Judges 4:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.

NIV: Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left.

NASB: But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left.

CSB: Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth of the Nations, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.

NLT: Then Barak chased the chariots and the enemy army all the way to Harosheth-haggoyim, killing all of Sisera’s warriors. Not a single one was left alive.

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.

NKJV: But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth Hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.

The Lord has given Barak and his men a decisive battle over Sisera and the Canaanite army (Judges 4:12–13). Apparently, sudden flooding of the Kishon River (Judges 5:21) and Deborah's well-timed command to attack (Judges 4:14) made Sisera's chariots ineffective and turned the battle dramatically in Israel's favor.

Sisera, seeing he would lose this battle, escaped to the northeast on foot (Judges 4:17). Whether this was cowardly, or sensible, is subject to different views. Most readers assume Sisera went entirely alone, but this seems unlikely. If he did go with any other soldiers, they are not mentioned. At the very least, Sisera is alone when he meets his fate, as decided in the following verses.

Any of Sisera's men not yet struck down by Barak's army attempted to flee back the way they had come, toward Harosheth-hagoyim to the west. Barak and his men chased down every one of them and killed them. Most battles, in most eras of history, rarely ended with more than a small percentage of the enemy dead. To defeat an enemy so thoroughly as to kill every soldier is a colossal event.

Judges 4:11–16 tells how Israel's army, led by the prophetess Deborah and the judge Barak, defeat the Canaanite army of King Jabin. The following chapter implies that an unexpected flood may have disabled the enemy's iron chariots (Judges 5:21–22). The Canaanite commander, Sisera, flees on foot. He alone escapes, as the rest of his men are wiped out.

In response to their sin, God allows Israel to fall into oppression under Jabin, king of the Canaanites. Sisera, commander of Jabin's army, cruelly abuses the Israelites for twenty years. Through His prophetess Deborah, the Lord raises up Barak to lead a massive Israeli army. This force wipes out Canaan's army. Sisera flees on foot and hides in the tent of Heber's wife Jael. Once he is asleep, she kills him and then shows Barak the body. The Israelites soon destroy King Jabin and are freed from Canaanite oppression.

Judges 4 begins with the death of Ehud, the assassin-leader of chapter 3 who freed Israel from the Moabites. After the Israelite people return to wickedness, God submits them to Jabin and the Canaanites. After twenty years, the Lord raises up a deliverer called Barak through His prophetess Deborah. Israel obliterates the enemy army, and the general is slaughtered in his sleep by a woman. Jabin and the Canaanites are defeated. The next chapter poetically retells these events, followed by the introduction of an especially famous judge in chapter 6: Gideon.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).