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Juízes 5

BLIVRE · Chapter 5/21

1E aquele dia cantou Débora, com Baraque, filho de Abinoão, dizendo:

2Porque vingou as injúrias de Israel, Porque o povo se ofereceu de sua vontade, Louvai ao SENHOR.

3Ouvi, reis; estai atentos, ó príncipes: Eu cantarei ao SENHOR, Cantarei salmos ao SENHOR Deus de Israel.

4Quando saíste de Seir, ó SENHOR, Quando te apartaste do campo de Edom, A terra tremeu, e os céus destilaram, E as nuvens gotejaram águas.

5Os montes se derreteram diante do SENHOR, Até o Sinai, diante do SENHOR Deus de Israel.

6Em os dias de Sangar filho de Anate, Em os dias de Jael, cessaram os caminhos, E os que andavam pelas sendas apartavam-se por veredas torcidas.

7As aldeias haviam cessado em Israel, haviam decaído; Até que eu Débora me levantei, Me levantei mãe em Israel.

8Em escolhendo novos deuses, A guerra estava às portas: Se via escudo ou lança Entre quarenta mil em Israel?

9Meu coração está pelos líderes de Israel, Os que com boa vontade se ofereceram entre o povo: Louvai ao SENHOR.

10Vós os que cavalgais em asnas brancas, Os que presidis em juízo, E vós os que viajais, falai.

11Longe do ruído dos arqueiros, nos bebedouros, Ali repetirão as justiças do SENHOR, As justiças de suas vilas em Israel; Então o povo do SENHOR desceu às portas.

12Desperta, desperta, Débora; Desperta, desperta, profere um cântico. Levanta-te, Baraque, e leva teus cativos, filho de Abinoão.

13Então fez que o que restou do povo, senhoreie aos poderosos: o SENHOR me fez senhorear sobre os fortes.

14De Efraim saiu sua raiz contra Amaleque, Depois ti, Benjamim, contra teus povos; De Maquir desceram príncipes, E de Zebulom os que costumavam manejar vara de oficial.

15Príncipes também de Issacar foram com Débora; E como Issacar, também Baraque Se pôs a pé no vale. Das divisões de Rúben houve grandes impressões do coração.

16Por que te restaste entre os currais, Para ouvir os balidos dos rebanhos? Das divisões de Rúben Grandes foram os questionamentos do coração.

17Gileade se restou da outra parte do Jordão: E Dã por que se esteve junto aos navios? Manteve-se Aser à beira do mar, E ficou em seus portos.

18O povo de Zebulom expôs sua vida à morte, E Naftali nas alturas do campo.

19Vieram reis e lutaram: Então lutaram os reis de Canaã Em Taanaque, junto às águas de Megido, Mas não levaram despojo algum de dinheiro.

20Dos céus lutaram: As estrelas desde suas órbitas lutaram contra Sísera.

21Varreu-os o ribeiro de Quisom, O antigo ribeiro, o ribeiro de Quisom. Pisaste, ó alma minha, com força.

22Espancaram-se então os cascos dos cavalos pelas arremetidas, pelos galopes de seus fortes cavalos.

23Amaldiçoai a Meroz, disse o anjo do SENHOR: Amaldiçoai severamente a seus moradores, Porque não vieram em socorro ao SENHOR, Em socorro ao SENHOR contra os fortes.

24Bendita seja entre as mulheres Jael, Mulher de Héber queneu; Sobre as mulheres bendita seja na tenda.

25Ele pediu água, e deu-lhe ela leite; Em taça de nobres lhe apresentou manteiga.

26Sua mão estendeu à estaca, E sua direita a marreta de trabalhadores; E golpeou a Sísera, feriu sua cabeça, esmagou e atravessou suas têmporas.

27Caiu encurvado entre seus pés, ficou estendido: Entre seus pés caiu encurvado; Onde se encurvou, ali caiu morto.

28A mãe de Sísera olha à janela, E por entre as grades a vozes disse: Por que se detém seu carro, que não vem? Por que as rodas de seus carros se tardam?

29As mais avisadas de suas damas lhe respondiam; E ainda ela se respondia a si mesma.

30Não acharam despojos, e os estão repartindo? A cada um uma moça, ou duas: Os despojos de cores para Sísera, Os despojos bordados de cores: A roupa de cor bordada de ambos os lados, para os pescoços dos que tomaram os despojos.

31Assim pereçam todos os teus inimigos, ó SENHOR: Mas os que lhe amam, sejam como o sol quando nasce em sua força. E a terra repousou quarenta anos.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Deborah and Barak sing a victory song celebrating the battle against Sisera, praising the Lord, condemning the tribes that did not help, and extolling Jael's courage.

Explanation

This song is considered by scholars to be one of the oldest poetic texts in the Hebrew Bible, with archaic and vivid language that celebrates the victory in cosmic terms — even the stars 'fought against Sisera' (v.20). The poem does not hesitate to publicly name and shame the town of Meroz for failing to help in the battle, showing that solidarity among the tribes of Israel was regarded as a sacred obligation, not an optional one. The final scene, imagining Sisera's mother anxiously waiting for a son who is already dead, adds a layer of tragic humanity even to the defeated side — a rare and powerful literary device.

Fun facts

  • Biblical linguists consider the Hebrew of the Song of Deborah particularly archaic and difficult to translate, suggesting it is one of the oldest texts preserved in the Bible, possibly contemporary with the events it describes.
  • The dramatic repetition 'at her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still' (v.27) is a Hebrew poetic technique called intensifying parallelism, used to draw out the climactic moment of the narrative.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Juízes 5:1Deborah and Barak sing this song of victory on the very day Sisera is defeated, celebrating what had just happened.
  2. Juízes 5:2The song opens by praising the Lord because the leaders took the lead and the people willingly offered themselves for war.
  3. Juízes 5:3Deborah calls on kings and princes to listen, because she herself will sing and give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.
  4. Juízes 5:4The poem describes God going out from Seir, in the region of Edom, with the earth trembling and the clouds pouring down water, a storm image that represents divine power at work in the battle.
  5. Juízes 5:5The mountains melt before the Lord, even Sinai itself, in the sweeping, poetic language typical of ancient war songs.
  6. Juízes 5:6In the days of Shamgar and of Jael, the highways became dangerous and deserted, and travelers had to take winding byways to hide from their enemies.
  7. Juízes 5:7The villages had ceased to exist in Israel, until Deborah rose up as a mother to the people, that is, as protector and guide in a time with no leadership.
  8. Juízes 5:8When the people chose new gods, war soon followed; the verse notes that hardly anyone in Israel had a shield or spear to defend themselves, showing just how unarmed they were.
  9. Juízes 5:9Deborah’s heart goes out to the leaders of Israel who willingly offered themselves to fight, and she calls the people to praise the Lord for it.
  10. Juízes 5:10She calls out to those who ride on white donkeys, those who sit to judge, and those who walk along the road, urging them to speak of what happened.
  11. Juízes 5:11Even near the watering places, where the sound of the archers is heard, the people begin recounting the righteous acts of the Lord on behalf of His villages in Israel.
  12. Juízes 5:12The song calls Deborah and Barak to wake up and act: she is to break into song, and he is to lead away the captives taken in battle.
  13. Juízes 5:13The Lord makes Deborah have dominion over the mighty who remain, giving her authority over the valiant men of the people.
  14. Juízes 5:14The song praises the part played by Ephraim, Benjamin, Machir, and Zebulun in the war, tribes that sent fighters and leaders into battle.
  15. Juízes 5:15The chiefs of Issachar also came with Deborah, and Barak was sent on foot into the valley; but the tribe of Reuben held great debates among themselves before deciding what to do.
  16. Juízes 5:16The song asks why Reuben stayed among the sheepfolds, merely listening to the bleating of the flocks, criticizing the indecision of a tribe that talked a great deal but never went to war.
  17. Juízes 5:17Gilead stays on the other side of the Jordan without helping, Dan lingers by the ships, and Asher remains at the seashore, all tribes that prefer to stay out of the fighting.
  18. Juízes 5:18Zebulun and Naphtali, by contrast, are praised for risking their very lives on the heights of the battlefield, unlike the tribes that stayed away.
  19. Juízes 5:19Canaanite kings come to fight at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo, but leave without taking any spoil of silver, that is, they lose the battle and gain nothing.
  20. Juízes 5:20The poem says that even the stars fought from heaven against Sisera, an image that credits the victory to a power far greater than that of the Israelites themselves.
  21. Juízes 5:21The river Kishon sweeps the enemies away; a sudden flood likely helped mire Sisera’s war chariots in the mud.
  22. Juízes 5:22The horses’ hooves are broken by the hard galloping of the warriors, an image of the confusion and desperate flight of the battle.
  23. Juízes 5:23The angel of the Lord curses the city of Meroz because its inhabitants did not come to help in the war against the enemies, showing that refusing to fight also carried a consequence.
  24. Juízes 5:24Deborah’s song calls Jael blessed above women, openly celebrating Sisera’s death. This is an ancient war song, and its role is to celebrate Israel’s victory, not to pass moral judgment on the method used.
  25. Juízes 5:25Sisera asks for water, but Jael gives him milk, served in a noble bowl, a gesture of hospitality that was actually part of the trap.
  26. Juízes 5:26The poem describes the blow in detail: Jael reaches out her hand for the tent peg and the hammer, drives it into Sisera’s head, and pierces his temples.
  27. Juízes 5:27At Jael’s feet Sisera bows, falls, and lies dead, the action repeated in three short phrases that heighten the song’s dramatic tone.
  28. Juízes 5:28Sisera’s mother looks out through the window, anxious, asking why her son’s chariot is so long in coming back from the war.
  29. Juízes 5:29The wisest of her ladies try to answer her, and she herself repeats the question to comfort herself, not knowing that her son is already dead.
  30. Juízes 5:30They imagine the delay is because the men are dividing the spoil of victory, including captured women and embroidered cloth, a cruel irony, since it is Sisera himself who lies dead.
  31. Juízes 5:31The song ends by asking that all the Lord’s enemies perish this way, while those who love Him shine like the sun; after this, the land has rest for forty years.

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