Judges 4:16
in Judges 4Then Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there was not a man left.
KJV
But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.
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This verse in Judges 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseBut Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles,.... The place from whence they came, and to which they endeavoured to escape: but he followed them, so close all that way, and made such havoc of them, that all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword, and there was not a man left; no, not one, excepting Sisera, as in Jdg 4:17; or "even to one" (l), as in the original text; not one escaped to Hazor to acquaint Jabin of the loss of his army.
This site's exposition
And Deborah said unto Barak
on Judges 4:14-16
Deborah gives the order as a report rather than a promise, this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand, with the verb already past. The word discomfited at verse 15 falls nine times in the King James Bible, and the Lord is its subject at Joshua 10:10 and 1 Samuel 7:10, where great stones from heaven and a great thunder do the work. Barak goes down off the hill to meet chariots on the flat, which is the ground Judah could not hold at 1:19, and verse 16 says there was not a man left. The man with nine hundred chariots finishes the day on foot.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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
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
It is said ( Ps. lxxxiii. 9, 10 , where the defeat of this army is pleaded as a precedent for God's doing the like in after times) that they became as dung for the earth. The fall of their general, Sisera, captain of the host, in whom, it is likely, Jabin their king put an entire confidence, and therefore was not himself present in the action.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
What with the overflowing of the Kishon Jdg 5:21, by which numbers were drowned, and the panic which had seized the defeated army, and made them an easy prey to the sword of the pursuing Israelites, Sisera’s whole force was cut to pieces and broken up.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And Sisera had fled: He did not flee to the place that his camp fled, as they fled towards their land, which was Haroshet-hagoyim; and Barak and his people chased after them and smote them with the edge of the sword. But Sisera knew that he could not escape by [just] fleeing, for they would catch up to him. So he fled to another place, in which they would not notice him and chase after him.
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
19 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבָרָ֗ק | uvarak | and Barak | H1301 → | 13 times |
| רָדַ֞ף | radaf | he pursued | H7291 → | 143 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֤י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הָרֶ֙כֶב֙ | harekhev | the chariotry | H7393 → | 119 times |
| וְאַחֲרֵ֣י | veacharei | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔ה | hamachaneh | the army | H4264 → | 215 times |
| עַ֖ד | ʾad | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| חֲרֹ֣שֶׁת | charoshet | Harosheth | H2800 → | 3 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֑ם | hagoyim | Haggoyim | H1471 → | 561 times |
| וַיִּפֹּ֞ל | vaiyipol | and it fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַחֲנֵ֤ה | machaneh | [the] army of | H4264 → | 215 times |
| סִֽיסְרָא֙ | sisera' | Sisera | H5516 → | 21 times |
| לְפִי־ | lefi- | to [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| חֶ֔רֶב | cherev | [the] sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִשְׁאַ֖ר | nishar | it was left | H7604 → | 133 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | up to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| אֶחָֽד׃ | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
וּבָרָ֗קand Barak
uvarakH1301 →13 times
רָדַ֞ףhe pursued
radafH7291 →143 times
אַחֲרֵ֤יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
הָרֶ֙כֶב֙the chariotry
harekhevH7393 →119 times
וְאַחֲרֵ֣יand after
veachareiH310 →715 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔הthe army
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
עַ֖דto
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
חֲרֹ֣שֶׁתHarosheth
charoshetH2800 →3 times
הַגּוֹיִ֑םHaggoyim
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
וַיִּפֹּ֞לand it fell
vaiyipolH5307 →435 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מַחֲנֵ֤ה[the] army of
machanehH4264 →215 times
סִֽיסְרָא֙Sisera
sisera'H5516 →21 times
לְפִי־to [the] mouth of
lefi-H6310 →498 times
חֶ֔רֶב[the] sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נִשְׁאַ֖רit was left
nisharH7604 →133 times
עַד־up to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
אֶחָֽד׃one
ʾechadH259 →971 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
James 2:13For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
it leads to
- Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
- Matthew 6:15
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.
- Proverbs 21:13
Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.
- Luke 6:37
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
- Ephesians 2:4–7
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
- Matthew 5:7
Through
Romans 2:12All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
it leads to
- Galatians 3:10
All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
- 1 Corinthians 9:21
To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law.
- Galatians 3:10
Through
Psalms 104:35May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Hallelujah!
it leads to
- Psalms 103:22
Bless the LORD, all His works in all places of His dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!
- Psalms 103:22
Where this verse is studied
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.