The Song of Deborah and Barak
2
3
“Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers!
(D)I—to the Lord, I will sing,
I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.
4
5
(D)I—to the Lord, I will sing,
I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.
6
7
“The peasantry ceased, they ceased in Israel,
Until I, Deborah, arose,
Until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8 Until I, Deborah, arose,
Until I arose, a mother in Israel.
“(K)New gods were chosen;
Then war was in the gates.
Not a shield or a spear was seen
Among forty thousand in Israel.
9
10
11
Then war was in the gates.
Not a shield or a spear was seen
Among forty thousand in Israel.
12
13
“Then survivors came down to the nobles;
The people of the Lord came down to me as warriors.
14
15
16
17
18 The people of the Lord came down to me as warriors.
“(W)Zebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death,
And Naphtali also, on the high places of the field.
And Naphtali also, on the high places of the field.
19
20
21
“The torrent of Kishon swept them away,
The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.
(AB)O my soul, march on with strength.
22
23 The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.
(AB)O my soul, march on with strength.
‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord,
‘Utterly curse its inhabitants;
(AD)Because they did not come to the help of the Lord,
To the help of the Lord against the warriors.’
‘Utterly curse its inhabitants;
(AD)Because they did not come to the help of the Lord,
To the help of the Lord against the warriors.’
24
“(AE)Most blessed of women is Jael,
The wife of Heber the Kenite;
Most blessed is she of women in the tent.
25 The wife of Heber the Kenite;
Most blessed is she of women in the tent.
“He asked for water and she gave him milk;
In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.
26 In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.
“She reached out her hand for the tent peg,
And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.
Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head;
And she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.
Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head;
And she shattered and pierced his temple.
“Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay;
Between her feet he bowed, he fell;
Where he bowed, there he fell (q)dead.
Between her feet he bowed, he fell;
Where he bowed, there he fell (q)dead.
Footnotes:
a.
Judges 5:2: ['Or ', locks hung loose in]
b.
Judges 5:5: ['Lit ', flowed]
c.
Judges 5:6: ['Lit ', had ceased]
d.
Judges 5:6: ['Lit ', walked]
e.
Judges 5:6: ['Lit ', twisted]
f.
Judges 5:10: ['Or ', tawny]
g.
Judges 5:10: ['Or ', declare it]
h.
Judges 5:11: ['Or ', rural dwellers]
i.
Judges 5:12: ['Or ', utter]
j.
Judges 5:14: ['Lit ', the scribe]
k.
Judges 5:15: ['So with ancient versions; Heb ', My princes]
l.
Judges 5:15: ['Lit ', feet]
m.
Judges 5:16: ['Or ', saddlebags]
n.
Judges 5:17: ['Or ', dwelt]
o.
Judges 5:17: ['Or ', dwelt]
p.
Judges 5:22: ['Lit ', mighty ones]
q.
Judges 5:27: ['Lit ', devastated]
r.
Judges 5:28: ['Or ', window]
s.
Judges 5:28: ['Lit ', steps]
t.
Judges 5:30: ['Lit ', necks of the spoil]
Cross references:
B.
Judges 5:2:
Judges 5:9
D.
Judges 5:3:
Psalm 27:6
H.
Judges 5:5:
Psalm 68:8
L.
Judges 5:9:
Judges 5:2
AC.
Judges 5:22:
Job 39:19-25
AD.
Judges 5:23:
Judges 5:13
AF.
Judges 5:30:
Exodus 15:9