Judges 5:25

25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk; in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.

Judges 5:25 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
25 He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.
English Standard Version (ESV)
25 He asked water and she gave him milk; she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.
New Living Translation (NLT)
25 Sisera asked for water, and she gave him milk. In a bowl fit for nobles, she brought him yogurt.
The Message Bible (MSG)
25 He asked for water, she brought milk; In a handsome bowl, she offered cream.
American Standard Version (ASV)
25 He asked water, [and] she gave him milk; She brought him butter in a lordly dish.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
25 Sisera asked for water. She gave him milk. She offered him buttermilk in a royal bowl.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
25 He asked for water; she gave him milk. She brought him curdled milk in a majestic bowl.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
25 Sisera asked for water. She gave him milk. In a bowl that was fit for nobles she brought him buttermilk.

Judges 5:25 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 5:25

He asked water, and she gave him milk
That is, Sisera asked it of her, as the Targum expresses it, when he turned into her tent:

she brought him fresh butter in a lordly dish;
which signifies either the same, the milk with cream on it, for that is meant by butter; or having first taken off the cream, she gave him milk to drink, and then brought the cream in a dish for him to eat, and thereby the more incline him to sleep; and this she brought in a dish fit for any lord or nobleman to eat out of; in such a polite and courteous manner did she use him, so that he could have no suspicion of her having any ill design against him. R. Jonah, as Kimchi notes, interprets this of a dish of the mighty or lordly ones, of the shepherds, the principal of the flock, as they are called in ( Jeremiah 25:34 Jeremiah 25:35 ) , out of which they had used to drink their milk, or eat their cream, and such an one was likely enough to be Jael's tent; from this Hebrew word "sepel", here used, seems to come the Latin word "simpucium" or "simpulum", used in things sacred, and which, according to Pliny F20, was an earthen vessel; and so some of the Rabbins, as Kimchi observes, say, this was a new earthen vial; it is very probable it was a broad platter or dish fit for such an use.


FOOTNOTES:

F20 Nat. Hist. l. 35. c. 12.

Judges 5:25 In-Context

23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD. ‘Curse its people bitterly, because they did not come to help the LORD, to help the LORD against the mighty.’
24 “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk; in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.
26 Her hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman’s hammer. She struck Sisera, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 At her feet he sank, he fell; there he lay. At her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell—dead.

Cross References 1

  • 1. S Genesis 18:8; Judges 4:19
Scripture quoted by permission.  Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.  NIV®.  Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica.  All rights reserved worldwide.