronoun refers back to the nominative absolute “Deborah.” Hebrew style sometimes employs such resumptive pronouns when lengthy qualifiers separate the subject from the verb.
¹⁰tn Or “judging.”
¹¹tn That is, “consider legal disputes.”
¹²map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
¹³tn Heb “for judgment.”
¹⁴tn Heb “sent and summoned.”
¹⁵tn Heb “horde”; “multitude.”
¹⁶tn Or “honor.”
¹⁷tn Heb “on [account of (?)] the way which you are walking.” Another option is to translate, “due to the way you are going about this.” In this case direct reference is made to Barak’s hesitancy as the reason for his loss of glory.
¹⁸tn Heb “for into the hands of a woman the Lord will sell Sisera.”
¹⁹tn Heb “went up at his feet.”
²⁰tn Or “separated.”
²¹tn Heb “pitched his tent.”
²²tn Heb “and they told Sisera.”
²³tn Heb “Sisera.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
²⁴tn Or “summoned.”
²⁵tn Heb “Arise!”
²⁶tn The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”
²⁷tn Heb “Has the Lord not gone out before you?”
²⁸tn Or “caused to panic.”
²⁹tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “before Barak.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
³⁰tn Heb “got down from.”
³¹tn Heb “fell.”
³²tn Heb “was left.”
³³map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
³⁴tn Heb “for there was peace between.”
³⁵tn Heb “Turn aside” (also a second time later in this verse).
³⁶tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
³⁷tn Heb “took a tent peg and put a hammer in her hand.”
³⁸tn Heb “and it went into the ground.”
³⁹tn Heb “and exhausted.” Another option is to understand this as a reference to the result of the fatal blow. In this case, the phrase could be translated, “and he breathed his last.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “he went to her.”
⁴¹tn Heb “fallen, dead.”
⁴²tn Heb “The hand of the Israelites became more and more severe against.”
⁴³tn Heb “cut off.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “Jabin king of Canaan.” The proper name and title have been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.