Judges 5

The Song of Deborah and Barak

1 ^aThen Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,

2 “ ^bFor ▼

▼Or the hair hanging free in

the leaders leading in Israel,
For ^dthe people volunteering,
Bless the Lord!
3 “Hear, you kings; listen, you dignitaries!
^eI myself--to the Lord, I myself will sing,
I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel!
4 “ ^fLord, when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from the field of Edom,
^gThe earth quaked, the heavens also dripped,
The clouds also dripped water.
5 “ ^hThe mountains ▼

▼As in MT; LXX quaked

flowed with water at the presence of the Lord,
^jThis Sinai, at the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.

6 “In the days of ^kShamgar the son of Anath,
In the days of ^lJael, the roads ▼

▼Lit had ceased

were deserted,
And travelers went by ▼

▼Lit twisting

roundabout ways.
7 “The ▼

▼Or rural dwellers

peasantry came to an end, they came to an end in Israel,
Until I, Deborah, arose,
Until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8 “ ^pNew gods were chosen;
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 ^qthe commanders of Israel,
The volunteers among the people;
Bless the Lord!
10 “ ^rYou who ride on ▼

▼Or tawny

white donkeys,
You who sit on rich carpets,
And you who travel on the road --shout in praise!
11 “At the sound of those who distribute water among ^tthe watering places,
There they will recount ^uthe righteous deeds of the Lord,
The righteous deeds for His ▼

▼Or rural dwellers

peasantry in Israel.
Then the people of the Lord went down ^wto the gates.

12 “ ^xAwake, awake, Deborah;
Awake, awake, ▼

▼Lit speak

sing a song!
Arise, Barak, and ^zlead away your captives, son of Abinoam.
13 “Then survivors came down to the nobles;
The people of the Lord came down to me as warriors.
14 “From Ephraim those whose root is ^aain Amalek came down,
Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples;
From Machir commanders came down,
And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of ▼

▼Lit a scribe

office.
15 “And the ▼

▼As in ancient versions; MT My princes

princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
As was Issachar, so was Barak;
Into the valley they rushed ^adat his ▼

▼Lit feet

heels;
Among the divisions of Reuben
There were great determinations of heart.
16 “Why did you sit among ^afthe ▼

▼Or saddlebags

sheepfolds,
To hear the piping for the flocks?
Among the divisions of Reuben
There were great searchings of heart.
17 “ ^ahGilead ▼

▼Or dwelt

remained across the Jordan;
And why did Dan stay on ships?
Asher sat at the seashore,
And ▼

▼Or dwelt

remained by its landings.
18 “ ^akZebulun was a people who risked their lives,
And Naphtali too, on the high places of the field.

19 “ ^alThe kings came and fought;
Then the kings of Canaan fought
^amAt Taanach near the waters of Megiddo;
^anThey took no plunder in silver.
20 “ ^aoThe stars fought from heaven,
From their paths they fought against Sisera.
21 “The torrent of Kishon swept them away,
The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.
^apMy soul, march on with strength!
22 “ ^aqThen the horses’ hoofs beat
From the galloping, the galloping of his mighty stallions.
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord,
‘Utterly curse its inhabitants,
^arBecause they did not come to the help of the Lord,
To the help of the Lord against the warriors.’

24 “ ^asMost 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, she gave him milk;
In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.
26 “She reached out her hand for the tent peg,
And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.
Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head;
And she shattered 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 ▼

▼Lit destroyed

dead.

28 “Out of the window she looked and wailed,
The mother of Sisera through the ▼

▼Or window

lattice,
‘Why does his chariot delay in coming?
Why do the ▼

▼Lit steps

hoofbeats of his chariots delay?’
29 “Her wise princesses would answer her,
Indeed she repeats her words to herself,
30 ‘ ^awAre they not finding, are they not dividing the spoils?
A concubine, two concubines for every warrior;
To Sisera a spoil of dyed cloth,
A spoil of dyed cloth embroidered,
Dyed cloth of double embroidery on the ▼

▼Lit necks of the spoil

neck of the plunderer?’
31 “ ^ayMay all Your enemies perish in this way, Lord;
^azBut may those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.”
And the land was at rest for forty years.