Judges 5:1-31

Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this victory song: Blessings be to YAHWEH, who gave us victory today! For the people answered the call, and Israel threw off what once held us back. Listen, you kings! Open your ears, you princes! For I will sing a song to YAHWEH. I will make music to YAHWEH, the God of Israel. YAHWEH, when you advanced from Seir, and when you marched from Edom’s plains, the earth trembled, the sky poured, the clouds burst, and the mountains melted, in the presence of YAHWEH, the Glorious One of Sinai, in the presence of YAHWEH, the God of Israel! In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, and in the days of Jael, no one felt safe; the roads were deserted, and those who dared to travel took back roads. Champions were hard to find — hard to find in Israel, until I, Deborah, took a stand! I arose as a mother in Israel! The Israelites chose new gods, which brought war into the land. Of forty thousand men in Israel, not a shield or spear was seen. My heart is with Israel’s princes, with the people who gladly volunteered. Praise YAHWEH! Declare it, you rich who ride on your white donkeys, sitting on your fancy saddles! Declare it, you poor who must walk wherever you go! Listen to the sound of singers at the well, as they proclaim the victories of YAHWEH, the righteous triumph of his villagers in Israel! Then the people of YAHWEH marched out from their city gates! Lead on, O Deborah, lead on! Awake, awake! Break out in a song! Arise, O Barak, arise! Son of Abinoam, arise! Carry off your captives and lead them all away! The remaining nobles marched out, YAHWEH’s people came to me to fight against the mighty ones. You men of Ephraim came out to the valley, your brother Benjamin joined your ranks. Leaders came from Manasseh, and from Zebulun, those who hold the ruler’s staff. Issachar’s princes rallied to Deborah, Issachar stood fast alongside Barak, rushing into the valley under Barak’s command, while among Reuben’s clans there was great searching of heart. Reuben, why do you remain by the sheepfolds, listening for the shepherds to whistle for their flocks? Among Reuben’s clans there was great searching of heart. Gad played it safe and stayed east of the Jordan, and Dan lingered near their ships, while Asher kept their distance and stayed by the coast, safe and secure in their harbors. But Zebulun and Naphtali defied death and risked it all on the heights of the battlefield. At Taanach foreign kings came and clashed; they battled by the stream of Megiddo. The kings of Canaan fought, but they took away no spoils of silver. Even the stars in the sky joined in the fight, moving across the sky, shining as they fought against Sisera. The flooding Kishon swept them away— the ancient Kishon River contended with them. I shall march and keep marching on. So be strong, O my soul! Then thundered the horses’ hooves, pulling the chariots of the kings of Canaan. Here they come galloping on, steeds and stallions stampeding on, but they all got stuck in the mud! “Speak a curse over Meroz,” says the angel of YAHWEH, “and speak a double curse over those who live there. For they did not come to help YAHWEH’s cause nor rally to YAHWEH’s side to fight the mighty.” The most blessed of all women is Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite— the most fortunate of Bedouin women. Sisera came to Jael’s tent and asked for water, but she gave him milk; she brought him buttermilk in a beautiful bowl. With a tent peg in one hand and a workman’s hammer in the other, she struck Sisera and pierced his skull; she drove the peg through his temple. She shattered his skull, and he lay still before Jael. Sprawled on the tent floor, he bit the dust at her feet— deader than a doornail! Sisera’s mother waited for him at her window; she gazed from behind the lattice and lamented: “Why is the clatter of his chariot so late in coming? Why are his horses so slow to return?” The wisest of her princesses replied; indeed, she even thought to herself: “They must be gathering and dividing the spoils: a slave-girl or two for each man, colorful cloth and garments as plunder for Sisera, two colorful garments, embroidered, and richly embroidered garments for my neck.” YAHWEH, may all who hate you perish in the same way! But may those who love you shine like the sun, bright in its strength as it crosses the sky!