Judges
Judges 5
The Song of Deborah and Barak
1 And Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang on that day. They said:
2 A revealing was revealed in Israel;
when the people offered themselves willingly —
bless the Lord!
3 Hear, you kings; listen, you lords:
I belong to the Lord; it is I who will sing;
I will sing a psalm to the Lord, the God of Israel.
4 Lord, when you went out in Seir,
when you set out from the open country of Edom,
the earth shook, and heaven dropped dew,
and the clouds dropped water.
5 The mountains were shaken before the face of the Lord Eloi,
this Sinai, before the face of the Lord, the God of Israel.
6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, they deserted the roads
and went along side tracks;
they went by crooked paths.
7 The mighty men in Israel failed; they failed,
until Deborah arose,
until a mother arose in Israel.
8 They chose new gods;
then the cities of rulers made war.
Was a shield to be seen, or a spear,
among forty thousand in Israel?
9 My heart is set on what was appointed for Israel;
you who offer yourselves willingly among the people —
bless the Lord!
10 You who ride on a she-donkey at noon,
you who sit on the judgment seat,
and you who walk the roads
of the men who sit in council along the way —
11 tell of it, at the sound of those striking up music
among the ones drawing water.
There they will give righteous acts to the Lord;
increase righteous acts in Israel!
Then the people of the Lord went down to the cities.
Who Came Down and Who Stayed
12 Wake up, wake up, Deborah;
wake up, wake up, speak out a song.
Rise up, Barak, and take your captives captive,
son of Abinoam.
13 Then a remnant went down to the strong;
the people of the Lord went down for him among the powerful.
14 Out of me, Ephraim uprooted them in Amalek;
behind you, Benjamin, among your peoples.
In me, Machir came down as searchers,
and from Zebulun, those who draw with a scribe's staff of record.
15 And the leaders in Issachar were with Deborah and Barak;
so she sent Barak on foot into the valleys.
In the shares of Reuben, great men were reaching into the heart.
16 Why did they sit between the two packs,
to hear the whistling of messengers?
For the divisions of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.
17 Gilead camped across the Jordan.
And Dan — why does he live among ships?
Asher sat down on the coast of the seas,
and he will camp at his harbors.
18 Zebulun is a people that laid its own soul open to death,
and Naphtali, on the heights of the open country.
The Kings Came and Fought
19 Their kings came; they drew up for battle.
Then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach,
by the water of Megiddo;
they took no gift of silver.
20 From heaven the stars drew up for battle;
from their courses they drew up for battle against Sisera.
21 The brook Kishon swept them away,
the ancient brook, the brook Kishon.
My mighty soul will trample him down.
22 Then the heels of the horse were caught fast;
his strong ones hurried in haste.
23 Curse Meroz,
said the messenger of the Lord;
curse it — cursed is everyone who lives in it,
because they did not come to the help of the Lord,
to help among the mighty.
Blessed Above the Women in Tents
24 Blessed among women be Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite;
blessed be she above the women in tents.
25 He asked for water; she gave him milk.
In a bowl fit for nobles she brought him butter.
26 She stretched out her left hand to the tent peg,
and her right hand to the workman's hammer,
and she hammered Sisera;
she nailed through his head and struck him;
she nailed through his temple.
27 Between her feet he rolled down;
he fell and lay still.
Between her feet he sank down and fell;
where he sank down, there he fell, and his life went out of him.
28 Through the window the mother of Sisera leaned out,
out past the arrow slit:
Why was his chariot ashamed?
Why did the feet of his chariots take so long?
29 Her wise noblewomen answered her,
and she turned her own words back to herself:
30 Will they not find him dividing the spoils?
He will surely show compassion, to the head of every man.
The spoils are dyed cloth for Sisera,
spoils of dyed cloth of many colors,
dyed work of embroiderers —
spoils for his neck.
31 So let all your enemies perish, Lord;
and let those who love him be like the going out of the sun in its might.
And the land had rest for forty years.