Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, April 12th, 2026
Second Sunday after Easter
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

The NET Bible®

Judges 4:20

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.'"

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.'"
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.
Good News Translation
Then he told her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks you if anyone is here, say 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 Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for King Jabin of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty. 18 Jael came out to welcome Sisera. She said to him, "Stop and rest, my lord. Stop and rest with me. Don't be afraid." So Sisera stopped to rest in her tent, and she put a blanket over him. 19 He said to her, "Give me a little water to drink, because I'm thirsty." She opened a goatskin container of milk and gave him some milk to drink. Then she covered him up again. 20 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.'" 21 Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground while he was asleep from exhaustion, and he died. 22 Now Barak was chasing Sisera. Jael went out to welcome him. She said to him, "Come here and I will show you the man you are searching for." He went with her into the tent, and there he saw Sisera sprawled out dead with the tent peg in his temple. 23 That day God humiliated King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 Israel's power continued to overwhelm King Jabin of Canaan until they did away with him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

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

Cross-References

Genesis 4:2
Then she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground.
Genesis 4:4
But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock—even the fattest of them. And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,
Genesis 4:5
but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. So Cain became very angry, and his expression was downcast.
Genesis 4:9
Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" And he replied, "I don't know! Am I my brother's guardian?"
Genesis 4:10
But the Lord said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground!
Genesis 4:11
So now, you are banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
Genesis 4:12
When you try to cultivate the ground it will no longer yield its best for you. You will be a homeless wanderer on the earth."
Genesis 4:21
The name of his brother was Jubal; he was the first of all who play the harp and the flute.
Genesis 25:27
When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents.
John 8:44
You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of 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.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile