Judges 4:14
in Judges 4Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise, for this is the day that the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which Jehovah hath delivered Sisera into thy hand; is not Jehovah gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
KJV
And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
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This verse in Judges 4
Commentary
7 notes on this verseUp; for this is the day - This is exactly the purpose for which the Septuagint state, Jdg 4:8, that Barak wished Deborah to accompany him. “I know not,” says he, “The Day in which God will send his angel to give me prosperity: come thou with we that thou mayest direct me in this respect.” She went, and told him the precise time in which he was to make the attack: Up, for This is the Day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand.
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". 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.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 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
Up - Hebrew. arise, delay not. If we have ground to believe, that God goes before us, we may well go on with courage and cheerfulness. Gone before thee - Namely, as general of thine army, to fight for thee.
And Deborah said unto Barak, up,....
But, though ordinarily the head of the woman is the man ( 1 Cor. xi. 3 ), he that has the residue of the Spirit was pleased to cross hands, and to put the head upon the woman's shoulders, choosing the weak things of the world to shame the mighty, that no flesh might glory in his presence. It was well for Barak that he had Deborah with him; for she made up what was defective, 1.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Barak went down from mount Tabor--It is a striking proof of the full confidence Barak and his troops reposed in Deborah's assurance of victory, that they relinquished their advantageous position on the hill and rushed into the plain in face of the iron chariots they so much dreaded.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
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."
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
From Charoshes Hagoyim to Kishon stream. He mobilized them to proceed to the stream of Kishon from Charoshes Hagoyim where he was stationed.
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
26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֹּאמֶר֩ | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דְּבֹרָ֨ה | devorah | Deborah | H1683 → | 10 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בָּרָ֜ק | barak | Barak | H1301 → | 13 times |
| ק֗וּם | kum | arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| זֶ֤ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| הַיּוֹם֙ | haiyom | [is] the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֩ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֨ן | natan | he has given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| סִֽיסְרָא֙ | sisera' | Sisera | H5516 → | 21 times |
| בְּיָדֶ֔ךָ | beyadekha | in hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| הֲלֹ֥א | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יָצָ֣א | yatza' | has he gone out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| לְפָנֶ֑יךָ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וַיֵּ֤רֶד | vaiyered | and he went down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| בָּרָק֙ | barak | Barak | H1301 → | 13 times |
| מֵהַ֣ר | mehar | from [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| תָּב֔וֹר | tavor | Tabor | H8396 → | 10 times |
| וַעֲשֶׂ֧רֶת | vaaseret | and ten | H6235 → | 176 times |
| אֲלָפִ֛ים | ʾalafim | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אַחֲרָֽיו׃ | ʾacharav | [were] after him | H310 → | 715 times |
וַתֹּאמֶר֩and she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
דְּבֹרָ֨הDeborah
devorahH1683 →10 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בָּרָ֜קBarak
barakH1301 →13 times
ק֗וּםarise
kumH6965 →628 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
זֶ֤הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
הַיּוֹם֙[is] the day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
אֲשֶׁר֩which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָתַ֨ןhe has given
natanH5414 →2011 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
סִֽיסְרָא֙Sisera
sisera'H5516 →21 times
בְּיָדֶ֔ךָin hand your
beyadekhaH3027 →1618 times
הֲלֹ֥א¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יָצָ֣אhas he gone out
yatza'H3318 →1067 times
לְפָנֶ֑יךָ<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
וַיֵּ֤רֶדand he went down
vaiyeredH3381 →381 times
בָּרָק֙Barak
barakH1301 →13 times
מֵהַ֣רfrom [the] mountain of
meharH2022 →546 times
תָּב֔וֹרTabor
tavorH8396 →10 times
וַעֲשֶׂ֧רֶתand ten
vaaseretH6235 →176 times
אֲלָפִ֛יםthousand<s>
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
אִ֖ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אַחֲרָֽיו׃[were] after him
ʾacharavH310 →715 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
Isaiah 52:12For you will not leave in a hurry nor flee in haste, for the LORD goes before you, and the God of Israel is your rear guard.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 20:4
For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 58:8
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
- Deuteronomy 20:4
Through
Micah 2:13One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate, and go out by it. Their King will pass through before them, the LORD as their leader.
it leads to
- Isaiah 52:12
For you will not leave in a hurry nor flee in haste, for the LORD goes before you, and the God of Israel is your rear guard.
- Isaiah 52:12
Through
Deuteronomy 9:3But understand that today the LORD your God goes across ahead of you as a consuming fire; He will destroy them and subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:24
For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Hebrews 12:29
“For our God is a consuming fire.”
- Deuteronomy 7:23–24
But the LORD your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed.
- Deuteronomy 4:24
Through
2 Samuel 5:24As 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…
it leads to
- 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…
- 2 Kings 7:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies8
On this verse
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.