At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay. At her feet he bowed, he fell. Where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
Parallel Translations
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At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay. At her feet he bowed, he fell. Where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
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At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
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At her feet he sunk, he fell, he lay; at her feet he sunk, he fell; where he sunk, there he fell down dead.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (2)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Judges 5:27 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 52:7 “Behold, this is the man who didn’t make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.”
- James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Matthew 7:2 For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Hebrew, destroyed.
Hebrew, destroyed.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jdg 5:27 At her feet he bowed, he fell,…
Jdg 5:27 At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
Ver. 27. At her feet he bowed, he fell.] He was soon despatched, and could never tell who hurt him. There now lies the greatness of Sisera: he that had vaunted of his iron chariots, is slain by a woman with one nail of iron.
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There he fell down dead.] Heb., Destroyed; dead as a door nail, as we say, ταλαιπωρος, miserable, as the Septuagint renders it. Thrice he essayed to rise, but bowed down thrice, and fell again. So did a better man than he, Huldericus Zuinglius, when slain in battle; but he could say what Sisera could not, Age, corpus quidem occidere possunt, animum non possunt. Well, the enemies may kill my body, but cannot come at my soul. {a}
{a} Scultet, Annal., p. 348.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Here is a lively representation of the thing done.…
Here is a lively representation of the thing done. At the first blow or wound he was awakened, and made some attempt to rise; but being astonished and very weak, she also following her first blow with others, he found himself impotent, and fell down dead; and then she struck the nail quite through his head into the ground, as is said, Jdg 4:21.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Perhaps at her first approach to him, and attempt…
Perhaps at her first approach to him, and attempt to drive the nail, or at the blow she gave, he rose up, but she had done the business so effectually at the first stroke, that he dropped at once, and laid down his head again:
at her feet he bowed, he fell; when she redoubled her blow:
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where he bowed, there he fell down dead; and struggled and stirred no more; thus ingloriously did this general of a vast army die. This action is not otherwise to be justified, but by its being done through an impulse of the Spirit of God upon her, to take away the life of an implacable enemy of God's people; otherwise it might seem to be a breach of hospitality towards her guest she had invited in, and of the peace which subsisted between this general's prince and her husband; and therefore is not to be drawn into an example where there is no appearance of a divine warrant.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 27. At her feet he bowed] בין רגליה…
Verse 27. At her feet he bowed] בין רגליה bein ragleyha, "between her feet." After having stunned him she probably sat down, for the greater convenience of driving the nail through his temples.
He bowed - he fell] He probably made some struggles after he received the blow on the head, but could not recover his feet.
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AEschylus represents Agamemnon rising, staggering, and finally falling, under the blows of Clytemnestra. - Agam. v. 1384.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Jdg 5:27. At her feet he bowed, &c. —…
Jdg 5:27. At her feet he bowed, &c. — This verse is considered by many as a description of the struggles of Sisera after he was wounded; but perhaps it may only be a relation of his lying down to sleep quite spent with fatigue, from which he never rose again. For it is expressly said, (Jdg 4:21,) that Jael smote the nail quite through his temples, so as to fasten him to the ground; from whence there is great reason to conclude that the blow was instantaneously fatal, and that he never struggled nor stirred. This verse is thus translated by Dr. Kennicott:
At her feet he bowed, he fell! At her feet he bowed, he fell!
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Where he bowed, there he fell dead.
And he supposes, naturally enough, the first line to be sung by Deborah, the second by Barak, and that they both joined in singing the third. The whole verse is greatly expressive of the joy of Deborah on this occasion, and shows, in a strong light, her love for her country and people. She dwells on every circumstance with seeming pleasure; she repeats them, as it were, to enjoy the idea and contemplation of them the longer. And one would think all the enemies of Israel had perished in this one man.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Wretched. Hebrew, "he expired where he fell down." (Haydock)…
Wretched. Hebrew, "he expired where he fell down." (Haydock) --- Debbora represents Jahel as ready to tread the unhappy Sisara under her feet, if he should offer to stir. She thrice repeats his death.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 27. He sunk down, he fell — The reference…
27. He sunk down, he fell — The reference is doubtless to the supposed convulsion in which he rolled off from the low divan and fell to the floor. See note on Jdg_4:21.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 27. The effect of the blow, vividly depicted in…
27. The effect of the blow, vividly depicted in short, abrupt words; from a standing position his body collapsed; lit. ‘he dropped on his knees, fell headlong, and lay a broken wreck upon the ground.’ For he bowed cf. Jdg_7:5-6, Isa_46:1; he fell cf. 1Sa_28:20; he lay cf. Lam_2:21; dead lit. ‘destroyed,’ ‘spoiled,’ cf. Jer_4:30, Isa_33:1.
The second line, at her feet he bowed, he fell is probably an erroneous repetition from the first.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (27) At her feet.—Literally, between her feet, as though…
(27) At her feet.—Literally, between her feet, as though the dauntless woman had stridden over him as he lay in the dead sleep of weariness.
He bowed.—The word means that he suddenly curled up his knees in one contortion of agony.
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He fell.—Rolling, perhaps, off the divan on which he was resting.
He lay down.—Motionless in death, after that one convulsive movement.
Dead.—Rather, slaughtered, or murdered. With this one terrific word the scene ends, as with a blow.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.