Online Bible

The Song of Deborah and Barak

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

2 “^aWhen ¹the leaders led in Israel,When ^bthe people volunteered,Bless Yahweh!3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers!^aAs for me, to Yahweh, I will sing;I will sing praise to Yahweh, the God of Israel.4 “^aO Yahweh, 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 ¹flowed at the presence of Yahweh,^bThis Sinai, at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

6 “In the days of ^aShamgar the son of Anath,In the days of ^bJael, the paths had ceased,So travelers ¹went by ²roundabout paths.7 “The peasantry ceased; they ceased in Israel,Until I, Deborah, arose,Until I arose, a mother in Israel.8 “¹^aGod chose new leaders;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 Yahweh!10 “^aYou who ride on ¹white donkeys,You who sit on rich carpets,And you who travel on the road—muse aloud!11 “At the sound of those who divide flocks among ^athe watering places,There they shall ¹commemorate ^bthe righteous deeds of Yahweh,The righteous deeds for His ²peasantry in Israel.Then the people of Yahweh went down ^cto the gates.

12 “^aAwake, awake, Deborah;Awake, awake, ¹utter a song!Arise, Barak, and ^btake away your captives, O son of Abinoam.13 “Then survivors came down to the mighty ones;The people of Yahweh 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 a scribe.15 “And ¹the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;As was Issachar, so was Barak;Into the valley they rushed ^aat his ²heels;Among the divisions of ReubenThere was great persistence of the heart.16 “Why did you sit among ^athe ¹sheepfolds,To hear the whistling for the flocks?Among the divisions of ReubenThere were great probings of the heart.17 “^aGilead dwelt across the Jordan;And why did Dan stay in ships?Asher sat at the seashore,And dwelt 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 gain of silver.20 “^aThe stars fought from heaven;From their courses they fought against Sisera.21 “The river of Kishon swept them away,The ancient river, the river 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 Yahweh,‘Utterly curse its inhabitants,^aBecause they did not come to the help of Yahweh,To the help of Yahweh 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 mighty bowl she brought him curds.26 “She sent forth her hand for the tent peg,And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.Then she beat Sisera; she smashed his head,And she crushed 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 violently devastated.

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 mighty man;To Sisera a spoil of dyed work,A spoil of dyed work embroidered,Dyed work of double embroidery on the ¹neck of the spoil?’31 “^aThus let all Your enemies perish, O Yahweh;^bBut let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.”And the land was quiet for forty years.