Judges 5 · Verse 25

Judges 5:25

He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.

Judges 5:25, King James Version

Judges 5:25 in other translations

BSB	He asked for water, and she gave him milk. In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.
WEB	He asked for water. She gave him milk. She brought him butter in a lordly dish.
ASV	He asked water, and she gave him milk; She brought him butter in a lordly dish.
YLT	Water he asked--milk she gave; In a lordly dish she brought near butter.
DARBY	He asked water, she gave milk; In the nobles' bowl she brought forth cream.
BBE	His request was for water, she gave him milk; she put butter before him on a fair plate.
Webster	He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.

What does Judges 5:25 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 5:24-27

24-27. is a most graphic picture of the treatment of Sisera in the tent of Jael.

Read the full comment on Judges 5:24-27 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 25 She brought forth butter - As the word חמאה chemah, here translated butter, signifies disturbed, agitated, etc., it is probable that buttermilk is intended. The Arabs form their buttermilk by agitating the milk in a leathery bag, and the buttermilk is highly esteemed because of its refreshing and cooling quality; but there is no reason why we may not suppose that Jael gave him cream: Sisera was not only thirsty, but was also exhausted with fatigue; and nothing could be better calculated to quench his thirst, and restore his exhausted strength, than a bowl of cream. I am surprised that Mr. Harmer should see any difficulty in this. It is evident that Deborah wishes to convey the idea that Jael was more liberal and kind than Sisera had requested. He asked for water, and she brought him cream; and she brought it to him, not in an ordinary pitcher, but in the most superb dish or bowl which she possessed. See at the end of Jdg 4:24 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Judges 5:24-31

Jael had a special blessing. Those whose lot is cast in the tent, in a low and narrow sphere, if they serve God according to the powers he has given them, shall not lose their reward. The mother of Sisera looked for his return, not in the least fearing his success. Let us take heed of indulging eager desires towards any temporal good, particularly toward that which cherishes vain-glory, for that was what she here…

Read the full comment on Judges 5:24-31 →

Judges 5:25 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

מַ֥יִםMa.yimwaterH4325

שָׁאַ֖לsha.'Alhe askedH7592

חָלָ֣בcha.LavmilkH2461

נָתָ֑נָהna.Ta.nahshe gaveH5414

בְּסֵ֥פֶלbe.Se.felin a bowl ofH5602

אַדִּירִ֖ים'a.di.RimnoblesH117

הִקְרִ֥יבָהhik.Ri.vahshe brought nearH7126

חֶמְאָֽה\׃chem.'Ahcurd<s>H2529

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Judges 5:25

Judges 4:19-21
And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. 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. Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

asked.
4:19-21
butter.{Chemah,} may signify buttermilk, which is made by the Arabs by agitating the milk in a leathern bag; and is highly esteemed because of its refreshing and cooling qualities.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Judges 5:24
Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
Judges 5:25
He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.
Judges 5:26
She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.

Read all of Judges 5

Judges 5:25 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	El pidió agua, y dióle ella leche; en tazón de nobles le presentó manteca.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Il a demandé de l’eau, elle lui a donné du lait; dans la coupe des nobles elle lui a présenté du caillé.
German Elberfelder 1871	Wasser verlangte er, Milch gab sie; in einer Schale der Edlen reichte sie geronnene Milch.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Aquam petenti lac dedit, et in phiala principum obtulit butyrum.