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26 Her left[a] hand reached for the tent peg,
her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.
She “hammered”[b] Sisera,
she shattered his skull,[c]
she smashed his head,[d]
she drove the tent peg through his temple.[e]
27 Between her feet he collapsed,
he fell limp and was lifeless;[f]
between her feet he collapsed and fell,
in the spot where he collapsed,
there he fell—violently killed![g]
28 Through the window she looked;

Sisera’s mother cried out through the lattice:
‘Why is his chariot so slow to return?
Why are the hoofbeats of his chariot horses[h] delayed?’

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 5:26 tn The adjective “left” is interpretive, based on the context. Note that the next line pictures Jael holding the hammer with her right hand.
  2. Judges 5:26 tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.
  3. Judges 5:26 tn Or “head.”
  4. Judges 5:26 tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.
  5. Judges 5:26 tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”
  6. Judges 5:27 tn Heb “and he lay.
  7. Judges 5:27 tn Or “dead.”
  8. Judges 5:28 tn Heb “chariots.”