This climactic verse describes with much poetic effect, the outcome of Jael’s act. There are numerous repetitive expressions with the verb sank appearing three times, the verb fell three times, and the phrase at her feet twice, all of which lead up to the climax, the final word dead. This is an outstanding example of Old Testament parallelism building up to a final line. There is a strong similarity here to the description of King Eglon, when his servants found him lying dead on the ground (verse 3.25). In Hebrew the order of the phrases in this verse is slightly different from Revised Standard Version as follows:

Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay.
Between her feet he sank, he fell.
Where he sank, there he fell, dead!

Hebrew uses a quick succession of verbs, but translators need to reflect on how to best express this scene in their own language, using stylistic devices appropriate to this poetic genre.

He sank, he fell, he lay still at her feet: As in some climaxes in the Old Testament, whether narrative or poetic, the main characters are not named but referred to by pronouns. The pronoun He refers to Sisera, and the pronoun her to Jael. Translators will have to determine if this style is acceptable in their language. If not, the names Sisera and Jael can be made explicit.

Sank renders a Hebrew verb meaning “bow down” (karaʿ) which is used in a variety of contexts in the Old Testament, for example, “bow down” to drink, “bow down” in respect, and “crouch” in childbirth. It can even have sexual connotations (“bow down over”). This verb occurs later in the book of Judges as Jephthah expresses his sadness to his daughter by saying, “you have brought me very low” (verse 11.35). In Hebrew He sank follows directly after at her feet. Though this clause describes the physical act of Sisera “slumping,” “dropping” or “crumbling” to the ground at Jael’s feet, it may mock this enemy of Israel as he is made to “bow down,” not only to a member of the enemy, but to a woman. Some languages may need to add “to the ground” after the verb sank even though at her feet has already been specified. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version say he “sank to his knees,” but this rendering poses some problem, since it would contradict the account in verse 4.21, where he was actually lying down asleep. So it is better to not use this rendering as a model here.

He fell uses the keyword “fall” (nafal in Hebrew), which is often associated with the defeat of Israel’s enemies (see, for example, verse 3.25; verse 4.16, 22). Though this verb and the preceding one seem to portray movement down from a height, both in the case of King Eglon and the narrative account of Sisera’s death, it seems to describe someone lying flat.

Lay still renders a single verb in Hebrew. Revised Standard Version has added the word still to express the fact that Sisera is motionless on the ground. The verb literally means “lie down,” and it is used to refer to actual sleeping, but also often to express death. Like the verb for sank, it also is used at times with sexual connotations. In this context translators can find idiomatic expressions to express the idea of death. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “lay outstretched,” and Revised English Bible has “lay prone.” We may say “was sprawled out” or “was unmoving.” In many languages this idea may be expressed with ideophones.

At her feet (literally “between her feet”) begins this verse in Hebrew. Revised Standard Version, along with others, puts this phrase at the end of the line, and then maintains the Hebrew order in the next line. However, keeping the Hebrew order can demonstrate the parallelism and maintain the emphasis here. The position of Sisera lying at the feet of Jael, a woman, highlights her victory and his defeat. It is also possible that the word feet adds irony to the scene, since this word is often used in Hebrew for many bodily functions. This phrase may be rendered “in front of her.”

At her feet he sank, he fell repeats the scene, using the same terms from the first line. The repetition reinforces the emotional impact.

Where he sank, there he fell dead: This rendering follows the Hebrew very closely, maintaining the rhythm. Translators should try to imitate this style. Taking this line literally, it means that once Sisera was pierced by the tent peg, he was killed in one fell swoop. Translators may have an idiomatic expression or ideophone that conveys this idea. For sank and fell, see the comments above. As with the description of King Eglon’s death (verse 3.25), the climactic word dead appears at the very end of the sentence, where it seems to jump out and surprise the reader or hearer. This is certainly the technique of a very skilled poet. However, the Hebrew word rendered dead is not the same one used to describe King Eglon. The verb here is a passive participle meaning “destroyed violently,” “devastated,” “ruined.” So New American Bible says “slain,” while New Jerusalem Bible and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh have “destroyed.” Translators can try to find a close equivalent or use the same word as in 3.25, which is what Revised Standard Version and some others do. Once again an ideophone or some idiomatic expression, such as “stone dead,” may be effective.

Translators need to reflect on how to best render this high point in the song. Some languages will appreciate the repetition, but this should be avoided if it makes the translation heavy. For example, Good News Translation‘s rendering seems far from poetic. Contemporary English Version chooses to reduce the lines to two, which may makes them less emphatic and removes the effect of surprise. Nevertheless, it captures the finality of the victory of Jael over Sisera as follows:

Sisera sank to his knees
and fell dead at her feet.

If the target language prefers short sentences, rather than repetitive ones at the climax of a story, a possible model is:

• At her feet, he sank to the ground,
at her feet, motionless and still.
Where he sank, there Sisera lay: dead!

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .