³ Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
    for we have endured no end of contempt.
⁴ We have endured no end
    of ridicule from the arrogant,
    of contempt from the proud.

² “When the princes in Israel take the lead,
    when the people willingly offer themselves—
    praise the Lord!

³ “Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
    I, even I, will sing to^[a] the Lord;
    I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.

⁴ “When you, Lord, went out from Seir,
    when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook, the heavens poured,
    the clouds poured down water.
⁵ The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai,
    before the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁶ “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned;
    travelers took to winding paths.
⁷ Villagers in Israel would not fight;
    they held back until I, Deborah, arose,
    until I arose, a mother in Israel.
⁸ God chose new leaders
    when war came to the city gates,
but not a shield or spear was seen
    among forty thousand in Israel.
⁹ My heart is with Israel’s princes,
    with the willing volunteers among the people.
    Praise the Lord!

¹⁰ “You who ride on white donkeys,
    sitting on your saddle blankets,
    and you who walk along the road,
consider ¹¹ the voice of the singers^[b] at the watering places.
    They recite the victories of the Lord,
    the victories of his villagers in Israel.

“Then the people of the Lord
    went down to the city gates.
¹² ‘Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
    Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, Barak!
    Take captive your captives, son of Abinoam.’