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Judges 5

KJV · Chapter 5/21

1Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

2Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.

3Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.

4Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.

5The mountains melted from before the Lord, even that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel.

6In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.

7The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.

8They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?

9My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the Lord.

10Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.

11They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates.

12Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.

13Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people: the Lord made me have dominion over the mighty.

14Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.

15And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart.

16Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.

17Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.

18Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.

19The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.

20They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.

21The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.

22Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.

23Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.

24Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.

25He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.

26She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.

27At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.

28The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?

29Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,

30Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?

31So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

📖 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. Judges 5:1Deborah and Barak sing this song of victory on the very day Sisera is defeated, celebrating what had just happened.
  2. Judges 5:2The song opens by praising the Lord because the leaders took the lead and the people willingly offered themselves for war.
  3. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 5:5The mountains melt before the Lord, even Sinai itself, in the sweeping, poetic language typical of ancient war songs.
  6. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 5:13The Lord makes Deborah have dominion over the mighty who remain, giving her authority over the valiant men of the people.
  14. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 5:21The river Kishon sweeps the enemies away; a sudden flood likely helped mire Sisera’s war chariots in the mud.
  22. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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. Judges 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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