Deborah and Barak
1 After the death of Ehud, the Israelites again started disobeying the Lord. 2 So the Lord let the Canaanite King Jabin of Hazor conquer Israel. Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, lived in Harosheth-Ha-Goiim. 3 Jabin's army had 900 iron chariots, and for 20 years he made life miserable for the Israelites, until finally they begged the Lord for help.
4 Deborah the wife of Lappidoth was a prophet and a leader of Israel during those days. 5 She 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.
6 One 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 10,000 men from the Naphtali and Zebulun tribes and lead them to Mount Tabor. 7 The 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, 10 where Barak called together the troops from Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand soldiers gathered there, and Barak led them out from Kedesh. Deborah went too.
11 At 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.
12 When Sisera learned that Barak had led an army to Mount Tabor, 13 he called his troops together and got all 900 iron chariots ready. Then he led his army away from Harosheth-Ha-Goiim to the Kishon River.
14 Deborah 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 10,000 troops down from Mount Tabor. 15 And 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. 16 Barak's forces went after Sisera's chariots and army as far as Harosheth-Ha-Goiim.
Sisera's entire army was wiped out. 17 Only 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. 18 She 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.’ ”
21 Sisera 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.
22 Meanwhile, 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.
23 That same day God defeated the Canaanite King Jabin while the Israelites looked on, and his army was no longer powerful enough to attack the Israelites. 24 Jabin grew weaker while the Israelites kept growing stronger, until at last the Israelites destroyed him.
Debora naBarak
1 Ehud sho a si, oshigwana shaIsrael osha yono ishewe kOmuwa. 2 Osho Omuwa e ya gandja miikaha yaJabin, omukwaniilwa Omukaanani, ngoka a li ta pangele muHazor. Ondjayi yetangakwiita lye oSisera, ngoka a kala muHaroshet shaakwiilongo. 3 Jabin okwa li e na omatembakwiita omathele omugoyi nokwa tyakalekele Aaisraeli omimvo omilongo mbali. Oshigwana shaIsrael nosha pula ekwatho kOmuwa.
4 Nena Debora, mukadhaLappidot, okwa li omuhunganeki nokwa li ta wilike Aaisraeli pethimbo ndyoka. 5 Okwa li ha kuutumba momulunga gwontumba pokati kaRama naBetel mevi lyokoondundu dhaEfraim, nAaisraeli oya yi kuye, e ya tokolele oohapu. 6 Esiku limwe okwa tumu Barak, omuna gwaAbinoam a zi koshilando Kedesh muNaftali e ta ti kuye: “Omuwa Kalunga kaIsrael ota gandja elombwelo ndika: ‘Kutha aalumentu omayuvi omulongo momazimo gaNaftali nogaSebulon, u ya fale kondundu Tabor. 7 Otandi eta Sisera, ondjayi yetangakwiita lyaJabin, e ku kondjithe pomulonga Kishon. Ote ke ya nomatembakwiita giiyela naakwiita ye, ihe otandi mu gandja miikaha yoye.’ ”
8 Barak okwa yamukula a ti: “Otandi yi ashike, ngele to yi nangame, ihe ngele ito yi nangame, nangame wo itandi yi ko.”
9 Debora a yamukula: “Eeno, onawa, otandi yi nangoye, ihe esimano lyesindano itali ka ninga lyoye, oshoka Omuwa ota gandja Sisera miikaha yomukiintu.” Okuza mpoka Debora naBarak oya thikama e taa yi kuKedesh. 10 Barak okwi ithana ezimo lyaNaftali nolyaSebulon kuKedesh, naalumentu omayuvi omulongo oye mu landula. Debora okwa yi pamwe naye.
11 Pokati mpoka Heber Omukeni okwa dhike otenda ye puKedesh popepi nomwandi puZaanannim. Okwa li a tembuka pAakeni yalwe yomoluvalo lwaHobab, suwala yaMoses.
12 Sisera sho u uvu kutya Barak okwa londa kondundu Tabor, 13 okwi ithanene kuye omatembakwiita ge giiyela omathele omugoyi naalumentu ayehe nokwe ya tumu ya zi muHaroshet-shaakwiilongo, ya ye komulonga Kishon.
14 Nena Debora okwa ti kuBarak: “Unduka! Omuwa ote ku wilike! Nena ota gandja Sisera miikaha yoye.” Osho ngaaka Barak a kuluka ta zi kondundu Tabor pamwe netanga lye lyaalumentu omayuvi omulongo. 15 Barak sho e ya mbolokotele netanga lye, Omuwa okwa vundakanitha Sisera pamwe nomatembakwiita ge agehe naakwiita ye. Sisera a nuka metemba lye e ta yi ontuku. 16 Barak okwa tidhagana omatembakwiita netangakwiita, sigo oHaroshet-shaakwiilongo, netangakwiita lyaSisera alihe olya dhipagwa; inapu hupa nondhi.
17 Sisera okwa matukile motenda yaJael, mukadhaHeber Omukeni, oshoka omukwaniilwa gwaHazor Jabin okwa li e na ombili negumbo lyaHeber. 18 Jael okwa piti mo, a tsakaneke Sisera e ta ti kuye: “Ila mo, tatekulu, ila motenda yandje. Ino tila.” Osho ngaaka a yi mo, nomukulukadhi okwe mu holeke e mu gumbika omulapi. 19 Sisera okwa ti kuye: “Kwatha ndje omeya, onda kangala.” Jael okwa siikulula ombago yomahini e te mu pe, a nwe, nokwe mu siikile ishewe. 20 Nena Sisera okwe mu lombwele: “Ka thikame posheelo shotenda, nongele taku zi omuntu te ku pula ta ti, olye e li mo muno, tya aawe, kamu na muntu.”
21 Sisera okwa li a tatuka ontulo nokwa kwatwa koomposi. Nena Jael okwa kutha ohamala nomboha yotenda e ta nyootoka u uka kuye nokwe mu dhipaga nokumbambalela omboha pombandu ye e tayi mbathuka kombinga onkwawo e tayi yi mevi. 22 Barak sho e ya ta kongo Sisera, Jael okwe ke mu tsakaneka e ta ti kuye: “Ila, ndi ku ulukile omulumentu ngoka to kongo.” Osho a yi mo pamwe naJael nokwa adha Sisera a kangawala a sa nomboha ye mu ndjikwa momutse.
23 Esiku ndyoka Kalunga okwa pe Aaisraeli esindano, sho ya sindi Jabin, omukwaniilwa Omukaanani. 24 Oya li taye mu thininike nokuthininika, sigo ye mu thekula po.
