Judges 5

“When the princes in Israel take the lead,
    when the people willingly offer themselves—
    praise the Lord!

Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.

“Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
    I, even I, will sing to^[a] the Lord;
    I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.

Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.

“When you, Lord, went out from Seir,
    when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook, the heavens poured,
    the clouds poured down water.

Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.

The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai,
    before the Lord, the God of Israel.

The mountains melted from before the Lord, even that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel.

“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned;
    travelers took to winding paths.

In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.

Villagers in Israel would not fight;
    they held back until I, Deborah, arose,
    until I arose, a mother in Israel.

The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.

God chose new leaders
    when war came to the city gates,
but not a shield or spear was seen
    among forty thousand in Israel.

They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?

My heart is with Israel’s princes,
    with the willing volunteers among the people.
    Praise the Lord!

My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the Lord.

“You who ride on white donkeys,
    sitting on your saddle blankets,
    and you who walk along the road,
consider ¹¹ the voice of the singers^[b] at the watering places.
    They recite the victories of the Lord,
    the victories of his villagers in Israel.

Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.

They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates.

‘Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
    Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, Barak!
    Take captive your captives, son of Abinoam.’

Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.

“The remnant of the nobles came down;
    the people of the Lord came down to me against the mighty.

Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people: the Lord made me have dominion over the mighty.

Some came from Ephraim, whose roots were in Amalek;
    Benjamin was with the people who followed you.
From Makir captains came down,
    from Zebulun those who bear a commander’s^[c] staff.

Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.

The princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
    yes, Issachar was with Barak,
    sent under his command into the valley.
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.

And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart.

Why did you stay among the sheep pens^[d]
    to hear the whistling for the flocks?
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.

Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.

Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan.
    And Dan, why did he linger by the ships?
Asher remained on the coast
    and stayed in his coves.

Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.

The people of Zebulun risked their very lives;
    so did Naphtali on the terraced fields.

Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.

“Kings came, they fought,
    the kings of Canaan fought.
At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo,
    they took no plunder of silver.

The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.

From the heavens the stars fought,
    from their courses they fought against Sisera.

They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.

The river Kishon swept them away,
    the age-old river, the river Kishon.
    March on, my soul; be strong!

The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.

Then thundered the horses’ hooves—
    galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.

Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.

‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord.
    ‘Curse its people bitterly,
because they did not come to help the Lord,
    to help the Lord against the mighty.’

Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.

“Most blessed of women be Jael,
    the wife of Heber the Kenite,
    most blessed of tent-dwelling women.

Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.

He asked for water, and she gave him milk;
    in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.

He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.

Her hand reached for the tent peg,
    her right hand for the workman’s hammer.
She struck Sisera, she crushed his head,
    she shattered and pierced his temple.

She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.

At her feet he sank,
    he fell; there he lay.
At her feet he sank, he fell;
    where he sank, there he fell—dead.

At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.

“Through the window peered Sisera’s mother;
    behind the lattice she cried out,
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
    Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’

The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?

The wisest of her ladies answer her;
    indeed, she keeps saying to herself,

Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,

‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils:
    a woman or two for each man,
colorful garments as plunder for Sisera,
    colorful garments embroidered,
highly embroidered garments for my neck—
    all this as plunder?’

Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?

“So may all your enemies perish, Lord!
    But may all who love you be like the sun
    when it rises in its strength.”