Online Bible

2 “^aThat ¹the leaders led in Israel,That ^bthe people volunteered,Bless the LORD!3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers!^aI—to the LORD, I will sing,I will sing praise to the LORD, the God of Israel.4 “^aLORD, when You went out from Seir,When You marched from the field of Edom,^bThe earth quaked, the heavens also dripped,Even the clouds dripped water.5 “^aThe mountains ¹quaked at the presence of the LORD,^bThis Sinai, at the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel.

6 “In the days of ^aShamgar the son of Anath,In the days of ^bJael, the highways ¹were deserted,And travelers ²went by ³roundabout ways.7 “The peasantry ceased, they ceased in Israel,Until I, Deborah, arose,Until I arose, a mother in Israel.8 “^aNew gods were chosen;Then war was in the gates.Not a shield or a spear was seenAmong forty thousand in Israel.9 “My heart goes out to ^athe commanders of Israel,The volunteers among the people;Bless the LORD!10 “^aYou who ride on ¹white donkeys,You who sit on rich carpets,And you who travel on the road—²sing!11 “At the sound of those who divide flocks among ^athe watering places,There they shall recount ^bthe righteous deeds of the LORD,The righteous deeds for His ¹peasantry in Israel.Then the people of the LORD went down ^cto the gates.

12 “^aAwake, awake, Deborah;Awake, awake, ¹sing a song!Arise, Barak, and ^btake away your captives, O 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 ^ain Amalek came down,Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples;From Machir commanders came down,And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of ¹office.15 “And the ¹princes of Issachar were with Deborah;As was Issachar, so was Barak;Into the valley they rushed ^aat his ²heels;Among the divisions of ReubenThere were great resolves of heart.16 “Why did you sit among ^athe ¹sheepfolds,To hear the piping for the flocks?Among the divisions of ReubenThere were great searchings of heart.17 “^aGilead ¹remained across the Jordan;And why did Dan stay in ships?Asher sat at the seashore,And ²remained by its landings.18 “^aZebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death,And Naphtali also, on the high places of the field.

19 “^aThe kings came and fought;Then fought the kings of Canaan^bAt Taanach near the waters of Megiddo;^cThey took no plunder in silver.20 “^aThe stars fought from heaven,From their courses they fought against Sisera.21 “The torrent of Kishon swept them away,The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.^aO my soul, march on with strength.22 “^aThen the horses’ hoofs beatFrom the dashing, the dashing of his ¹valiant steeds.23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD,‘Utterly curse its inhabitants;^aBecause they did not come to the help of the LORD,To the help of the LORD against the warriors.’

24 “^aMost 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 and 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 ¹dead.

28 “Out of the window she looked and lamented,The mother of Sisera through the ¹lattice,‘Why does his chariot delay in coming?Why do the ²hoofbeats of his chariots tarry?’29 “Her wise princesses would answer her,Indeed she repeats her words to herself,30 ‘^aAre 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 ¹neck of the spoiler?’31 “^aThus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD;^bBut let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.”And the land was undisturbed for forty years.