Judges 5
Christian Standard Bible
Deborah’s Song
5 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang:
2 When the leaders lead[a] in Israel,
when the people volunteer,
blessed be the Lord.
3 Listen, kings! Pay attention, princes!
I will sing to the Lord;
I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.
4 Lord, when you came from Seir,(A)
when you marched from the fields of Edom,
the earth trembled,(B)
the skies poured(C) rain,
and the clouds poured water.
5 The mountains melted before the Lord,
even Sinai,[b] before the Lord, the God of Israel.(D)
6 In the days of Shamgar(E) son of Anath,
in the days of Jael,(F)
the main roads were deserted
because travelers kept to the side roads.
7 Villages were deserted,[c]
they were deserted in Israel,
until I,[d] Deborah, arose,
a mother in Israel.
8 Israel chose new gods,
then there was war in the city gates.
Not a shield or spear was seen
among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart is with the leaders of Israel,
with the volunteers of the people.
Blessed be the Lord!
10 You who ride on white[e] donkeys,
who sit on saddle blankets,
and who travel on the road, give praise!
11 Let them tell the righteous acts(G) of the Lord,
the righteous deeds of his villagers in Israel,
with the voices of the singers at the watering places.[f]
Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates.
12 “Awake! Awake, Deborah!
Awake! Awake, sing a song!
Arise, Barak,
and take your prisoners,
son of Abinoam!”
13 Then the survivors(H) came down to the nobles;(I)
the Lord’s people came down to me[g] against the warriors.
14 Those with their roots in Amalek[h] came from Ephraim;
Benjamin came with your people after you.
The leaders came down from Machir,(J)
and those who carry a marshal’s staff came from Zebulun.
15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
Issachar was with Barak;
they were under his leadership[i](K) in the valley.
There was great searching[j] of heart
among the clans of Reuben.
16 Why did you sit among the sheep pens[k]
listening to the playing of pipes for the flocks?
There was great searching of heart
among the clans of Reuben.
17 Gilead(L) remained beyond the Jordan.
Dan, why did you linger at the ships?
Asher remained at the seashore
and stayed in his harbors.
18 The people of Zebulun defied death,
Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.
19 Kings came and fought.
Then the kings of Canaan fought
at Taanach by the Waters of Megiddo,
but they did not plunder the silver.
20 The stars fought from the heavens;
the stars fought with Sisera from their paths.
21 The river Kishon swept them away,(M)
the ancient river, the river Kishon.
March on, my soul, in strength!
22 The horses’ hooves then hammered—
the galloping, galloping of his[l] stallions.
23 “Curse Meroz,” says the angel of the Lord,
“Bitterly curse her inhabitants,
for they did not come to help the Lord,
to help the Lord with the warriors.”
24 Most blessed of women is Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite;
she is most blessed among tent-dwelling women.
25 He asked for water; she gave him milk.
She brought him cream(N) in a majestic bowl.
26 She reached for a tent peg,
her right hand, for a workman’s hammer.
Then she hammered Sisera—
she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 He collapsed, he fell, he lay down between her feet;
he collapsed, he fell between her feet;
where he collapsed, there he fell—dead.
28 Sisera’s mother looked through the window;
she peered through the lattice, crying out:
“Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why don’t I hear the hoofbeats of his horses?” [m]
29 Her wisest princesses answer her;
she even answers herself:
30 “Are they not finding and dividing the spoil—
a girl or two[n] for each warrior,
the spoil of colored garments for Sisera,
the spoil of an embroidered garment or two for my neck?” [o]
31 Lord, may all your enemies perish as Sisera did.[p]
But may those who love him
be like the rising of the sun in its strength.
And the land had peace for forty years.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 5:2 Or the locks of hair are loose
- 5:5 Or Lord, this one of Sinai
- 5:7 Hb obscure
- 5:7 Or you
- 5:10 Hb obscure
- 5:11 Hb obscure
- 5:13 LXX reads down for him
- 5:14 LXX reads in the valley
- 5:15 Lit they set out as his feet
- 5:15 Some Hb mss, Syr read There were great resolves
- 5:16 Or the campfires
- 5:22 = Sisera’s
- 5:28 Lit Why have the hoofbeats of his chariots delayed
- 5:30 Lit a womb or two wombs
- 5:30 Hb obscure
- 5:31 Lit perish in this way
Judges 5
English Standard Version
The Song of Deborah and Barak
5 (A)Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day:
2 “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,
that (B)the people offered themselves willingly,
bless the Lord!
3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;
to the Lord I will sing;
I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel.
4 “Lord, (C)when you went out from Seir,
when you marched from the region of Edom,
(D)the earth trembled
and the heavens dropped,
yes, the clouds dropped water.
5 The mountains (E)quaked before the Lord,
(F)even Sinai before the Lord,[a] the God of Israel.
6 “In the days of (G)Shamgar, son of Anath,
in the days of (H)Jael, (I)the highways were abandoned,
and travelers kept to the byways.
7 The villagers ceased in Israel;
they ceased to be until I arose;
I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.
8 (J)When new gods were chosen,
then war was in the gates.
(K)Was shield or spear to be seen
among forty thousand in Israel?
9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel
who (L)offered themselves willingly among the people.
Bless the Lord.
10 “Tell of it, (M)you who ride on white donkeys,
you who sit on rich carpets[b]
and you who walk by the way.
11 To the sound of musicians[c] at the watering places,
there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord,
the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.
“Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.
12 (N)“Awake, awake, Deborah!
Awake, awake, break out in a song!
Arise, Barak, (O)lead away your captives,
O son of Abinoam.
13 Then down marched the remnant of the noble;
the people of the Lord marched down for me against the mighty.
14 From (P)Ephraim their root (Q)they marched down into the valley,[d]
following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;
from (R)Machir marched down the commanders,
and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's[e] staff;
15 the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,
and Issachar faithful to (S)Barak;
into the valley they rushed at his heels.
Among the clans of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.
16 Why did you sit still (T)among the sheepfolds,
to hear the whistling for the flocks?
Among the clans of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.
17 (U)Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;
(V)and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?
(W)Asher sat still (X)at the coast of the sea,
staying by his landings.
18 (Y)Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;
(Z)Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field.
19 “The kings came, they fought;
then fought the kings of Canaan,
at (AA)Taanach, by the waters of (AB)Megiddo;
(AC)they got no spoils of silver.
20 (AD)From heaven the stars fought,
from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 (AE)The torrent Kishon swept them away,
the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.
March on, my soul, with might!
22 “Then loud beat the horses' hoofs
with the galloping, galloping of his steeds.
23 “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the Lord,
curse its inhabitants thoroughly,
(AF)because they did not come to the help of the Lord,
to the help of the Lord against the mighty.
24 “Most blessed of women be (AG)Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
of tent-dwelling women most blessed.
25 (AH)He asked for water and she gave him milk;
she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.
26 (AI)She sent her hand to the tent peg
and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;
she struck Sisera;
she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 Between her feet
he sank, he fell, he lay still;
between her feet
he sank, he fell;
where he sank,
there he fell—dead.
28 (AJ)“Out of the window she peered,
the mother of Sisera wailed through (AK)the lattice:
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’
29 Her wisest princesses answer,
indeed, she answers herself,
30 ‘Have they not found and (AL)divided the spoil?—
A womb or two for every man;
spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,
spoil of dyed materials embroidered,
two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?’
31 (AM)“So may all your enemies perish, O Lord!
But your friends be (AN)like the sun (AO)as he rises in his might.”
(AP)And the land had rest for forty years.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord
- Judges 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets
- Judges 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Judges 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek
- Judges 5:14 Hebrew commander's
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
