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Judges 5
Lexham English Bible

The Song of Deborah and Barak

5 And Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang on that day:

2 “When long hair hangs loosely in Israel,
    when the people willingly offer themselves,
        bless Yahweh!
3 Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes!
    I will sing to Yahweh;
    I will sing praise to Yahweh,
        the God of Israel.
4 Yahweh, when you went down from Seir,
    when you marched from the region of Edom,
the earth trembled, the heavens poured down,
    the clouds poured down water.
5 The mountains trembled[a] before Yahweh,
    this Sinai, at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
6 “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
    in the days of Jael, the caravans had ceased,
    the travelers,[b] they kept to the byways.[c]
7 The warriors[d] ceased;
    they failed to appear in Israel,
until I,[e] Deborah, arose;
    I[f] arose as a mother in Israel.
8 God chose new leaders,[g]
    then war was at the gates;
a small shield or a spear was not seen
    among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel,
    those offering themselves willingly among the people;
        bless Yahweh!
10 The riders of white female donkeys,
    those sitting on saddle blankets,
        and those going on the way, talk about it!
11 At the sound of those dividing[h] the sheep
        among the watering places,
    there they will recount the righteous deeds of Yahweh,
    the righteous deeds for his warriors[i] in Israel.
Then the people of Yahweh went down to the gates.
12 “Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
    Wake up, wake up, sing a song!
Get up, Barak!
    Take captive your captives, O son of Abinoam.
13 Then the remnant went down to the nobles;
    the people of Yahweh went down for him[j] against the mighty.
14 From Ephraim is their root into Amalek,
    after you, Benjamin, with your family;
from Makir the commanders went down,
    and from Zebulun those carrying the scepter
        of the military commander.
15 And the chiefs[k] in Issachar were with Deborah;
    and Issachar likewise was with Barak;
    into the valley he was sent to get him from behind.[l]
Among the clans of Reuben
    were great decisions of the heart.[m]
16 Why do you sit among the sheepfolds,
    to hear the calling sounds of the herds?
For the clans of Reuben,
    there were great searchings of the heart.
17 Gilead has remained[n] beyond the Jordan.
    Why did Dan dwell as a foreigner with ships?
Asher sat at the coast of the waters,
    and by his coves he has been settling down.
18 Zebulun is a people who scorned death,
    and Naphtali, on the heights of the field.
19 “The kings came, they fought;
    then the kings of Canaan fought;
at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo,
    they got no plunder in silver.
20 The stars fought from heaven;
    from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The wadi[o] torrent of Kishon swept them away,
    the raging wadi torrent,
        the wadi torrent of Kishon.
    March on, my soul, with strength!
22 “Then the hooves of the horse beat loudly,
    because of galloping, galloping of his stallions.
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ says the angel of Yahweh;
    ‘curse bitterly its inhabitants,
because they did not come to the help of Yahweh,
    to the help of Yahweh against the mighty.’
24 “Most blessed of women is Jael,
    the wife of Heber the Kenite;
        most blessed is she of women among tent dwellers.
25 He asked for water, and she gave milk;
    in a drinking bowl for nobles, she brought curds.
26 She reached out her hand to the peg,
    and her right hand for the workman’s hammer;
and she struck Sisera, crushed his head,
    and she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay.
    Between her feet he sank down, he fell;
        Where he sank down, there he fell—dead.[p]
28 “Through the window she looked down;
    the mother of Sisera cried out through the lattice,
‘Why is his chariot delayed in coming?
    Why do the hoof beats[q] of his chariot tarry?’
29 The wisest of her ladies answer her;
    she also answers the question herself:
30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the plunder?
    A bedmate or two bedmates for every man;[r]
colorful garments for Sisera,
    plunder of colorful garments,[s]
beautifully finished colorful garments,
    on the neck of the plunderer?’
31 So may all your enemies perish, O Yahweh,
but those who love him are like the rising sun at its brightest.”

And the land had rest for forty years.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 5:5 Or “quaked”
  2. Judges 5:6 Literally “the ones walking on the paths”
  3. Judges 5:6 Literally “they went on the crooked roads”
  4. Judges 5:7 Others interpret this word as referring to the “rural dwellers”
  5. Judges 5:7 Or “you”
  6. Judges 5:7 Or “you”
  7. Judges 5:8 ESV, NRSV translate “when new gods were chosen”
  8. Judges 5:11 Meaning uncertain; other translations have “archers” (Tanakh), “musicians” (ESV, NRSV) or “singers” (NIV, HCSB)
  9. Judges 5:11 Hebrew “warrior”
  10. Judges 5:13 Hebrew “me”
  11. Judges 5:15 Hebrew “my chiefs”; ancient translations read “the chiefs”
  12. Judges 5:15 Literally “he was sent at his feet”
  13. Judges 5:15 Or “thoughts of the heart”
  14. Judges 5:17 Or “stayed”
  15. Judges 5:21 A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
  16. Judges 5:27 Literally “devastated”
  17. Judges 5:28 Or “steps”
  18. Judges 5:30 Literally “a womb, two wombs for head of every man”
  19. Judges 5:30 Hebrew “garment”
Close ASV

Judges 5
American Standard Version

5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

2 For that the leaders took the lead in Israel,
For that the people offered themselves willingly,
Bless ye Jehovah.
3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes;
I, even I, will sing unto Jehovah;
I will sing praise to Jehovah, the God of Israel.
4 Jehovah, when thou wentest forth out of Seir,
When thou marchedst out of the field of Edom,
The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped,
Yea, the clouds dropped water.
5 The mountains [a]quaked at the presence of Jehovah,
Even yon Sinai at the presence of Jehovah, the God of Israel.

6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath,
In the days of Jael, [b]the highways were unoccupied,
And the travellers walked through [c]byways.
7 [d]The rulers ceased in Israel, they ceased,
Until that I Deborah arose,
That I arose a mother in Israel.
8 They chose new gods;
Then was war in the gates:
Was there a shield or spear seen
Among forty thousand in Israel?
9 My heart is toward the governors of Israel,
[e]That offered themselves willingly among the people:
Bless ye Jehovah.
10 Tell of it, ye that ride on white asses,
Ye that sit on rich carpets,
And ye that walk by the way.
11 [f]Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water,
There shall they rehearse the righteous acts of Jehovah,
Even the righteous acts [g]of his rule in Israel.
Then the people of Jehovah went down to the gates.

12 Awake, awake, Deborah;
Awake, awake, utter a song:
Arise, Barak, and lead away thy captives, thou son of Abinoam.
13 [h]Then came down a remnant of the nobles [i]and the people;
Jehovah came down for me [j]against the mighty.
14 Out of Ephraim came down they whose root is in Amalek;
After thee, Benjamin, among thy peoples;
Out of Machir came down [k]governors,
And out of Zebulun they that handle [l]the marshal’s staff.
15 And [m]the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
As was Issachar, so was Barak;
Into the valley they rushed forth at his feet.
By the watercourses of Reuben
There were great resolves of heart.
16 Why sattest thou among the sheepfolds,
To hear the pipings for the flocks?
At the watercourses of Reuben
There were great searchings of heart.
17 Gilead abode beyond the Jordan:
And Dan, why did he remain in ships?
Asher sat still at the [n]haven of the sea,
And abode by his creeks.
18 Zebulun was a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death,
And Naphtali, upon the high places of the field.

19 The kings came and fought;
Then fought the kings of Canaan,
In Taanach by the waters of Megiddo:
They took no gain of money.
20 From heaven fought the stars,
From their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The river Kishon swept them away,
That ancient river, the river Kishon.
O my soul, [o]march on with strength.
22 Then did the horsehoofs stamp
By reason of the prancings, the prancings of their strong ones.
23 Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of Jehovah.
Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof,
Because they came not to the help of Jehovah,
To the help of Jehovah [p]against the mighty.

24 Blessed [q]above women shall Jael be,
The wife of Heber the Kenite;
Blessed shall she be [r]above women in the tent.
25 He asked water, and she gave him milk;
She brought him butter in a lordly dish.
26 She put her hand to the tent-pin,
And her right hand to the workmen’s hammer;
And with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote through his head;
Yea, 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 [s]dead.

28 Through the window she looked forth, and cried,
The mother of Sisera cried through the lattice,
Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why tarry the [t]wheels of his chariots?
29 Her wise ladies answered her,
[u]Yea, she returned answer to herself,
30 Have they not found, have they not divided the spoil?
A damsel, two damsels to every man;
To Sisera a spoil of dyed garments,
A spoil of dyed garments embroidered,
Of dyed garments embroidered on both sides, on the necks of the spoil?
31 So let all thine enemies perish, O Jehovah:
But let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.

And the land had rest forty years.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Judges 5:5 Or, flowed down
  2. Judges 5:6 Or, the caravans ceased
  3. Judges 5:6 Hebrew crooked ways.
  4. Judges 5:7 Or, The villages were unoccupied
  5. Judges 5:9 Or, Ye that offered yourselves willingly among the people, bless etc.
  6. Judges 5:11 Or, Because of the voice of the archers . . . there let them rehearse
  7. Judges 5:11 Or, toward his villages
  8. Judges 5:13 Or, Then go down, O remnant, for the nobles . . . O Jehovah, go down for me against the mighty. Or, Then made he a remnant to have dominion over the nobles and the people; Jehovah made me have dominion over the mighty
  9. Judges 5:13 Or, as otherwise read, the people of Jehovah came down for me against (or among) the mighty
  10. Judges 5:13 Or, among
  11. Judges 5:14 Or, lawgivers
  12. Judges 5:14 Or, the staff of the scribe
  13. Judges 5:15 Or, my princes in Issachar
  14. Judges 5:17 Or, shore
  15. Judges 5:21 Or, thou hast trodden down strength
  16. Judges 5:23 Or, among
  17. Judges 5:24 Or, of
  18. Judges 5:24 Or, of
  19. Judges 5:27 Or, overpowered
  20. Judges 5:28 Hebrew steps.
  21. Judges 5:29 Or (Yet she repeateth her words unto herself)
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Judges 4
Judges 6
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