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Judges 4:3
ESV Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.
NIV Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.
NASB The sons of Israel cried out to the Lord; for he had nine hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years.
CSB Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, because Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots, and he harshly oppressed them twenty years.
NLT Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help.
KJV And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
NKJV And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; for Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel.

What does Judges 4:3 mean?

God subjected His people into slavery under the Canaanites, ruled by King Jabin (Judges 4:1–2). A man named Sisera was the greatly feared commander of Canaan's army. He had 900 iron chariots under his command. Iron chariots were advanced warfare technology during this time and had proved especially difficult to overcome. Nine hundred chariots would have created a staggering advantage for Sisera. Later descriptions imply that these chariots terrorized local roads (Judges 5:6).

Sisera had oppressed the Israelites with great cruelty for twenty years. Those conquered in war during this time were often treated badly. The addition of the word "cruelly" in this verse suggests that the treatment was worse even than normal. The people of Israel finally cried out to Yahweh for help after two decades of oppression.
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