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The Song of Deborah and Barak

aThen Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,

2 aFor the leaders who took the lead in Israel,For bthe people who volunteered for battle,Bless the LORD!3 “Hear, O kings; listen, O rulers!aI will sing to the LORD,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,Yes, the clouds dripped water.5 aThe mountains quaked at the presence of the LORD,Yes, 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 were deserted,And travelers went by roundabout ways.7 “The villagers ceased to be; they ceased in IsraelUntil I, Deborah, arose,Until I arose, a mother in Israel.8 “They chose anew gods;Then war was in the gates.Was there a shield or spear seenAmong forty thousand in Israel?9 “My heart goes out to athe commanders of Israel,The volunteers among the people;Bless the LORD!10 “Sing of it, ayou who ride on white donkeys,You who sit on rich carpets,And you who walk by the way.11 “At the sound of those who divide flocks among the awatering places,There they shall recount bthe righteous acts of the LORD,The righteous acts toward His villagers in Israel.Then the people of the LORD went down cto the gates.
12 aAwake, awake, Deborah;Awake, awake, sing a song!Arise, Barak, and blead away your captives, you son of Abinoam.13 “Then down marched the survivors to the nobles;The people of the LORD marched down for Me against the mighty.14 “From Ephraim those whose root is ain Amalek came down,After you, Benjamin, with your relatives;From Machir came down commanders and rulers,And from Zebulun those who 1handle the scepter of the office of scribe.15 “And the heads of Issachar came with Deborah;As Issachar, so was Barak;Into the valley they rushed aat his heels;Among the divisions of ReubenThere were great searchings of heart.16 “Why Reuben did you linger among athe 1sheepfolds,To hear the piping for the flocks?Among the divisions of ReubenThere were great searchings of heart.17 aGilead remained beyond the Jordan;And why did Dan live as an alien on ships?Asher sat still on the seacoast,And remained by its landings.These did not come to battle for God’s people.18 “But aZebulun was a people who risked their lives to the point of death;Naphtali also, on the heights of the field.
19 aThe kings came and fought;Then the kings of Canaan foughtbAt Taanach by the waters of Megiddo.cSpoils of silver they did not obtain.20 aFrom the heavens the stars fought,From their courses they fought against Sisera.21 “The torrent Kishon swept the enemy away,The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.aO my soul, march on with strength.22 aThen the horses’ hoofs beat loudlyBecause of the galloping—the galloping of his valiant and powerful steeds.23 ‘Curse 1Meroz,’ said the messenger 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 mighty.’
24 aMost blessed of women is Jael,The wife of Heber the Kenite;Most blessed is she of women in the tent.25 “Sisera asked for water and she gave him milk;She brought him curds in a magnificent bowl.26 “She reached out her left 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 “He bowed, he fell, he lay still at her feet;At her feet he bowed, he fell;Where he bowed, there he fell dead.
28 “Out of the window she looked down and lamented (cried out in a shrill voice) ,The mother of Sisera through the lattice,‘Why is his chariot delayed in coming?Why have the hoofbeats of his chariots delayed?’29 “Her wise ladies answered her,Indeed, she repeated her words to herself,30 aAre they not finding and dividing the spoil?A maiden (concubine) or two for every man;A spoil of dyed garments for Sisera,A spoil of dyed garments embroidered,Two pieces of dyed garments embroidered for the neck of the plunderer?’31 aSo 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 at rest for forty years.
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