Judges 5

The Song of Deborah and Barak// Exodus 15:1–21

¹On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:

• JUDG 5:1[NOTE]THE SONG OF DEBORAH. Many scholars think its Hebrew is some of the oldest in the Bible, from close to the time of the battle itself.

²“When the princes take the lead in Israel,

when the people volunteer,

bless Yahweh.

³Listen, O kings! Give ear, O princes!

I will sing to Yahweh;

I will sing praise to Yahweh,

the God of Israel.

⁴O Yahweh, when You went out from Seir,

when You marched from the land of Edom,

the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain,

and the clouds poured down water.

⁵The mountains quaked before Yahweh,

the One of Sinai,

before Yahweh,

the God of Israel.

⁶In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,

in the days of Jael,

the highways were deserted

and the travelers took the byways.

⁷Life in the villages ceased;

it ended in Israel,

until I, Deborah, arose,

a mother in Israel.

⁸When they chose new gods,

then war came to their gates.

Not a shield or spear was found

among forty thousand in Israel.

• JUDG 5:8[DEMONIC]When they chose new gods, war came to their gates

⁹My heart is with the princes of Israel,

with the volunteers among the people.

Bless Yahweh!

¹⁰You who ride white donkeys,

who sit on saddle blankets,

and you who travel the road,

ponder ¹¹the voices of the singers

at the watering places.

There they shall recount the righteous acts of Yahweh,

the righteous deeds of His villagers in Israel.

Then the people of Yahweh

went down to the gates:

¹²‘Awake, awake, O Deborah!

Awake, awake, sing a song!

Arise, O Barak,

and take hold of your captives, O son of Abinoam!’

¹³Then the survivors came down to the nobles;

the people of Yahweh came down to me against the mighty.

¹⁴Some came from Ephraim, with their roots in Amalek;

Benjamin came with your people after you.

The commanders came down from Machir,

the bearers of the marshal’s staff from Zebulun.

¹⁵The princes of Issachar were with Deborah,

and Issachar was with Barak,

rushing into the valley at his heels.

In the clans of Reuben

there was great indecision.

¹⁶Why did you sit among the sheepfolds

to hear the whistling for the flocks?

In the clans of Reuben

there was great indecision.

¹⁷Gilead remained beyond the Jordan.

Dan, why did you linger by the ships?

Asher stayed at the coast

and remained in his harbors.

¹⁸Zebulun was a people who risked their lives;

Naphtali, too, on the heights of the battlefield.

• JUDG 5:18[FULFILLS]Naphtali is a deer let loose; he uses beautiful words ← GEN 49:21MEDIUM

¹⁹Kings came and fought;

then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach

by the waters of Megiddo,

but they took no plunder of silver.

• JUDG 5:19[FIELD NOTES]Megiddo became the most famous battlefield in the world. See the Megiddo Field Notes page in Revelation.

²⁰From the heavens the stars fought;

from their courses they fought against Sisera.

²¹The River Kishon swept them away,

the ancient river, the River Kishon.

March on, O my soul, in strength!

• JUDG 5:21[NOTE]The song explains the battle in chapter 4. Many think a storm flooded the Kishon, 5:4, and the nine hundred iron chariots got stuck in the mud.

²²Then the hooves of horses thundered—

the mad galloping of his stallions.

²³‘Curse Meroz,’ says the angel of Yahweh.

‘Bitterly curse her inhabitants;

for they did not come to help Yahweh,

to help Yahweh against the mighty.’

• JUDG 5:23[NOTE]RED LETTERS. Deborah's song quotes the angel of Yahweh, so only his words are red.

²⁴Most blessed among women is Jael,

the wife of Heber the Kenite,

most blessed of tent-dwelling women.

²⁵He asked for water, and she gave him milk.

In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.

²⁶She reached for the tent peg,

her right hand for the workman’s hammer.

She struck Sisera and crushed his skull;

she shattered and pierced his temple.

²⁷At her feet he collapsed, he fell,

there he lay still;

at her feet he collapsed, he fell;

where he collapsed, there he fell dead.

²⁸Sisera’s mother looked through the window;

she peered through the lattice and lamented:

‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?

What has delayed the clatter of his chariots?’

²⁹Her wisest ladies answer;

indeed she keeps telling herself,

³⁰‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil—

a girl or two for each warrior,

a plunder of dyed garments for Sisera,

the spoil of embroidered garments

for the neck of the looter?’

³¹So may all Your enemies perish,

O Yahweh!

But may those who love You

shine like the sun at its brightest.”

And the land had rest for forty years.