Judges 5
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Victory Song of Deborah and Barak
5 On that day Deborah and Barak, son of Abinoam, sang this song:
2 Praise the Lord!
Men in Israel vowed to fight,
and people volunteered for service.
3 Listen, you kings!
Open your ears, you princes!
I will sing a song to the Lord.
I will make music to the Lord God of Israel.
4 O Lord,
when you went out from Seir,
when you marched from the country of Edom,
the earth quaked,
the sky poured,
the clouds burst,
5 and the mountains shook
in the presence of the Lord God of Sinai,
in the presence of the Lord God of Israel.
6 In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,
in the days of Jael,
roads were deserted.
Those who traveled took back roads.
7 Villages in Israel were deserted—
deserted until I, Deborah, took a stand—
took a stand as a mother of Israel.
8 When the people chose new gods,
war broke out inside the city gates.
Not a weapon was seen among 40,000 in Israel.
9 My heart goes out to Israel’s commanders,
to those people who volunteered.
Praise the Lord!
10 You people who ride on brown donkeys,
who sit on saddle blankets,
and who walk on the road—think.
11 Listen to the voices of those singing at the wells.
Over and over again they repeat
the victories of the Lord,
the victories for his villages in Israel.
Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates.
12 Get up! Get up, Deborah!
Get up! Get up and create a song!
Barak, attack! Take your prisoners, son of Abinoam.
13 Then those mighty men who were left came down.
The Lord’s people went into battle for me against the mighty soldiers.
14 Those who had settled in Amalek’s country
came down from Ephraim.
Benjamin came with its troops
after Ephraim.
Commanders from Machir went into battle.
The officers from Zebulun also went.
15 Issachar’s commanders were with Deborah.
They were also with Barak,
sent into the valley under his command.
Among Reuben’s divisions important men had second thoughts.
16 Why did you sit between the saddlebags?
Was it to listen to the shepherds playing their flutes?
Reuben’s divisions of important men had second thoughts.
17 Gilead remained east of the Jordan River.
And Dan … Why did he stay by the ships?
Asher sat on the seashore and remained along the inlets.
18 But Zebulun mocked death,
and Naphtali risked his life on the battlefield.
19 Kings came and fought.
Then the kings of Canaan fought.
They fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo.
But they didn’t carry off any rich loot.
20 The stars fought from heaven.
They fought against Sisera from their heavenly paths.
21 The Kishon River swept them away—
that old river, the Kishon.
I must march on with strength!
22 Then the horses’ hoofs pounded.
The mighty war horses galloped on and on.
23 “Curse Meroz!” said the Messenger of the Lord.
“Bitterly curse those who live there!
They did not come to help the Lord,
to help the Lord and his heroes.”
24 Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite,
should be the most blessed woman,
the most blessed woman living in a tent.
25 Sisera asked for water.
She gave him milk.
She offered him buttermilk in a royal bowl.
26 She reached for a tent peg with one hand,
for a workman’s hammer with the other.
She struck Sisera.
She crushed his head.
She shattered and pierced his temples.
27 He sank.
He fell.
He lay between her feet!
He sank.
He fell between her feet.
Where he sank, he fell dead.
28 Sisera’s mother looked through her window
and cried as she peered through the lattice.
“Why is his chariot taking so long?
Why don’t I hear the clatter of his chariots?”
29 Her wisest servants gave her an answer.
But she kept repeating to herself,
30 “They’re really finding and dividing the loot:
A girl or two for each soldier,
colorful clothes for Sisera,
colorful, embroidered clothes,
and two pieces of colorful, embroidered cloth for the neck of the looter.”
31 May all your enemies die like that, O Lord.
But may those who love the Lord
be like the sun when it rises in all its brightness.
So the land had peace for 40 years.
Judges 5
World English Bible
5 Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,
2 “Because the leaders took the lead in Israel,
because the people offered themselves willingly,
be blessed, Yahweh!
3 “Hear, you kings!
Give ear, you princes!
I, even I, will sing to Yahweh.
I will sing praise to Yahweh, the God of Israel.
4 “Yahweh, when you went out of Seir,
when you marched out of the field of Edom,
the earth trembled, the sky also dropped.
Yes, the clouds dropped water.
5 The mountains quaked at Yahweh’s presence,
even Sinai at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
6 “In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied.
The travelers walked through byways.
7 The rulers ceased in Israel.
They ceased until I, Deborah, arose;
Until I arose a mother in Israel.
8 They chose new gods.
Then war was in the gates.
Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
9 My heart is toward the governors of Israel,
who offered themselves willingly among the people.
Bless Yahweh!
10 “Speak, you who ride on white donkeys,
you who sit on rich carpets,
and you who walk by the way.
11 Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water,
there they will rehearse Yahweh’s righteous acts,
the righteous acts of his rule in Israel.
“Then Yahweh’s people went down to the gates.
12 ‘Awake, awake, Deborah!
Awake, awake, utter a song!
Arise, Barak, and lead away your captives, you son of Abinoam.’
13 “Then a remnant of the nobles and the people came down.
Yahweh came down for me against the mighty.
14 Those whose root is in Amalek came out of Ephraim,
after you, Benjamin, among your peoples.
Governors come down out of Machir.
Those who handle the marshal’s staff came out of Zebulun.
15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah.
As was Issachar, so was Barak.
They rushed into the valley at his feet.
By the watercourses of Reuben,
there were great resolves of heart.
16 Why did you sit among the sheepfolds?
To hear the whistling for the flocks?
At the watercourses of Reuben,
there were great searchings of heart.
17 Gilead lived beyond the Jordan.
Why did Dan remain in ships?
Asher sat still at the haven of the sea,
and lived by his creeks.
18 Zebulun was a people that jeopardized their lives to the death;
Naphtali also, on the high places of the field.
19 “The kings came and fought,
then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo.
They took no plunder of silver.
20 From the sky the stars fought.
From their courses, they fought against Sisera.
21 The river Kishon swept them away,
that ancient river, the river Kishon.
My soul, march on with strength.
22 Then the horse hoofs stamped because of the prancing,
the prancing of their strong ones.
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said Yahweh’s angel.
‘Curse bitterly its inhabitants,
because they didn’t come to help Yahweh,
to help Yahweh against the mighty.’
24 “Jael shall be blessed above women,
the wife of Heber the Kenite;
blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
25 He asked for water.
She gave him milk.
She brought him butter in a lordly dish.
26 She put her hand to the tent peg,
and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer.
With the hammer she struck Sisera.
She struck through his head.
Yes, she pierced and struck through his temples.
27 At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay.
At her feet he bowed, he fell.
Where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
28 “Through the window she looked out, and cried:
Sisera’s mother looked through the lattice.
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why do the wheels of his chariots wait?’
29 Her wise ladies answered her,
Yes, she returned answer to herself,
30 ‘Have they not found, have they not divided the plunder?
A lady, two ladies to every man;
to Sisera a plunder of dyed garments,
a plunder of dyed garments embroidered,
of dyed garments embroidered on both sides, on the necks of the plunder?’
31 “So let all your enemies perish, Yahweh,
but let those who love him be as the sun when it rises in its strength.”
Then the land had rest forty years.
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