Judges 5
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Song of Deborah
5 Then Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang on that day,(A)
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.(C)
4 Lord, when you went out from Seir,
when you marched from the region of Edom,
the earth trembled,
and the heavens poured;
the clouds indeed poured water.(D)
5 The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai,
before the Lord, the God of Israel.(E)
6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, caravans ceased,
and travelers kept to the byways.(F)
7 The peasantry prospered in Israel;
they grew fat on plunder,
because[b] you arose, Deborah,
arose as a mother in Israel.
8 When new gods were chosen,
then war was in the gates.
Was shield or spear to be seen
among forty thousand in Israel?(G)
9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel
who offered themselves willingly among the people.
Bless the Lord.
10 Sing of it, you who ride on white donkeys,
you who sit on rich carpets,[c]
and you who walk by the way.
11 To the sound of musicians[d] at the watering places,
there they repeat the triumphs of the Lord,
the triumphs of his peasantry in Israel.
Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.(H)
12 Awake, awake, Deborah!
Awake, awake, utter a song!
Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,
O son of Abinoam.(I)
13 Then down marched the remnant of the nobles;
the people of the Lord marched down for him[e] against the mighty.
14 From Ephraim they set out[f] into the valley,[g]
following you, Benjamin, with your kin;
from Machir marched down the commanders,
and from Zebulun those who bear the marshal’s staff;(J)
15 the chiefs of Issachar came with Deborah,
and Issachar faithful to Barak;
into the valley they rushed out at his heels.
Among the clans of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.(K)
16 Why did you tarry among the sheepfolds,
to hear the piping for the flocks?
Among the clans of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.(L)
17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan,
and Dan, why did he abide with the ships?
Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,
settling down by his landings.(M)
18 Zebulun is a people that scorned death;
Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field.(N)
19 The kings came; they fought;
then fought the kings of Canaan,
at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;
they got no spoils of silver.(O)
20 The stars fought from heaven;
from their courses they fought against Sisera.(P)
21 The torrent Kishon swept them away,
the onrushing torrent, the torrent Kishon.
March on, my soul, with might!(Q)
22 Then loud beat the horses’ hoofs
with the galloping, galloping of his steeds.
23 Curse Meroz, says the angel of the Lord;
curse bitterly its inhabitants,
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 Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
of tent-dwelling women most blessed.(R)
25 Water he asked, milk she gave;
she brought him curds in a lordly bowl.(S)
26 She put her hand to the tent peg
and her right hand to the workers’ mallet;
she struck Sisera a blow;
she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his temple.(T)
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 Out of the window she peered;
the mother of Sisera gazed[h] through the lattice:
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’(U)
29 Her wisest ladies make answer;
indeed, she answers the question herself:
30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil?
A woman or two for every man;
spoil of dyed stuffs for Sisera,
spoil of dyed stuffs embroidered,
two pieces of dyed work embroidered for my neck as spoil?’(V)
31 So perish all your enemies, O Lord!
But may your friends be like the sun as it rises in its might.”
And the land had rest forty years.(W)
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Judges 5
Common English Bible
Deborah’s song
5 At that time, Deborah and Barak, Abinoam’s son, sang:
2 When hair is long in Israel,
when people willingly offer themselves—bless the Lord!
3 Hear, kings!
Listen, rulers!
I, to the Lord,
I will sing.
I will make music to the Lord,
Israel’s God.
4 Lord, when you set out from Seir,
when you marched out from Edom’s fields, the land shook,
the sky poured down,
the clouds poured down water.
5 The mountains quaked
before the Lord, the one from Sinai,
before the Lord, the God of Israel.
6 In the days of Shamgar, Anath’s son,
in the days of Jael, caravans ceased.
Those traveling by road
kept to the backroads.
7 Villagers disappeared;
they disappeared in Israel,
until you,[a] Deborah, arose,
until you arose as a mother in Israel.
8 When they chose new gods,
then war came to the city gates.[b]
Yet there wasn’t a shield or spear to be seen
among forty thousand in Israel!
9 My heart is with Israel’s commanders,
who willingly offered themselves among the people—bless the Lord!
10 You who ride white donkeys,
who sit on saddle blankets,[c]
who walk along the road: tell of it.
11 To the sound of instruments[d] at the watering places,
there they repeat the Lord’s victories,
his villagers’ victories in Israel.
Then the Lord’s people marched down to the city gates.
12 “Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
Wake up, wake up, sing a song!
Arise, Barak!
Capture your prisoners,
Abinoam’s son!”
13 Then those who remained marched down against royalty;
the Lord’s people marched down[e] against warriors.
14 From Ephraim they set out[f] into the valley,[g]
after you, Benjamin, with your people!
From Machir commanders marched down,
and from Zebulun those carrying the official’s staff.
15 The leaders of Issachar came along with Deborah;
Issachar was attached to Barak,
and was sent into the valley behind him.
Among the clans of Reuben
there was deep soul-searching.
16 “Why did you stay back among the sheep pens,
listening to the music for the flocks?”
For the clans of Reuben
there was deep soul-searching.
17 Gilead stayed on the other side of the Jordan,
and Dan, why did he remain with the ships?
Asher stayed by the seacoast,
camping at his harbors.
18 Zebulun is a people that readily risked death;
Naphtali too in the high countryside.
19 Kings came and made war;
the kings of Canaan fought
at Taanach by Megiddo’s waters,
but they captured no spoils of silver.
20 The stars fought from the sky;
from their orbits they fought against Sisera.
21 The Kishon River swept them away;
the advancing river, the Kishon River.
March on, my life, with might!
22 Then the horses’ hooves pounded
with the galloping, galloping of their stallions.
23 “Curse Meroz,” says the Lord’s messenger,
“curse its inhabitants bitterly,
because they didn’t come to the Lord’s aid,
to the Lord’s aid against the warriors.”
24 May Jael be blessed above all women;
may the wife of Heber the Kenite
be blessed above all tent-dwelling women.
25 He asked for water, and she provided milk;
she presented him cream in a majestic bowl.
26 She reached out her hand for the stake,
her strong hand for the worker’s hammer.
She struck Sisera;
she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his skull.
27 At her feet he sank, fell, and lay flat;
at her feet he sank, he fell;
where he sank, there he fell—dead.
28 Through the window she watched,
Sisera’s mother looked longingly[h] through the lattice.
“Why is his chariot taking so long to come?
Why are the hoofbeats of his chariot horses delayed?”
29 Her wisest attendants answer;
indeed, she replies to herself:
30 “Wouldn’t they be finding and dividing the loot?
A girl or two for each warrior;
loot of colored cloths for Sisera;
loot of colored, embroidered cloths;
two colored, embroidered cloths
as loot for every neck.”
31 May all your enemies perish like this, Lord!
But may your allies be like the sun, rising in its strength.
And the land was peaceful for forty years.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 5:7 Or I
- Judges 5:8 Heb uncertain
- Judges 5:10 Heb uncertain
- Judges 5:11 Heb uncertain
- Judges 5:13 Heb adds for me.
- Judges 5:14 Or From Ephraim their root
- Judges 5:14 LXX; MT in Amalek
- Judges 5:28 LXX; MT cried
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