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Judges 4:15

in Judges 4

And in front of him the LORD routed with the sword Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Jehovah discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot, and fled away on his feet.

KJV

And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.

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This verse in Judges 4

Commentary

11 notes on this verse
Lighted down off his chariot - Probably his chariot stuck in the morass (see the note at Jdg 4:7); or he might leave his chariot in order to mislead his pursuers, and in hope of gaining a place of safety while they were following the track of the chariot-wheels and the bulk of the host.

This site's exposition

the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand

on Judges 4:14-16

Deborah gives the order as a report, "the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand", with the verb already past. The King James word at verse 15, discomfited, has the LORD for its subject again at Joshua 10:10 and 1 Samuel 7:10. Barak meets chariots on the flat ground Judah could not hold at 1:19, and the man with nine hundred chariots "fled on foot".

This site's exposition

Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot

Albert Barnes gives two reasons Sisera left his chariot. It may have stuck in the marsh, or he hoped pursuers would follow its tracks while he fled. Matthew Henry passes on a report that a violent hailstorm beat in the Canaanites' faces and drove them back.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Discomfited - With great terror and noise, as the word signifies, probably with thunder and lightning, and hail-stones, poured upon them from heaven, as is implied, chap. v, 20. Edge of the sword - That is, by the sword of Barak and his army, whose ministry God used; but so, that they had little else to do, but to kill those whom God by more powerful arms had put to flight.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Josephus says that a violent storm of hail which beat in their faces gave them this rout, disabled them, and drove them back; so that they became a very easy prey to the army of Israel, and Deborah's words were made good: " The Lord has delivered them into thy hand; it is now in thy power to do what thou wilt with them." V.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

1 ), and what we were sick for God can make us sick of. How miserable doth Sisera look now he is dismounted! It is hard to say whether he blusheth or trembleth more.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

But these are overlooked here; and we are only told that to make his 10,000 men effective indeed Deborah went up with him. The 11th verse , concerning the removal of Heber, one of the families of the Kenites, out of the wilderness of Judah, in the south, where those families had fixed themselves ( ch. i.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And the Lord discomfited Sisera and all his chariots, and all his host,....
3 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Barak, in obedience to Deborah's orders, went down into the valley, though there upon the plain the iron chariots would have so much the more advantage against him, quitting his fastnesses upon the mountain in dependence upon the divine power; for in vain is salvation hoped for from hills and mountains; in the Lord alone is the salvation of his people, Jer. iii.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

The disorder was produced by a supernatural panic (see on Jud 5:20). so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet--His chariot being probably distinguished by its superior size and elegance, would betray the rank of its rider, and he saw therefore that his only chance of escape was on foot.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The Lord discomfited Sisera - ויהם יהוה vayiahom Jehovah; the Lord Confounded, threw them all into confusion, drove them pell-mell - caused chariots to break and overthrow chariots, and threw universal disorder into all their ranks. In this case Barak and his men had little to do but kill and pursue, and Sisera in order to escape, was obliged to abandon his chariot. There is no doubt all this was done by supernatural agency; God sent his angel and confounded them.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

Has not the Lord gone out before you: It is like its translation (in the Targum) - "did not the angel of the Lord go out before you to make you successful."
Radak: Provence, 1160–1235 · Radak on Judges 4:14:1, via Sefaria, Sefaria Community Translation

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

20 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיָּ֣הָםand he routed

    vaiyahomH2000 →

  • יְ֠הוָהYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • סִֽיסְרָ֨אSisera

    sisra'H5516 →21 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הָרֶ֧כֶבthe chariotry

    harekhevH7393 →119 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֛הthe army

    hamachanehH4264 →215 times

  • לְפִי־to [the] mouth of

    lefi-H6310 →498 times

  • חֶ֖רֶב[the] sword

    cherevH2719 →413 times

  • לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before

    lifneiH6440 →2123 times

  • בָרָ֑קBarak

    varakH1301 →13 times

  • וַיֵּ֧רֶדand he went down

    vaiyeredH3381 →381 times

  • סִֽיסְרָ֛אSisera

    sisra'H5516 →21 times

  • מֵעַ֥לfrom on

    mealH5921 →5755 times

  • הַמֶּרְכָּבָ֖הthe chariot

    hamerkavahH4818 →

  • וַיָּ֥נָסand he fled

    vaiyanosH5127 →159 times

  • בְּרַגְלָֽיו׃on feet his

    beraglavH7272 →247 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Joshua 10:10And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.5 worksJudges 5:20From the heavens the stars fought; from their courses they fought against Sisera.5 worksPsalms 83:9–10Do to them as You did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,4 worksExodus 14:7He took 600 of the best chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.4 works2 Kings 7:6For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”2 works2 Chronicles 13:15–17and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. And when they raised the cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.2 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
Hebrews 11:32And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,2 worksJudges 5:28Sisera’s mother looked through the window; she peered through the lattice and lamented: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? What has delayed the clatter of his chariots?’2 works1 Samuel 7:10As the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel, Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering. But that day the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines and threw them into such confusion that they fled before Israel.2 worksPsalms 33:17A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.2 worksExodus 14:25He caused their chariot wheels to wobble, so that they had difficulty driving. “Let us flee from the Israelites,” said the Egyptians, “for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!”2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    2 Kings 7:6

    For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the…

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 5:24

      As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the LORD has marched out before you to strike the camp…

    • Isaiah 31:1

      Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…

  • Through

    Hebrews 11:32

    And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 16:1

      Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending…

    • 1 Samuel 1:20

      So in the course of time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the LORD.”

    • 1 Samuel 16:13

      So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and…

    • Judges 11:1–12

      Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.

    • Judges 13:1–16

      Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

  • Through

    Joshua 10:10

    And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and…

    it leads to

    • Psalms 18:14

      He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.

Where this verse is studied

About Judges

Jael Kills Sisera — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Jael Kills Sisera — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Judges: the study guide →Read Judges 4 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Judges 4 →