The Song of Deborah and Barak
1Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,
2That the leaders led in Israel,
That the people volunteered,
Bless the LORD!
3Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers!
Ito the LORD, I will sing,
I will sing praise to the LORD, the God of Israel.
4LORD, when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from the field of Edom,
The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped,
Even the clouds dripped water.
5The mountains quaked at the presence of the LORD,
This Sinai, at the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel.
6In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath,
In the days of Jael, the highways were deserted,
And travelers went by roundabout ways.
7The peasantry ceased, they ceased in Israel,
Until I, Deborah, arose,
Until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8New gods were chosen;
Then war was in the gates.
Not a shield or a spear was seen
Among forty thousand in Israel.
9My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel,
The volunteers among the people;
Bless the LORD!
10You who ride on white donkeys,
You who sit on rich carpets,
And you who travel on the roadsing!
11At the sound of those who divide flocks among the watering places,
There they shall recount the righteous deeds of the LORD,
The righteous deeds for His peasantry in Israel.
Then the people of the LORD went down to the gates.
12Awake, awake, Deborah;
Awake, awake, sing a song!
Arise, Barak, and take away your captives, O son of Abinoam.
13Then survivors came down to the nobles;
The people of the LORD came down to me as warriors.
14From Ephraim those whose root is in Amalek came down,
Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples;
From Machir commanders came down,
And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of office.
15And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
As was Issachar, so was Barak;
Into the valley they rushed at his heels;
Among the divisions of Reuben
There were great resolves of heart.
16Why did you sit among the sheepfolds,
To hear the piping for the flocks?
Among the divisions of Reuben
There were great searchings of heart.
17Gilead remained across the Jordan;
And why did Dan stay in ships?
Asher sat at the seashore,
And remained by its landings.
18Zebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death,
And Naphtali also, on the high places of the field.
19The kings came and fought;
Then fought the kings of Canaan
At Taanach near the waters of Megiddo;
They took no plunder in silver.
20The stars fought from heaven,
From their courses they fought against Sisera.
21The torrent of Kishon swept them away,
The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.
O my soul, march on with strength.
22Then the horses hoofs beat
From the dashing, the dashing of his valiant steeds.
23Curse Meroz, said the angel of the LORD,
Utterly curse its inhabitants;
Because they did not come to the help of the LORD,
To the help of the LORD against the warriors.
24Most blessed of women is Jael,
The wife of Heber the Kenite;
Most blessed is she of women in the tent.
25He asked for water and she gave him milk;
In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.
26She reached out her hand for the tent peg,
And her right hand for the workmens hammer.
Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head;
And she shattered and pierced his temple.
27Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay;
Between her feet he bowed, he fell;
Where he bowed, there he fell dead.
28Out of the window she looked and lamented,
The mother of Sisera through the lattice,
Why does his chariot delay in coming?
Why do the hoofbeats of his chariots tarry?
29Her wise princesses would answer her,
Indeed she repeats her words to herself,
30Are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoil?
A maiden, two maidens for every warrior;
To Sisera a spoil of dyed work,
A spoil of dyed work embroidered,
Dyed work of double embroidery on the neck of the spoiler?
31Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD;
But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.
And the land was undisturbed for forty years.