Hakim-hakim 5:4-5

5:4 O Lord, when you departed ¹  from Seir,

when you marched from Edom’s plains,

the earth shook, the heavens poured down,

the clouds poured down rain. ² 

5:5 The mountains trembled ³  before the Lord, the God of Sinai; ⁴ 

before the Lord God of Israel.

Hakim-hakim 5:26-27

5:26 Her left ⁵  hand reached for the tent peg,

her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.

She “hammered” ⁶  Sisera,

she shattered his skull, ⁷ 

she smashed his head, ⁸ 

she drove the tent peg through his temple. ⁹ 

5:27 Between her feet he collapsed,

he fell limp ¹⁰  and was lifeless; ¹¹ 

between her feet he collapsed and fell limp,

in the spot where he collapsed,

there he fell limp – violently murdered! ¹² 

[5:4]  ¹ tn Or “went out.”

[5:4]  ² tn Heb “water.”

[5:5]  ³ tn Or “quaked.” The translation assumes the form נָזֹלּוּ (nazollu) from the root זָלַל (zalal, “to quake”; see HALOT 272 s.v. II זלל). The LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum also understood the word this way. (See Isa 63:19 and 64:2 for other occurrences of this form.) Some understand here the verb נָזַל (nazul, “to flow [with torrents of rain water]”).

[5:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the Lord rules from Sinai.

[5:26]  ⁵ tn The adjective “left” is interpretive, based on the context. Note that the next line pictures Jael holding the hammer with her right hand.

[5:26]  ⁶ tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.

[5:26]  ⁷ tn Or “head.”

[5:26]  ⁸ tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”

[5:27]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he fell.” The same Hebrew expression occurs two more times in this verse.

[5:27]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he lay.

[5:27]  ¹² tn Or “dead, murdered.”