Historical
Yahweh Tests Israel
3 (A)Now these are the nations which Yahweh allowed to remain, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not known any of the wars of Canaan; 2 [a]however, God tested them in order that the generations of the sons of Israel would know war, by learning war, [b]especially those who had not known it formerly). 3 These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and (B)the Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as [c]Lebo-hamath. 4 And they were for [d](C)testing Israel, to know if they would [e]obey the commandments of Yahweh, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 (D)Now the sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; 6 and (E)they took their daughters for themselves as wives and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.
Yahweh Raises Up Othniel
7 Thus the sons of Israel did (F)what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and (G)forgot Yahweh their God and (H)served the Baals and the [f]Asheroth. 8 Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of [g]Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 Then the sons of Israel cried to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up a savior for the sons of Israel to save them, (I)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 (J)And the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he judged Israel. And he went out to war, and Yahweh gave Cushan-rishathaim king of [h]Mesopotamia into his hand. So his hand was strong against Cushan-rishathaim. 11 Then the land was quiet for forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
12 Then the sons of Israel again (K)did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. So (L)Yahweh strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel because they had done what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. 13 And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and struck Israel, and they possessed (M)the city of the palm trees. 14 So the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
Yahweh Raises Up Ehud and Shamgar
15 Then the sons of Israel (N)cried to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up a savior for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by his hand to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a [i]cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak. 17 Then he brought the tribute near to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And it happened when he had finished bringing the tribute near, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back from the graven images which were at Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who stood by him left him. 20 But Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 Then Ehud sent forth his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.
24 Now he went out, and his servants came in and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “(O)He is surely [j]relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 Then they waited until they were ashamed; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the [k]floor dead.
26 Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the graven images and escaped to Seirah. 27 And it happened when he had arrived, that (P)he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them. 28 Then he said to them, “Pursue them, for Yahweh has given your enemies the Moabites into your hands.” So they went down after him and captured (Q)the fords of the Jordan opposite Moab and did not allow anyone to cross. 29 And they struck down at that time about 10,000 Moabites, all robust and valiant men; and no one escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was quiet for eighty years.
31 Now after him was (R)Shamgar the son of Anath. And he struck down 600 Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.
Yahweh Raises Up Deborah and Barak
4 Then (S)the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. Now Ehud had died. 2 And Yahweh sold them into the hand of (T)Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in (U)Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the sons of Israel cried to Yahweh; for he had 900 (V)iron chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years.
4 Now Deborah, a [l]prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 And she used to [m]sit under the (W)palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 Then she sent and summoned (X)Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not Yahweh, the God of Israel, commanded, ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you 10,000 men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun? 7 And I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his [n]many troops to the river Kishon, and (Y)I will give him into your hand.’” 8 Then Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 So she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, (Z)for Yahweh will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Then Barak called (AA)Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh, and 10,000 men went up [o](AB)with him; Deborah also went up with him.
11 Now Heber (AC)the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the [p]oak in (AD)Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
12 Then they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. 13 So Sisera called together all his chariots, (AE)900 iron chariots, and all the people who were with him, from (AF)Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Arise! For this is the day in which Yahweh has given Sisera into your hand; has not (AG)Yahweh gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 (AH)And Yahweh threw Sisera and all his chariots and all his camp into confusion with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera came down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 But Barak pursued the chariots and all those in the camp as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the camp of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; (AI)not even one remained.
17 Now Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my master, turn aside to me! Do not be afraid.” And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a [q]rug. 19 (AJ)Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a [r]bottle of milk and gave him a drink; then she covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and asks of you and says, ‘Is there a man here?’ that you shall say, ‘No.’” 21 Then Jael, Heber’s wife, (AK)took a tent peg and placed a hammer in her hand and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died. 22 Now behold, Barak was pursuing Sisera, and Jael came out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And he entered [s]with her, and behold, Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple.
23 So (AL)God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel. 24 And the hand of the sons of Israel went forth heavier and heavier against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had cut off Jabin the king of Canaan.
The Song of Deborah and Barak
5 (AM)Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,
2 “(AN)When [t]the leaders led in Israel,
When (AO)the people volunteered,
Bless Yahweh!
3 Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers!
(AP)As for me, to Yahweh, I will sing;
I will sing praise to Yahweh, the God of Israel.
4 (AQ)O Yahweh, when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from the field of Edom,
(AR)The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped,
Even the clouds dripped water.
5 (AS)The mountains [u]flowed at the presence of Yahweh,
(AT)This Sinai, at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
6 “In the days of (AU)Shamgar the son of Anath,
In the days of (AV)Jael, the paths had ceased,
So travelers [v]went by [w]roundabout paths.
7 The peasantry ceased; they ceased in Israel,
Until I, Deborah, arose,
Until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8 [x](AW)God chose new leaders;
Then war was in the gates.
Not a shield or a spear was seen
Among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart goes out to (AX)the commanders of Israel,
The volunteers among the people;
Bless Yahweh!
10 (AY)You who ride on [y]white donkeys,
You who sit on rich carpets,
And you who travel on the road—muse aloud!
11 At the sound of those who divide flocks among (AZ)the watering places,
There they shall [z]commemorate (BA)the righteous deeds of Yahweh,
The righteous deeds for His [aa]peasantry in Israel.
Then the people of Yahweh went down (BB)to the gates.
12 “(BC)Awake, awake, Deborah;
Awake, awake, [ab]utter a song!
Arise, Barak, and (BD)take away your captives, O son of Abinoam.
13 Then survivors came down to the mighty ones;
The people of Yahweh came down to me as warriors.
14 From Ephraim those whose root is (BE)in Amalek came down,
Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples;
From Machir commanders came down,
And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of a scribe.
15 And [ac]the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
As was Issachar, so was Barak;
Into the valley they rushed (BF)at his [ad]heels;
Among the divisions of Reuben
There was great persistence of the heart.
16 Why did you sit among (BG)the [ae]sheepfolds,
To hear the whistling for the flocks?
Among the divisions of Reuben
There were great probings of the heart.
17 (BH)Gilead dwelt across the Jordan;
And why did Dan stay in ships?
Asher sat at the seashore,
And dwelt by its landings.
18 (BI)Zebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death,
And Naphtali also, on the high places of the field.
19 “(BJ)The kings came and fought;
Then fought the kings of Canaan
(BK)At Taanach near the waters of Megiddo;
(BL)They took no gain of silver.
20 (BM)The stars fought from heaven;
From their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The river of Kishon swept them away,
The ancient river, the river Kishon.
(BN)O my soul, march on with strength.
22 (BO)Then the horses’ hoofs beat
From the dashing, the dashing of his [af]valiant steeds.
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of Yahweh,
‘Utterly curse its inhabitants,
(BP)Because they did not come to the help of Yahweh,
To the help of Yahweh against the warriors.’
24 “(BQ)Most blessed of women is Jael,
The wife of Heber the Kenite;
Most blessed is she of women in the tent.
25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk;
In a mighty bowl she brought him curds.
26 She sent forth her hand for the tent peg,
And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.
Then she beat Sisera; she smashed his head,
And she crushed and pierced his temple.
27 Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay;
Between her feet he bowed, he fell;
Where he bowed, there he fell violently devastated.
28 “Out of the window she looked and lamented,
The mother of Sisera through the [ag]lattice,
‘Why does his chariot delay in coming?
Why do the [ah]hoofbeats of his chariots tarry?’
29 Her wise princesses would answer her,
Indeed she repeats her words to herself,
30 ‘(BR)Are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoil?
A maiden, two maidens for every mighty man;
To Sisera a spoil of dyed work,
A spoil of dyed work embroidered,
Dyed work of double embroidery on the [ai]neck of the spoil?’
31 (BS)Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Yahweh;
(BT)But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.”
And the land was quiet for forty years.
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