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Judges 5
New American Standard Bible
Judges 5
New American Standard Bible
The Song of Deborah and Barak
5 (A)Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,
2 “(B)For [a]the leaders leading in Israel,
For (C)the people volunteering,
Bless the Lord!
3 Hear, you kings; listen, you dignitaries!
(D)I myself—to the Lord, I myself will sing,
I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel!
4 (E)Lord, when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from the field of Edom,
(F)The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped,
The clouds also dripped water.
5 (G)The mountains [b]flowed with water at the presence of the Lord,
(H)This Sinai, at the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.
6 “In the days of (I)Shamgar the son of Anath,
In the days of (J)Jael, the roads [c]were deserted,
And travelers went by [d]roundabout ways.
7 The [e]peasantry came to an end, they came to an end in Israel,
Until I, Deborah, arose,
Until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8 (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 My heart goes out to (L)the commanders of Israel,
The volunteers among the people;
Bless the Lord!
10 (M)You who ride on [f]white donkeys,
You who sit on rich carpets,
And you who travel on the road—shout in praise!
11 At the sound of those who distribute water among (N)the watering places,
There they will recount (O)the righteous deeds of the Lord,
The righteous deeds for His [g]peasantry in Israel.
Then the people of the Lord went down (P)to the gates.
12 “(Q)Awake, awake, Deborah;
Awake, awake, [h]sing a song!
Arise, Barak, and (R)lead away your captives, son of Abinoam.
13 Then survivors came down to the nobles;
The people of the Lord came down to me as warriors.
14 From Ephraim those whose root is (S)in Amalek came down,
Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples;
From Machir commanders came down,
And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of [i]office.
15 And the [j]princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
As was Issachar, so was Barak;
Into the valley they rushed (T)at his [k]heels;
Among the divisions of Reuben
There were great determinations of heart.
16 Why did you sit among (U)the [l]sheepfolds,
To hear the piping for the flocks?
Among the divisions of Reuben
There were great searchings of heart.
17 (V)Gilead [m]remained across the Jordan;
And why did Dan stay on ships?
Asher sat at the seashore,
And [n]remained by its landings.
18 (W)Zebulun was a people who risked their lives,
And Naphtali too, on the high places of the field.
19 “(X)The kings came and fought;
Then the kings of Canaan fought
(Y)At Taanach near the waters of Megiddo;
(Z)They took no plunder in silver.
20 (AA)The stars fought from heaven,
From their paths they fought against Sisera.
21 The torrent of Kishon swept them away,
The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.
(AB)My soul, march on with strength!
22 (AC)Then the horses’ hoofs beat
From the galloping, the galloping of his mighty stallions.
23 ‘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.’
24 “(AE)Most blessed of women is Jael,
The wife of Heber the Kenite;
Most blessed is she of women in the tent.
25 He asked for water, she gave him milk;
In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.
26 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 Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay;
Between her feet he bowed, he fell;
Where he bowed, there he fell [o]dead.
28 “Out of the window she looked and wailed,
The mother of Sisera through the [p]lattice,
‘Why does his chariot delay in coming?
Why do the [q]hoofbeats of his chariots delay?’
29 Her wise princesses would answer her,
Indeed she repeats her words to herself,
30 ‘(AF)Are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoils?
A concubine, two concubines for every warrior;
To Sisera a spoil of dyed cloth,
A spoil of dyed cloth embroidered,
Dyed cloth of double embroidery on the [r]neck of the plunderer?’
31 (AG)May all Your enemies perish in this way, Lord;
(AH)But may those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.”
And the land was at rest for forty years.
Footnotes
- Judges 5:2 Or the hair hanging free in
- Judges 5:5 As in MT; LXX quaked
- Judges 5:6 Lit had ceased
- Judges 5:6 Lit twisting
- Judges 5:7 Or rural dwellers
- Judges 5:10 Or tawny
- Judges 5:11 Or rural dwellers
- Judges 5:12 Lit speak
- Judges 5:14 Lit a scribe
- Judges 5:15 As in ancient versions; MT My princes
- Judges 5:15 Lit feet
- Judges 5:16 Or saddlebags
- Judges 5:17 Or dwelt
- Judges 5:17 Or dwelt
- Judges 5:27 Lit destroyed
- Judges 5:28 Or window
- Judges 5:28 Lit steps
- Judges 5:30 Lit necks of the spoil
Judges 5
New International Version
Judges 5
New International Version
The Song of Deborah
5 On that day Deborah(A) and Barak son of Abinoam(B) sang this song:(C)
2 “When the princes in Israel take the lead,
when the people willingly offer(D) themselves—
praise the Lord!(E)
3 “Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
I, even I, will sing to[a] the Lord;(F)
I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.(G)
4 “When you, Lord, went out(H) from Seir,(I)
when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook,(J) the heavens poured,
the clouds poured down water.(K)
5 The mountains quaked(L) before the Lord, the One of Sinai,
before the Lord, the God of Israel.
6 “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,(M)
in the days of Jael,(N) the highways(O) were abandoned;
travelers took to winding paths.(P)
7 Villagers in Israel would not fight;
they held back until I, Deborah,(Q) arose,
until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8 God chose new leaders(R)
when war came to the city gates,(S)
but not a shield or spear(T) was seen
among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart is with Israel’s princes,
with the willing volunteers(U) among the people.
Praise the Lord!
10 “You who ride on white donkeys,(V)
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(W) of the Lord,
the victories of his villagers in Israel.
“Then the people of the Lord
went down to the city gates.(X)
12 ‘Wake up,(Y) wake up, Deborah!(Z)
Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, Barak!(AA)
Take captive your captives,(AB) son of Abinoam.’
13 “The remnant of the nobles came down;
the people of the Lord came down to me against the mighty.
14 Some came from Ephraim,(AC) whose roots were in Amalek;(AD)
Benjamin(AE) was with the people who followed you.
From Makir(AF) captains came down,
from Zebulun those who bear a commander’s[c] staff.
15 The princes of Issachar(AG) were with Deborah;(AH)
yes, Issachar was with Barak,(AI)
sent under his command into the valley.
In the districts of Reuben
there was much searching of heart.
16 Why did you stay among the sheep pens[d](AJ)
to hear the whistling for the flocks?(AK)
In the districts of Reuben
there was much searching of heart.
17 Gilead(AL) stayed beyond the Jordan.
And Dan, why did he linger by the ships?
Asher(AM) remained on the coast(AN)
and stayed in his coves.
18 The people of Zebulun(AO) risked their very lives;
so did Naphtali(AP) on the terraced fields.(AQ)
19 “Kings came(AR), they fought,
the kings of Canaan fought.
At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo,(AS)
they took no plunder of silver.(AT)
20 From the heavens(AU) the stars fought,
from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The river Kishon(AV) swept them away,
the age-old river, the river Kishon.
March on, my soul; be strong!(AW)
22 Then thundered the horses’ hooves—
galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.(AX)
23 ‘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.’
24 “Most blessed of women(AY) be Jael,(AZ)
the wife of Heber the Kenite,(BA)
most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk;(BB)
in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.
26 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.(BC)
27 At her feet he sank,
he fell; there he lay.
At her feet he sank, he fell;
where he sank, there he fell—dead(BD).
28 “Through the window(BE) peered Sisera’s mother;
behind the lattice she cried out,(BF)
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’
29 The wisest of her ladies answer her;
indeed, she keeps saying to herself,
30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils:(BG)
a woman or two for each man,
colorful garments as plunder for Sisera,
colorful garments embroidered,
highly embroidered garments(BH) for my neck—
all this as plunder?(BI)’
31 “So may all your enemies perish,(BJ) Lord!
But may all who love you be like the sun(BK)
when it rises in its strength.”(BL)
Then the land had peace(BM) forty years.
Footnotes
- Judges 5:3 Or of
- Judges 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Judges 5:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Judges 5:16 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.