Judges 4:2
New International Version
So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim.

New Living Translation
So the LORD turned them over to King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite king. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-haggoyim.

English Standard Version
And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.

Berean Standard Bible
So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.

King James Bible
And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

New King James Version
So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim.

New American Standard Bible
So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.

NASB 1995
And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.

NASB 1977
And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.

Legacy Standard Bible
And Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.

Amplified Bible
So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.

Christian Standard Bible
So the LORD sold them to King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera who lived in Harosheth of the Nations.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera who lived in Harosheth of the Nations.

American Standard Version
And Jehovah sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

Contemporary English Version
So the LORD let the Canaanite King Jabin of Hazor conquer Israel. Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, lived in Harosheth-Ha-Goiim.

English Revised Version
And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
So the LORD used King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled at Hazor, to defeat them. The commander of King Jabin's army was Sisera, who lived at Harosheth Haggoyim.

Good News Translation
So the LORD let them be conquered by Jabin, a Canaanite king who ruled in the city of Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived at Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles.

International Standard Version
so the LORD turned them over to domination by Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commanding officer of his army, lived in Harosheth-haggoyim.

Majority Standard Bible
So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.

NET Bible
The LORD turned them over to King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor. The general of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim.

New Heart English Bible
The LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan that reigned in Hazor, the captain of whose host was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

World English Bible
Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and YHWH sells them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who has reigned in Hazor, and Sisera [is] the head of his host, and he is dwelling in Harosheth of the nations;

Young's Literal Translation
and Jehovah selleth them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who hath reigned in Hazor, and the head of his host is Sisera, and he is dwelling in Harosheth of the Goyim;

Smith's Literal Translation
And Jehovah will sell them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the captain of his army, Sisera; and he will dwell in Harosheth of the nations:
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord delivered them up into the hands of Jaban king of Chanaan, who reigned in Asor: and he had a general of his army named Sisara, and he dwelt in Haroseth of the Gentiles.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And the Lord delivered them into the hands of Jabin, the king of Canaan, who reigned at Hazor. And he had a commander of his army named Sisera, but this man lived at Harosheth of the Gentiles.

New American Bible
So the LORD sold them into the power of the Canaanite king, Jabin, who reigned in Hazor. The general of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim.

New Revised Standard Version
So the LORD sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Nabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the general of whose army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And LORD JEHOVAH delivered them into the hand of Nabin, King of Canaan, who reigned in Khatsur, and the General of his army was Sisra, and he was dwelling in Kharsheth of the Gentiles
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And the LORD gave them over into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth-goiim.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the Lord sold the children of Israel into the hand of Jabin king of Chanaan, who ruled in Asor; and the chief of his host was Sisara, and he dwelt in Arisoth of the Gentiles.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Deborah and Barak
1After Ehud died, the Israelites again did evil in the sight of the LORD. 2So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, because Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he had harshly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.…

Cross References
Judges 2:14
Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.

Judges 3:8
Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram-naharaim, and the Israelites served him eight years.

Judges 10:7
So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites,

1 Samuel 12:9
But they forgot the LORD their God, and He sold them into the hand of Sisera the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.

Deuteronomy 28:25
The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

2 Kings 13:3
So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them continually into the hands of Hazael king of Aram and his son Ben-hadad.

Psalm 106:41
He delivered them into the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them.

Nehemiah 9:27
So You delivered them into the hands of enemies who oppressed them, and in their time of distress they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hands of their enemies.

Isaiah 10:5-6
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath. / I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets.

Jeremiah 25:9
behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.

Romans 1:24
Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another.

Romans 1:26
For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.

Romans 1:28
Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

Acts 7:42
But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

1 Corinthians 5:5
hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.


Treasury of Scripture

And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelled in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

sold

Judges 2:14,15
And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies…

Judges 10:7
And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.

Isaiah 50:1
Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.

It seems to concern only north Israel.

Joshua 11:1,10,11
And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, …

Joshua 19:36
And Adamah, and Ramah, and Hazor,

Sisera

1 Samuel 12:9
And when they forgat the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

Psalm 83:9
Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison:

Harosheth

Judges 4:13,16
And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon…

Jump to Previous
Army Canaan Captain Commander Dwelt Haggoyim Hand Hands Harosheth Harosheth-Goiim Haro'sheth-Ha-Goiim Harosheth-Hagoyim Hazor Host Jabin Reigned Ruling Selleth Sisera Sis'era Sold
Jump to Next
Army Canaan Captain Commander Dwelt Haggoyim Hand Hands Harosheth Harosheth-Goiim Haro'sheth-Ha-Goiim Harosheth-Hagoyim Hazor Host Jabin Reigned Ruling Selleth Sisera Sis'era Sold
Judges 4
1. Deborah and Barak deliver them from Jabin and Sisera
17. Jael kills Sisera














So the LORD sold them
The phrase "sold them" in Hebrew is "מָכַר" (makar), which conveys the idea of delivering or giving over into the control of another. This is a recurring theme in the Book of Judges, where the Israelites' disobedience leads to their subjugation by foreign powers. It reflects the covenantal relationship between God and Israel, where blessings follow obedience, and consequences follow disobedience. This act of "selling" is not a sign of abandonment but a divine discipline intended to bring the Israelites back to repentance and reliance on God.

into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan
"Jabin" is a royal title, much like "Pharaoh" in Egypt, and not necessarily a personal name. The historical context here is significant, as Jabin represents the oppressive Canaanite rule over Israel. The Canaanites were known for their advanced military technology, including iron chariots, which posed a formidable threat to the Israelites. This subjugation under Jabin is a direct result of Israel's failure to fully drive out the Canaanites from the land, as God had commanded.

who reigned in Hazor
Hazor was a major Canaanite city, strategically located in northern Israel. Archaeological excavations have revealed that Hazor was a significant urban center during the Late Bronze Age, with evidence of destruction layers that align with biblical accounts. The city's prominence underscores the severity of Israel's oppression, as Hazor was a symbol of Canaanite power and influence.

The commander of his army was Sisera
Sisera is introduced as the military leader under Jabin, and his name becomes synonymous with oppression and fear for the Israelites. The mention of Sisera sets the stage for the dramatic narrative that follows, where God uses unexpected means to deliver His people. Sisera's role highlights the might of the Canaanite forces, which makes the subsequent victory by Israel all the more miraculous and a testament to God's power.

who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim
Harosheth-hagoyim, meaning "woodland of the nations," indicates a location that was likely a military stronghold or a base of operations for Sisera's forces. The name suggests a place of gathering for various peoples or tribes, emphasizing the coalition of forces against Israel. This setting provides a backdrop for the unfolding account of deliverance, where God demonstrates His sovereignty over the nations and His ability to save His people against overwhelming odds.

(2) Sold them.--See Judges 2:14.

Jabin.--The name means, "he is wise." It may have been a dynastic name, like Abimelech, Melchizedek, Pharaoh, Hadad, Agag, &c.

King of Canaan--i.e., of some great tribe or nation of the Canaanite8. In Joshua 11:1 Jabin is called king of Hazor, and sends messages to all the other Canaanite princes.

Reigned in Hazor.--See Joshua 11:1. Hazor was in the tribe of Naphtali (Joshua 19:36), and overlooked the waters of Merom (Jos., Antt. v. 5, ? 1). We find from Egyptian inscriptions of Barneses II., &c., that it was a flourishing town in very ancient days. Owing to its importance, it was fortified by Solomon (1Kings 9:15). Its inhabitants were taken captive by Tiglath-pileser (2Kings 15:29); and it is last mentioned in 1 Maccabees 9:27. (Comp. Jos., Antt. xiii. 5, ? 7.) De Saulcy discovered large and ancient ruins to the north of Merom, which he identifies with this town. The Bishop of Bath and Wells (Lord A. Hervey On the Genealogies, p. 28) has pointed out the strange resemblance between the circumstances of this defeat and that recorded in Joshua 11. In both we have a Jabin, king of Hazor; in both there are subordinate kings (Judges 5:19; Joshua 11:1); in both chariots are prominent, which, as we conjecture from Joshua 11:8, were burnt at Misrephoth-maim ("burnings by the waters"); and in both the general outline of circumstances is the same, and the same names occur in the list of conquered kings (Joshua 11:21-22). This seems to be the reason why Josephus, in his account of the earlier event (Antt. v. 1, ? 18), does not mention either Jabin or Hazor, though strangely enough he says, in both instances, with his usual tendency to exaggeration, that the Canaanites had 300,000 foot, 10,000 horse, and 3,000 chariots. It is again a curious, though it may be an unimportant circumstance, that in 1Samuel 12:9 the prophet mentions Sisera before Eglon. Of course, if the received view of the chronology be correct, we must make the not impossible supposition, that in the century and a half which is supposed to have elapsed since the death of Joshua, Hazor had risen from its obliteration and its ashes (Joshua 11:11; Jos., Antt. v. 5, ? 4), under a new Canaanite settlement, governed by a king who adopted the old dynastic name. If, on the other hand, there are chronological indications that the whole period of the Judges must be greatly shortened, we may perhaps suppose that the armies of Joshua and Barak combined the full strength of the central and northern tribes in an attack from different directions, which ended in a common victory. In that case, the different tribal records can only have dwelt on that part of the victory in which they were themselves concerned. It is remarkable that even so conservative a critic as Bishop Wordsworth holds "that some of the judges of Israel were only judges of portions of Canaan, and that the years run parallel to those of other judges in other districts of the same country." If there are difficulties in whatever scheme of chronology we adopt, we must remember the antiquity and the fragmentary nature of the records, which were written with other and far higher views than that of furnishing us with an elaborate consecutive history. . . .

Verse 2. - Sold them. See Judges 2:14, note. Jabin king of Hazor. The exact site of Hazor has not been identified with certainty, but it is conjectured by Robinson, with great probability, to have stood on the Tell now called Khuraibeh, overlooking the waters of Merom (now called Lake Huleh), where are remains of a sepulchre, Cyclopean walls, and other buildings. In Joshua 11:1-14 we read of the total destruction by fire of Hazor, and of the slaughter of Jabin, the king thereof, with all the inhabitants of the city, and of the slaughter of all the confederate kings, and the capture of their cities; Hazor, however, "the head of all those kingdoms," being the only one which was "burnt with fire." It is a little surprising, therefore, to read here of another Jabin reigning in Hazor, with confederate kings under him (Judges 5:19), having, like his predecessor, a vast number of chariots (cf. Judges 4:3, 13 with Joshua 11:4, 9), and attacking Israel at the head of a great force (cf. Judges 4:7, 13, 16 with Joshua 11:4). It is impossible not to suspect that these are two accounts of the same event. If, however, the two events are distinct, we must suppose that the Canaanite kingdoms had been revived under a descendant of the former king, that Hazor had been rebuilt, and that Jabin was the hereditary name of its king. Gentiles, or nations, or Goim, as Joshua 12:23, and Genesis 14:1. Whether Goim was the proper name of a particular people, or denoted a collection of different tribes, their seat was in Galilee, called in Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:15, Galilee, of the nations, or Gentiles, in Hebrew Goim.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
So the LORD
יְהוָ֗ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

sold them
וַיִּמְכְּרֵ֣ם (way·yim·kə·rêm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 4376: To sell

into the hands
בְּיַד֙ (bə·yaḏ)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3027: A hand

of Jabin
יָבִ֣ין (yā·ḇîn)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 2985: Jabin -- 'one who is intelligent', two Canaanite kings

king
מֶֽלֶךְ־ (me·leḵ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Canaan,
כְּנַ֔עַן (kə·na·‘an)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3667: Canaan -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their land West of the Jordan

who
אֲשֶׁ֥ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

reigned
מָלַ֖ךְ (mā·laḵ)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 4427: To reign, inceptively, to ascend the throne, to induct into royalty, to take counsel

in Hazor.
בְּחָצ֑וֹר (bə·ḥā·ṣō·wr)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 2674: Hazor -- the name of several places in Palestine, also one in Arabia

The commander
וְשַׂר־ (wə·śar-)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8269: Chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince

of his forces
צְבָאוֹ֙ (ṣə·ḇā·’ōw)
Noun - common singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6635: A mass of persons, reg, organized for, war, a campaign

was Sisera,
סִֽיסְרָ֔א (sî·sə·rā)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 5516: Sisera -- a general of the king of Hazor, also the father of some returning exiles

who
וְה֥וּא (wə·hū)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

lived
יוֹשֵׁ֖ב (yō·wō·šêḇ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry

in Harosheth-hagoyim.
בַּחֲרֹ֥שֶׁת (ba·ḥă·rō·šeṯ)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 2800: Harosheth-hagoyim -- a place in Palestine


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OT History: Judges 4:2 Yahweh sold them into the hand (Jd Judg. Jdg)
Judges 4:1
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