1 Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying, 2 "Because the leaders took the lead in Israel, because the people offered themselves willingly, be blessed, Yahweh! 3 "Hear, you kings! Give ear, you princes! I, (even) I, will sing to Yahweh. I will sing praise to Yahweh, the God of Israel. 4 "Yahweh, when you went forth out of Seir, when you marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the sky also dropped. Yes, the clouds dropped water. 5 The mountains quaked at the presence of Yahweh, even Sinai, at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 6 "In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied. The travelers walked through byways. 7 The rulers ceased in Israel. They ceased until I, Deborah, arose; Until I arose a mother in Israel. 8 They chose new gods. Then war was in the gates. Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel? 9 My heart is toward the governors of Israel, who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless Yahweh! 10 "Tell (of it), you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets, and you who walk by the way. 11 Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water, there they will rehearse the righteous acts of Yahweh, (Even) the righteous acts of his rule in Israel. "Then the people of Yahweh went down to the gates. 12 'Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, and lead away your captives, you son of Abinoam.' 13 "Then a remnant of the nobles (and) the people came down. Yahweh came down for me against the mighty. 14 Those whose root is in Amalek came out of Ephraim, after you, Benjamin, among your peoples. Governors come down out of Machir. Those who handle the marshal's staff came out of Zebulun. 15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah. As was Issachar, so was Barak. They rushed into the valley at his feet. By the watercourses of Reuben, there were great resolves of heart. 16 Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the whistling for the flocks? At the watercourses of Reuben There were great searchings of heart. 17 Gilead lived beyond the Jordan. Why did Dan remain in ships? Asher sat still at the haven of the sea, and lived by his creeks. 18 Zebulun was a people that jeopardized their lives to the deaths; Naphtali also, on the high places of the field. 19 "The kings came and fought, then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo. They took no plunder of silver. 20 From the sky the stars fought. From their courses, they fought against Sisera. 21 The river Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. My soul, march on with strength. 22 Then the horse hoofs stamped because of the prancings, the prancings of their strong ones. 23 'Curse Meroz,' said the angel of Yahweh. 'Curse bitterly its inhabitants, because they didn't come to help Yahweh, to help Yahweh against the mighty.' 24 "Jael shall be blessed above women, the wife of Heber the Kenite; blessed shall she be above women in the tent. 25 He asked for water. She gave him milk. She brought him butter in a lordly dish. 26 She put her hand to the tent peg, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer. With the hammer she struck Sisera. She struck through his head. Yes, she pierced and struck through his temples. 27 At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay. At her feet he bowed, he fell. Where he bowed, there he fell down dead. 28 "Through the window she looked out, and cried: Sisera's mother looked through the lattice. 'Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why do the wheels of his chariots wait?' 29 Her wise ladies answered her, Yes, she returned answer to herself, 30 'Have they not found, have they not divided the spoil? A lady, two ladies to every man; to Sisera a spoil of dyed garments, a spoil of dyed garments embroidered, of dyed garments embroidered on both sides, on the necks of the spoil?' 31 "So let all your enemies perish, Yahweh, but let those who love him be as the sun when it rises forth in its strength." Then the land had rest forty years.
The triumphant song of Deborah and Barak, after the defeat of Sisera, captain of the armies of Jabin, king of Canaan.
INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 5
This chapter contains a song of praise on account of the victories obtained over Jabin, and his kingdom; after an exhortation to praise is given, and kings excited to attend to it, the majestic appearance of God at Seir, on Sinai, is observed, to raise in the mind a divine veneration of him, Judges 5:1; then the miserable state and condition Israel was in before these victories, and therefore had the more reason to be thankful, Judges 5:6; the governors, and judges, and the people that were delivered, together with Deborah and Barak, are stirred up to rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, and bless his name, Judges 5:9; and those who willingly engaged in the war are praised, and such who were negligent reproved, and some even cursed, Judges 5:14; but Jael, Heber's wife, is particularly commended for her exploit in slaying Sisera, Judges 5:24; and the mother of Sisera, and her ladies, are represented as wondering at his long delay, and as assured of his having got the victory, Judges 5:28; and the song is concluded with a prayer for the destruction, of the enemies of the Lord, and for the happiness and glory of them that love him, Judges 5:31.
(Judges 5:1-5) Praise and glory ascribed to God.
(Judges 5:6-11) The distress and deliverance of Israel.
(Judges 5:12-23) Some commended, others censured.
(Judges 5:24-31) Sisera's mother disappointed.
Deborah's Song of Victory - Judges 5
This highly poetical song is so direct and lively an utterance of the mighty force of the enthusiasm awakened by the exaltation of Israel, and its victory over Sisera, that its genuineness if generally admitted now. After a general summons to praise the Lord for the courage with which the people rose up to fight against their foes (Judges 5:2), Deborah the singer dilates in the first section (Judges 5:3-11) upon the significance of the victory, picturing in lively colours (1) the glorious times when Israel was exalted to be the nation of the Lord (Judges 5:3-5); (2) the disgraceful decline of the nation in the more recent times (Judges 5:6-8); and (3) the joyful turn of affairs which followed her appearance (Judges 5:9-11). After a fresh summons to rejoice in their victory (Judges 5:12), there follows in the second section (Judges 5:13-21) a lively picture of the conflict and victory, in which there is a vivid description (a) of the mighty gathering of the brave to battle (Judges 5:13-15); (b) of the cowardice of those who stayed away from the battle, and of the bravery with which the braver warriors risked their lives in the battle (Judges 5:15-18); and (c) of the successful result of the conflict (Judges 5:19-21). To this there is appended in the third section (Judges 5:22-31) an account of the glorious issue of the battle and the victory: first of all, a brief notice of the flight and pursuit of the foe (Judges 5:22-24); secondly, a commemoration of the slaying of Sisera by Jael (Judges 5:24-27); and thirdly, a scornful description of the disappointment of Sisera's mother, who was counting upon a large arrival of booty (Judges 5:28-30). The song then closes with the hope, founded upon this victory, that all the enemies of the Lord might perish, and Israel increase in strength (Judges 5:31). The whole song, therefore, is divided into three leading sections, each of which again is arranged in three somewhat unequal strophes, the first and second sections being introduced by a summons to the praise of God (Judges 5:2, Judges 5:12), whilst the third closes with an expression of hope, drawn from the contents of the whole, with regard to the future prospects of the kingdom of God (Judges 5:31).
*More commentary available by clicking individual verses.