5Judges 5

The Song of Deborah and Barak

1On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:Select Judges 5:1

2Praise the Lord! The Israelites were determined to fight; the people gladly volunteered.Select Judges 5:2

3Listen, you kings! Pay attention, you rulers! I will sing and play music to Israel's God, the Lord.Select Judges 5:3

4Lord, when you left the mountains of Seir, when you came out of the region of Edom, the earth shook, and rain fell from the sky. Yes, water poured down from the clouds.Select Judges 5:4

5The mountains quaked before the Lord of Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel.Select Judges 5:5

6In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, caravans no longer went through the land, and travelers used the back roads.Select Judges 5:6

7The towns of Israel stood abandoned, Deborah; they stood empty until you came, came like a mother for Israel.Select Judges 5:7

8Then there was war in the land when the Israelites chose new gods. Of the forty thousand men in Israel, did anyone carry shield or spear?Select Judges 5:8

9My heart is with the commanders of Israel, with the people who gladly volunteered. Praise the Lord!Select Judges 5:9

10Tell of it, you that ride on white donkeys, sitting on saddles, and you that must walk wherever you go.Select Judges 5:10

11Listen! The noisy crowds around the wells are telling of the Lord's victories, the victories of Israel's people! Then the Lord's people marched down from their cities.Select Judges 5:11

12Lead on, Deborah, lead on! Lead on! Sing a song! Lead on! Forward, Barak son of Abinoam, lead your captives away!Select Judges 5:12

13Then the faithful ones came down to their leaders; the Lord's people came to him ready to fight.Select Judges 5:13

14They came from Ephraim into the valley, behind the tribe of Benjamin and its people. The commanders came down from Machir, the officers down from Zebulun.Select Judges 5:14

15The leaders of Issachar came with Deborah; yes, Issachar came and Barak too, and they followed him into the valley. But the tribe of Reuben was divided; they could not decide to come.Select Judges 5:15

16Why did they stay behind with the sheep? To listen to shepherds calling the flocks? Yes, the tribe of Reuben was divided; they could not decide to come.Select Judges 5:16

17The tribe of Gad stayed east of the Jordan, and the tribe of Dan remained by the ships. The tribe of Asher stayed by the seacoast; they remained along the shore.Select Judges 5:17

18But the people of Zebulun and Naphtali risked their lives on the battlefield.Select Judges 5:18

19At Taanach, by the stream of Megiddo, the kings came and fought; the kings of Canaan fought, but they took no silver away.Select Judges 5:19

20The stars fought from the sky; as they moved across the sky, they fought against Sisera.Select Judges 5:20

21A flood in the Kishon swept them away— the onrushing Kishon River. I shall march, march on, with strength!Select Judges 5:21

22Then the horses came galloping on, stamping the ground with their hoofs.Select Judges 5:22

23“Put a curse on Meroz,” says the angel of the Lord, “a curse, a curse on those who live there. They did not come to help the Lord, come as soldiers to fight for him.”Select Judges 5:23

24The most fortunate of women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite— the most fortunate of women who live in tents.Select Judges 5:24

25Sisera asked for water, but she gave him milk; she brought him cream in a beautiful bowl.Select Judges 5:25

26She took a tent peg in one hand, a worker's hammer in the other; she struck Sisera and crushed his skull; she pierced him through the head.Select Judges 5:26

27He sank to his knees, fell down and lay still at her feet. At her feet he sank to his knees and fell; he fell to the ground, dead.Select Judges 5:27

28Sisera's mother looked out of the window; she gazed from behind the lattice. “Why is his chariot so late in coming?” she asked. “Why are his horses so slow to return?”Select Judges 5:28

29Her wisest friends answered her, and she told herself over and over,Select Judges 5:29

30“They are only finding things to capture and divide, a woman or two for every soldier, rich cloth for Sisera, embroidered pieces for the neck of the queen.”Select Judges 5:30

31So may all your enemies die like that, O Lord, but may your friends shine like the rising sun! And there was peace in the land for forty years.Select Judges 5:31