Judges 5

¹ They sang a song that day, Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam, and the words were:

² ‘That warriors in Israel unbound their hair, that the people came forward with a will, for this, bless Yahweh!

³ ‘Listen, you kings! Give ear, you princes! From me, from me comes a song for Yahweh.I will glorify Yahweh, God of Israel.

⁴ ‘Yahweh, when you set out from Seir,[*a] as you trod the land of Edom, earth shook, the heavens quaked, the clouds dissolved into water.

⁵ The mountains melted before Yahweh, before Yahweh, the God of Israel.

⁶ ‘In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, every highroad was forsaken; those who went forth on their travels through by-paths took their way.

⁷ ‘Dead, dead were Israel’s villages until you rose up, O Deborah, you rose up, a mother in Israel.

⁸ ‘Those that should stand for God were dumb. From five cities, not one shield! Not one spear from forty thousand in Israel!

⁹ ‘My heart beats fast for Israel’s chieftains, with those of the people who stood forth boldly. For this, bless Yahweh!

¹⁰ ‘You who ride on white she-asses, you with caparisons beneath you, and you who walk the highways, sing

¹¹ to the shouts of a rejoicing people gathered about the watering places. There they extol Yahweh’s blessings, the blessings of his reign in Israel. (Yahweh’s people marched down to the gates.)

¹² ‘Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, declaim a song! Take heart, arise Barak, capture your captors, son of Abinoam!

¹³ ‘Then Israel marched down to the gates; Yahweh’s people, like heroes, marched down to fight for him.

¹⁴ ‘Ephraim’s princes are in the valley. Your brother Benjamin joins your ranks. From Machir, captains have come down; from Zebulun, those with the staff of office.

¹⁵ The princes of Issachar are with Deborah; Naphtali in the vale with Barak has sped forward to follow him. ‘Where the streams of Reuben are, men hold their long debate.

¹⁶ Why did you linger among the sheepfolds listening to pipes amid the flocks? (Where the streams of Reuben are, men hold their long debate.)

¹⁷ ‘Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. Why is Dan in the ships of strangers?[*b] Asher kept by the sea coast, dwelling at ease within his harbours.

¹⁸ ‘The tribe of Zebulun fronted death, Naphtali too, on the rising ground.

¹⁹ ‘The kings came, they stood in line of battle; then they fought, those kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by Megiddo’s waters, yet bore away no silver spoils.

²⁰ ‘From high in heaven fought the stars, fought from their orbits against Sisera

²¹ ‘The torrent of Kishon swept them away, the sacred torrent, the torrent of Kishon. Trample, my soul, with might and main!

²² ‘The horses’ hoofs beat the ground; galloping, galloping go his steeds.

²³ “Curse Meroz,” says Yahweh’s angel “curse, curse the dwellers in it; for they never came to Yahweh’s aid, to Yahweh’s aid among the warriors.”

²⁴ ‘Blessed be Jael among women (the wife of Heber the Kenite); among all women that dwell in tents may she be blessed.

²⁵ ‘He asked for water; she gave him milk; in a precious bowl she brought him cream.

²⁶ She stretched out her hand to seize the peg, her right hand to seize the workman’s mallet. She struck Sisera, crushed his head, pierced his temple and shattered it.

²⁷ At her feet he tumbled, he fell, he lay; at her feet he tumbled, he fell. Where he tumbled, there he fell dead.

²⁸ ‘Through her window she leans and looks, Sisera’s mother, through the lattice: “Why is his chariot long in coming? Why are the harnessed horses slow?”

²⁹ ‘Among her princesses the wisest one answers, and she to herself repeats,

³⁰ “They are gathering, doubtless, sharing the spoil: a girl, two girls for each man of war; a garment, two dyed garments for Sisera; a scarf, two embroidered scarves for me!”

³¹ ‘So perish all your enemies, Yahweh! And let those who love you be like the sun when he arises in all his strength!’ And the land enjoyed rest for forty years.