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Judges 5
New English Translation

Celebrating the Victory in Song

5 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this victory song:[a]

2 “When the leaders took the lead[b] in Israel,
When the people answered the call to war—
Praise the Lord!
3 Hear, O kings!
Pay attention, O rulers!
I will sing to the Lord![c]
I will sing[d] to the Lord God of Israel!
4 O Lord, when you departed[e] from Seir,

when you marched from Edom’s plains,
the earth shook, the heavens poured down,
the clouds poured down rain.[f]
5 The mountains trembled[g] before the Lord, the God of Sinai;[h]
before the Lord God of Israel.
6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,

in the days of Jael caravans[i] disappeared;[j]
travelers[k] had to go on winding side roads.
7 Warriors[l] were scarce;[m]
they were scarce in Israel,
until you[n] arose, Deborah,
until you arose as a motherly protector[o] in Israel.
8 God chose new leaders,[p]
then fighters appeared in the city gates;[q]
but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found[r]
among forty military units[s] in Israel.
9 My heart went out[t] to Israel’s leaders,
to the people who answered the call to war.
Praise the Lord!
10 You who ride on light-colored female donkeys,

who sit on saddle blankets,[u]
you who walk on the road, pay attention!
11 Hear[v] the sound of those who divide the sheep[w] among the watering places;
there they tell of[x] the Lord’s victorious deeds,
the victorious deeds of his warriors[y] in Israel.
Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates—
12 Wake up, wake up, Deborah!

Wake up, wake up, sing a song!
Get up, Barak!
Capture your prisoners of war,[z] son of Abinoam!
13 Then the survivors[aa] came down[ab] to the mighty ones;[ac]
the Lord’s people came down to me[ad] as[ae] warriors.
14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek;[af]
they follow[ag] after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers.
From Makir leaders came down,
from Zebulun came[ah] the ones who march carrying[ai] an officer’s staff.
15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah;
the men of Issachar[aj] supported[ak] Barak;
into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command.[al]
Among the clans of Reuben there was intense[am] heart searching.[an]
16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds,[ao]
listening to the shepherds playing their pipes[ap] for their flocks?[aq]
As for the clans of Reuben—there was intense searching of heart.
17 Gilead stayed put[ar] beyond the Jordan River.
As for Dan—why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards?[as]
Asher remained[at] on the seacoast;
he stayed[au] by his harbors.[av]
18 The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives;[aw]
Naphtali charged onto the battlefields.[ax]
19 Kings came, they fought;

the kings of Canaan fought
at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo,
but[ay] they took no silver as plunder.
20 From the sky[az] the stars[ba] fought,
from their paths in the heavens[bb] they fought against Sisera.
21 The Kishon River carried them off;
the river confronted them[bc]—the Kishon River.
Step on the necks of the strong![bd]
22 The horses’[be] hooves pounded the ground;[bf]

the stallions galloped madly.[bg]
23 ‘Call judgment down on[bh] Meroz,’ says the angel of the Lord;
‘Be sure[bi] to call judgment down on[bj] those who live there,
because they did not come to help in the Lord’s battle,[bk]
to help in the Lord’s battle against the warriors.’[bl]
24 The most rewarded[bm] of women should be Jael,

the wife of Heber the Kenite!
She should be the most rewarded of women who live in tents.
25 He asked for water,
and she gave him milk;
in a bowl fit for a king,[bn]
she served him curds.
26 Her left[bo] hand reached for the tent peg,
her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.
She “hammered”[bp] Sisera,
she shattered his skull,[bq]
she smashed his head,[br]
she drove the tent peg through his temple.[bs]
27 Between her feet he collapsed,
he fell limp and was lifeless;[bt]
between her feet he collapsed and fell,
in the spot where he collapsed,
there he fell—violently killed![bu]
28 Through the window she looked;

Sisera’s mother cried out through the lattice:
‘Why is his chariot so slow to return?
Why are the hoofbeats of his chariot horses[bv] delayed?’
29 The wisest of her ladies[bw] answer;
indeed she even thinks to herself,
30 ‘No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder[bx]—
a girl or two for each man to rape![by]
Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth,[bz]
he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth,[ca]
two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth,
for the neck of the plunderer!’[cb]
31 May all your enemies perish like this, O Lord!

But may those who love you shine
like the rising sun at its brightest.”[cc]

And the land had rest for forty years.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 5:1 tn The words “this victory song” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  2. Judges 5:2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression בִּפְרֹעַ פְּרָעוֹת (bifroaʿ peraʿot) is uncertain. Numerous proposals are offered by commentators. (For a survey of opinions, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 223-27.) The next line refers to the people who responded to Barak’s summons to war, so a reference to the leaders who issued the summons would provide a natural poetic parallel. In v. 9 the leaders (חוֹקְקֵי, khoqeqe) of the people and these same volunteers stand in poetic parallelism, so it is reasonable to assume that the difficult Hebrew term פְּרַעוֹת (peraʿot, v. 2a) is synonymous with חוֹקְקֵי (khoqeqe) of v. 9 (see Lindars, 227).
  3. Judges 5:3 tn Heb “I, to the Lord, I, I will sing!” The first singular personal pronoun is used twice, even though a first person finite verbal form is employed.
  4. Judges 5:3 tn Or “make music.”
  5. Judges 5:4 tn Or “went out.”
  6. Judges 5:4 tn Heb “water.”
  7. Judges 5:5 tn Or “quaked.” The translation assumes the form נָזֹלּוּ (nazollu) from the root זָלַל (zalal, “to quake”; see HALOT 272 s.v. II זלל). The LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum also understood the word this way. (See Isa 63:19 and 64:2 for other occurrences of this form.) Some understand here the verb נָזַל (nazal, “to flow [with torrents of rain water]”).
  8. Judges 5:5 tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the Lord rules from Sinai.
  9. Judges 5:6 tc The translation assumes the form אֳרְחוֹת (ʾorekhot, “caravans”) rather than אֳרָחוֹת (ʾorakhot, “roadways”) because it makes a tighter parallel with “travelers” in the next line.
  10. Judges 5:6 tn Or “ceased.”
  11. Judges 5:6 tn Heb “Ones walking on paths.”
  12. Judges 5:7 tn The meaning of the Hebrew noun פְרָזוֹן (ferazon) is uncertain. Some understand the meaning as “leaders” or “those living in rural areas.” The singular noun appears to be collective (note the accompanying plural verb). For various options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 237-38.
  13. Judges 5:7 tn Or “ceased.”
  14. Judges 5:7 tn The translation assumes that the verb is an archaic second feminine singular form. Though Deborah is named as one of the composers of the song (v. 1), she is also addressed within it (v. 12). Many take the verb as first person singular, “I arose” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV).
  15. Judges 5:7 tn Heb “mother.” The translation assumes that the image portrays Deborah as a protector of the people. It is possible that the metaphor points to her prophetic role. Just as a male prophet could be called “father,” so Deborah, a prophetess, is called “mother” (B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239).
  16. Judges 5:8 tn Or “warriors.” The Hebrew text reads literally, “He chose God/gods new.” Some take “Israel” as the subject of the verb, “gods” as object, and “new” as an adjective modifying “gods.” This yields the translation, “(Israel) chose new gods.” In this case idolatry is the cause of the trouble alluded to in the context. The present translation takes “God” as subject of the verb and “new” as substantival, referring to the new leaders raised up by God (see v. 9a). For a survey of opinions and a defense of the present translation, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40.
  17. Judges 5:8 tn The translation of this difficult line is speculative because the second word, לָחֶם (lakhem), appears only here. The line in the Hebrew text literally reads, “Then [?] gates.” Interpretations and emendations of the Hebrew text abound (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40). The translation assumes a repointing of the form as a Qal participle לֹחֵם (lokhem) from the verbal root לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) and understands a substantival use (“fighter”). “Fighter” is a collective reference to the military leaders or warriors mentioned in the preceding line and in v. 9. (For other occurrences of the Qal of לָחַם, see Pss 35:1; 56:2-3.)
  18. Judges 5:8 tn Heb “A shield, it could not be seen, nor a spear.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew particle אִם (ʾim) introduces an oath of denial (see GKC 472 §149.e).
  19. Judges 5:8 tn Traditionally “forty thousand,” but this may be an instance where Hebrew term אֶלֶף (ʾelef) refers to a military unit. This is the view assumed by the translation (“forty military units”).
  20. Judges 5:9 tn The words “went out” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  21. Judges 5:10 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִדִּין (middin, “saddle blankets”) in this context is uncertain.
  22. Judges 5:11 tn The word “Hear” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
  23. Judges 5:11 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. Some translate “those who distribute the water” (HALOT 344 s.v. חצץ pi). For other options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 246-47.
  24. Judges 5:11 tn Or perhaps “repeat.”
  25. Judges 5:11 tn See the note on the term “warriors” in v. 7.
  26. Judges 5:12 tn Heb “take captive your captives.” (The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative here.)
  27. Judges 5:13 tn This probably refers to those who responded to the call for war. They were “survivors” of the Canaanite oppression (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 250).
  28. Judges 5:13 tn The translation assumes a repointing of the verb as a perfect or imperfect/preterite form of יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”). The form as pointed in the MT appears to be from רָדָה (radah, “to rule”). See GKC 188 §69.g. The same form, translated “came down,” occurs in the next line as well.
  29. Judges 5:13 sn The expression mighty ones probably refers to the leaders of the army.
  30. Judges 5:13 sn The speaker may be Deborah here.
  31. Judges 5:13 tn The translation assumes the preposition ב (bet) prefixed to “warriors” has the force of “in the capacity of.” For this use of the preposition, see GKC 379 §119.i.
  32. Judges 5:14 tn Heb “From Ephraim their root in Amalek” (the words “they came” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons). Because of the difficulty of the MT, many prefer to follow one of the ancient versions or emend the text. For various proposals see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 252-53. The present translation repoints שָׁרְשָׁם (shorsham, traditionally translated “their root”) as a Piel verb form with enclitic mem (ם). The preposition ב (bet) on עֲמָלֵק (ʿamaleq) introduces the object (see Job 31:12 for an example of the construction). Ephraim’s territory encompassed the hill country of the Amalekites (Judg 12:15).
  33. Judges 5:14 tn The words “They follow” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
  34. Judges 5:14 tn The word “came” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
  35. Judges 5:14 tn Or possibly “who carry.”
  36. Judges 5:15 tn Heb “Issachar.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  37. Judges 5:15 tn Or “were true to.”
  38. Judges 5:15 tn Heb “at his feet.”
  39. Judges 5:15 tn Heb “great was.”
  40. Judges 5:15 tc The great majority of Hebrew mss have “resolves of heart,” but a few mss read “searchings of heart,” which is preferable in light of v. 16.
  41. Judges 5:16 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִשְׁפְּתַיִם (mishpetayim) is uncertain. Some understand the word to mean “campfires.”
  42. Judges 5:16 tn Or “whistling.”
  43. Judges 5:16 tn Heb “listening to the pipe playing for the flocks.”
  44. Judges 5:17 tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”sn Apparently the people of Gilead remained on the other side of the river and did not participate in the battle.
  45. Judges 5:17 tn Heb “Dan, why did he live as a resident alien, ships.” The verb גּוּר (gur) usually refers to taking up residence outside one’s native land. Perhaps the Danites, rather than rallying to Barak, were content to move to the Mediterranean coast and work in the shipyards. For further discussion, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 262.
  46. Judges 5:17 tn Heb “lived.”
  47. Judges 5:17 tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”
  48. Judges 5:17 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִפְרָץ (mifrats) is uncertain, but the parallelism (note “seacoast”) suggests “harbors.”
  49. Judges 5:18 tn Heb “Zebulun was a people which despised its life even unto death.”
  50. Judges 5:18 tn Heb “Naphtali was on the heights of the field.”
  51. Judges 5:19 tn The contrastive conjunction “but” is interpretive.
  52. Judges 5:20 tn Or “from heaven.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
  53. Judges 5:20 tn The MT takes “the stars” with what follows rather than with the first colon of v. 20. But for metrical reasons it seems better to move the atnakh (colon divider) and read the colon as indicated in the translation.
  54. Judges 5:20 tn The words “in the heavens” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  55. Judges 5:21 tn Possibly “the ancient river,” but it seems preferable in light of the parallel line (which has a verb) to emend the word (attested only here) to a verb (קָדַם, qadam) with pronominal object suffix.
  56. Judges 5:21 tn This line is traditionally taken as the poet-warrior’s self-exhortation, “March on, my soul, in strength!” The present translation (a) takes the verb (a second feminine singular form) as addressed to Deborah (cf. v. 12), (b) understands נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in its well-attested sense of “throat; neck” (cf. Jonah 2:6), (c) takes the final yod (י) on נַפְשִׁי (nafshi) as an archaic construct indicator (rather than a suffix), and (d) interprets עֹז (ʿoz, “strength”) as an attributive genitive (literally, “necks of strength,” i.e., “strong necks”). For fuller discussion and various proposals, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 270-71.
  57. Judges 5:22 tc The MT as it stands has a singular noun, but if one moves the prefixed mem (מ) from the beginning of the next word to the end of סוּס (sus), the expected plural form is achieved. Another possibility is to understand an error of scribal haplography here, in which case the letter mem should appear in both places.
  58. Judges 5:22 tn The words “the ground” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  59. Judges 5:22 tn Heb “galloped, galloped.” The repetition is for emphasis and is more appropriately indicated in English with an adverb.
  60. Judges 5:23 tn Heb “Curse Meroz.”
  61. Judges 5:23 tn Heb “Curse, cursing.” The Hebrew construction is emphatic.
  62. Judges 5:23 tn Heb “[to] curse.”
  63. Judges 5:23 tn Heb “to the help of the Lord” (the same Hebrew phrase occurs in the following line). Another option is to read “to aid the Lord’s cause.”
  64. Judges 5:23 tn Or “along with the other warriors.”
  65. Judges 5:24 tn Or “blessed.”
  66. Judges 5:25 tn Or “for mighty ones.”
  67. Judges 5:26 tn The adjective “left” is interpretive, based on the context. Note that the next line pictures Jael holding the hammer with her right hand.
  68. Judges 5:26 tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.
  69. Judges 5:26 tn Or “head.”
  70. Judges 5:26 tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.
  71. Judges 5:26 tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”
  72. Judges 5:27 tn Heb “and he lay.
  73. Judges 5:27 tn Or “dead.”
  74. Judges 5:28 tn Heb “chariots.”
  75. Judges 5:29 tn Or “princesses.”
  76. Judges 5:30 tn Heb “Are they not finding, dividing the plunder?”
  77. Judges 5:30 tn Heb “a womb or two for each man.” The words “to rape” are interpretive. The Hebrew noun translated “girl” means literally “womb” (BDB 933 s.v. I. רַחַם), but in this context may refer by extension to the female genitalia. In this case the obscene language of Sisera’s mother alludes to the sexual brutality which typified the aftermath of battle.
  78. Judges 5:30 tn Heb “the plunder of dyed cloth is for Sisera.”
  79. Judges 5:30 tn Heb “the plunder of embroidered cloth.”
  80. Judges 5:30 tn The translation assumes an emendation of the noun (“plunder”) to a participle, “plunderer.”
  81. Judges 5:31 tn Heb “But may those who love him be like the going forth of the sun in its strength.”
Close WEB

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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