Judges 5
5
The Song of Deborah
1On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
2“The leaders led Israel.
The people volunteered to go to battle.
Praise the Lord!
3Listen, kings.
Pay attention, rulers!
I myself will sing to the Lord.
I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel.
4“Lord, when you came from Edom,
when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook,
the skies rained,
and the clouds dropped water.
5The mountains shook before the Lord, the God of Mount Sinai,
before the Lord, the God of Israel!
6“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, the main roads were empty.
Travelers went on the back roads.
7There were no warriors in Israel
until I, Deborah, arose,
until I arose to be a mother to Israel.
8At that time they chose to follow new gods.
Because of this, enemies fought us at our city gates.
No one could find a shield or a spear
among the forty thousand people of Israel.
9My heart is with the commanders of Israel.
They volunteered freely from among the people.
Praise the Lord!
10“You who ride on white donkeys
and sit on saddle blankets,
and you who walk along the road, listen!
11Listen to the sound of the singers
at the watering holes.
There they tell about the victories of the Lord,
the victories of the Lord’s warriors in Israel.
Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates.
12“Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
Wake up, wake up, sing a song!
Get up, Barak!
Go capture your enemies, son of Abinoam!
13“Then those who were left came down to the important leaders.
The Lord’s people came down to me with strong men.
14They came from Ephraim in the mountains of Amalek.
Benjamin was among the people who followed you.
From the family group of Makir, the commanders came down.
And from Zebulun came those who lead.
15The princes of Issachar were with Deborah.
The people of Issachar were loyal to Barak
and followed him into the valley.
The Reubenites thought hard
about what they would do.
16Why did you stay by the sheepfold?
Was it to hear the music played for your sheep?
The Reubenites thought hard
about what they would do.
17The people of Gilead stayed east of the Jordan River.
People of Dan, why did you stay by the ships?
The people of Asher stayed at the seashore,
at their safe harbors.
18But the people of Zebulun risked their lives,
as did the people of Naphtali on the battlefield.
19“The kings came, and they fought.
At that time the kings of Canaan fought
at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo.
But they took away no silver or possessions of Israel.
20The stars fought from heaven;
from their paths, they fought Sisera.
21The Kishon River swept Sisera’s men away,
that old river, the Kishon River.
March on, my soul, with strength!
22Then the horses’ hoofs beat the ground.
Galloping, galloping go Sisera’s mighty horses.
23‘May the town of Meroz be cursed,’ said the angel of the Lord.
‘Bitterly curse its people,
because they did not come to help the Lord.
They did not fight the strong enemy.’
24“May Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite,
be blessed above all women who live in tents.
25Sisera asked for water,
but Jael gave him milk.
In a bowl fit for a ruler,
she brought him cream.
26Jael reached out and took the tent peg.
Her right hand reached for the workman’s hammer.
She hit Sisera! She smashed his head!
She crushed and pierced the side of his head!
27At Jael’s feet he sank.
He fell, and he lay there.
At her feet he sank. He fell.
Where Sisera sank, there he fell, dead!
28“Sisera’s mother looked out through the window.
She looked through the curtains and cried out,
‘Why is Sisera’s chariot so late in coming?
Why are sounds of his chariots’ horses delayed?’
29The wisest of her servant ladies answer her,
and Sisera’s mother says to herself,
30‘Surely they are robbing the people they defeated!
Surely they are dividing those things among themselves!
Each soldier is given a girl or two.
Maybe Sisera is taking pieces of dyed cloth.
Maybe they are even taking
pieces of dyed, embroidered cloth for the necks of the victors!’
31“Let all your enemies die this way, Lord!
But let all the people who love you
be as strong as the rising sun!”
Then there was peace in the land for forty years.
Currently Selected:
Judges 5: NCV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Judges 5
5
The Song of Deborah and Barak
1And 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!
3Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes!
I will sing to Yahweh;
I will sing praise to Yahweh,
the God of Israel.
4Yahweh, 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.
5The mountains trembled#Or “quaked” 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,#Literally “the ones walking on the paths” they kept to the byways.#Literally “they went on the crooked roads”
7The warriors#Others interpret this word as referring to the “rural dwellers” ceased;
they failed to appear in Israel,
until I,#Or “you” Deborah, arose;
I#Or “you” arose as a mother in Israel.
8God chose new leaders,#ESV, NRSV translate “when new gods were chosen”
then war was at the gates;
a small shield or a spear was not seen
among forty thousand in Israel.
9My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel,
those offering themselves willingly among the people;
bless Yahweh!
10The riders of white female donkeys,
those sitting on saddle blankets,
and those going on the way, talk about it!
11At the sound of those dividing#Meaning uncertain; other translations have “archers” (Tanakh), “musicians” (ESV, NRSV) or “singers” (NIV, HCSB) the sheep
among the watering places,
there they will recount the righteous deeds of Yahweh,
the righteous deeds for his warriors#Hebrew “warrior” 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.
13Then the remnant went down to the nobles;
the people of Yahweh went down for him#Hebrew “me” against the mighty.
14From 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.
15And the chiefs#Hebrew “my chiefs”; ancient translations read “the chiefs” in Issachar were with Deborah;
and Issachar likewise was with Barak;
into the valley he was sent to get him from behind.#Literally “he was sent at his feet”
Among the clans of Reuben
were great decisions of the heart.#Or “thoughts of the heart”
16Why 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.
17Gilead has remained#Or “stayed” 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.
18Zebulun 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.
20The stars fought from heaven;
from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21The wadi#A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season 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.
25He asked for water, and she gave milk;
in a drinking bowl for nobles, she brought curds.
26She 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.
27Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay.
Between her feet he sank down, he fell;
Where he sank down, there he fell—dead.#Literally “devastated”
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#Or “steps” of his chariot tarry?’
29The 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;#Literally “a womb, two wombs for head of every man”
colorful garments for Sisera,
plunder of colorful garments,#Hebrew “garment”
beautifully finished colorful garments,
on the neck of the plunderer?’
31So 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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2010 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software