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Tuesday, September 9th, 2025
the Week of Proper 18 / Ordinary 23
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Good News Translation

Judges 4:20

Then he told her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks you if anyone is here, say no."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Canaanites;   Courage;   Falsehood;   Hypocrisy;   Jael;   Kenites;   Treachery;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Tents;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Jabin;   Jael;   Jezreel;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Jael;   Kenites;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Tent;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Hospitality;   Judges, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Apocrypha;   Barak;   Deborah;   Esdraelon;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Jabin;   Levi;   Naphtali;   War;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Barak ;   Jabin ;   Jael ;   Sisera ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Barak;   Jael;   Pithom;   Sisera;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Armageddon;   Baal;   Barak;   Jael;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Reign of the Judges;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Jael;   Relationships, Family;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then he said to her, “Stand at the entrance to the tent. If a man comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’”
Hebrew Names Version
He said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man does come and inquire of you, and say, Is there any man here? that you shall say, No.
King James Version
Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
Lexham English Bible
And he said to her, "Stand at the doorway of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks you, and says, ‘Is there anyone here?' You must answer, ‘No.'"
English Standard Version
And he said to her, "Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'"
New Century Version
He said to her, "Go stand at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'"
New English Translation
He said to her, "Stand watch at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes along and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?' say ‘No.'"
Amplified Bible
And he said to her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, 'Is there anyone here?' tell him, 'No.'"
New American Standard Bible
And he said to her, "Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, 'Is there anyone here?' that you shall say, 'No.'"
Geneva Bible (1587)
Againe he sayde vnto her, Stande in the doore of the tent, and when any man doth come and enquire of thee, saying, Is any man there? thou shalt say, Nay.
Legacy Standard Bible
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
Contemporary English Version
"Stand at the entrance to the tent," Sisera told her. "If someone comes by and asks if anyone is inside, tell them ‘No.'"
Complete Jewish Bible
He said to her, "Stand at the entrance to the tent; and if anyone asks you if somebody is here, say, ‘No.'"
Darby Translation
And he said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be if any one come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
Easy-to-Read Version
Then Sisera said to Jael, "Go stand at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?' say, ‘No.'"
George Lamsa Translation
Again he said to her, Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man does come and ask you, and say, Is there any man here? You shall say to him, No.
Literal Translation
And he said to her, Stand at the door of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes in and asks you, and says, Is there a man here? Then you shall say, There is not.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And he sayde vnto her: Stode in the tente dore, & yf one come & axe, is there eny man here? saye Noman.
American Standard Version
And he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
Bible in Basic English
And he said to her, Take your place at the door of the tent, and if anyone comes and says to you, Is there any man here, say, No.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And agayne he sayd vnto her: Stande in the doore of the tent, and whan any man doth come and enquere of thee, whether ther be any man here, thou shalt say, naye.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he said unto her: 'Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say: Is there any man here? that thou shalt say: No.'
King James Version (1611)
Againe he said vnto her, Stand in the doore of the tent, and it shall bee when any man doeth come and enquire of thee and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Sisara said to her, Stand now by the door of the tent, and it shall come to pass if any man come to thee, and ask of thee, and say, Is there any man here? then thou shalt say, There is not.
English Revised Version
And he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
Berean Standard Bible
"Stand at the entrance to the tent," he said, "and if anyone comes and asks you, 'Is there a man here?' say, 'No.'"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Sisara seide to hir, Stonde thou bifor the dore of the tabernacle, and whanne ony man cometh, and axith thee, and seith, Whether ony man is here? thou schalt answere, No man is here.
Young's Literal Translation
And he saith unto her, `Stand at the opening of the tent, and it hath been, if any doth come in, and hath asked thee, and said, Is there a man here? that thou hast said, There is not.'
Update Bible Version
And he said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man comes and inquires of you, and says, Is there any man here? that you shall say, No.
Webster's Bible Translation
Again he said to her, stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
World English Bible
He said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man does come and inquire of you, and say, Is there any man here? that you shall say, No.
New King James Version
And he said to her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, "Is there any man here?' you shall say, "No."'
New Living Translation
"Stand at the door of the tent," he told her. "If anybody comes and asks you if there is anyone here, say no."
New Life Bible
He said to her, "Stand in the door of the tent. If anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is there anyone here?' you say, ‘No.'"
New Revised Standard
He said to her, "Stand at the entrance of the tent, and if anybody comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he said unto her, Stand at the entrance of the tent, - and it shall be, if any man come and ask thee and say - Is there here a man? that thou shalt say, There is not.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Sisara said to her: Stand before the door of the tent, and when any shall come and inquire of thee, saying: Is there any man here? thou shalt say: There is none.
Revised Standard Version
And he said to her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, 'Is any one here?' say, No."
THE MESSAGE
He then said, "Stand at the tent flap. If anyone comes by and asks you, ‘Is there anyone here?' tell him, ‘No, not a soul.'"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
He said to her, "Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, 'Is there anyone here?' that you shall say, 'No.'"

Contextual Overview

17 Sisera ran away to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because King Jabin of Hazor was at peace with Heber's family. 18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come in, sir; come into my tent. Don't be afraid." So he went in, and she hid him behind a curtain. 19 He said to her, "Please give me a drink of water; I'm thirsty." She opened a leather bag of milk, gave him a drink, and hid him again. 20 Then he told her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks you if anyone is here, say no." 21 Sisera was so tired that he fell sound asleep. Then Jael took a hammer and a tent peg, quietly went up to him, and killed him by driving the peg right through the side of his head and into the ground. 22 When Barak came looking for Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, "Come here! I'll show you the man you're looking for." So he went in with her, and there was Sisera on the ground, dead, with the tent peg through his head. 23 That day God gave the Israelites victory over Jabin, the Canaanite king. 24 They pressed harder and harder against him until they destroyed him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Is there: Joshua 2:3-5, 2 Samuel 17:20

Cross-References

Genesis 4:2
Later she gave birth to another son, Abel. Abel became a shepherd, but Cain was a farmer.
Genesis 4:4
Then Abel brought the first lamb born to one of his sheep, killed it, and gave the best parts of it as an offering. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,
Genesis 4:5
but he rejected Cain and his offering. Cain became furious, and he scowled in anger.
Genesis 4:9
The Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He answered, "I don't know. Am I supposed to take care of my brother?"
Genesis 4:10
Then the Lord said, "Why have you done this terrible thing? Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground, like a voice calling for revenge.
Genesis 4:11
You are placed under a curse and can no longer farm the soil. It has soaked up your brother's blood as if it had opened its mouth to receive it when you killed him.
Genesis 4:12
If you try to grow crops, the soil will not produce anything; you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth."
Genesis 4:21
His brother was Jubal, the ancestor of all musicians who play the harp and the flute.
Genesis 25:27
The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilled hunter, a man who loved the outdoors, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.
John 8:44
You are the children of your father, the Devil, and you want to follow your father's desires. From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the side of truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what is natural to him, because he is a liar and the father of all lies.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said unto her, stand in the door of the tent,.... This he said, not in an imperious way, as some think, but by entreaty:

and it shall be, when any man shall come and inquire of thee; seeing her at the door, and where he desired she would stand to prevent their coming into the tent:

and say, is there any man here? any besides what belongs to the family? or any of Sisera's army?

that thou shalt say, no; there is no man; but to this she made no answer that is recorded.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Stand in the door ... - The characteristic duplicity of the Oriental character, both in Sisera and Joel, is very forcibly depicted in this narrative. It is only by the light of the Gospel that the law of truth is fully revealed.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 4:20. Stand in the door of the tent — As no man would intrude into the women's apartment without permission, her simply saying, there is no man in my tent, would preclude all search.


 
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