Book of Judges, Chapter 5
Judges 5 NWT - New World TranslationChapter 5 of Judges—New World Translation (NWT)
- ¶ And on that day Debʹo·rah1 along with Baʹrak2 the son of A·binʹo·am3 broke out in song,4 saying:
- ¶ “For letting the hair hang loose in Israel [for war],
For the people’s volunteering,5
BLESS Jehovah.6 - ¶ Listen, YOU kings;7 give ear, YOU high officials:
I to Jehovah, yes, I, will sing.
I shall make melody8 to Jehovah, Israel’s God.9 - ¶ Jehovah, at your going forth from Seʹir,10
At your marching out of the field of Eʹdom,11
¶ Earth rocked,12 heavens also dripped,13
Clouds also dripped with water. - ¶ Mountains flowed[a] away from the face of Jehovah,14
This Siʹnai15 away from the face of Jehovah,16 Israel’s God.17 - ¶ In the days of Shamʹgar18 the son of Aʹnath,
In the days of Jaʹel,19 pathways had no traffic,[b]
And the travelers of roadways would travel by roundabout pathways.20 - ¶ The dwellers in open country ceased, in Israel they ceased,21
Until I, Debʹo·rah,22 rose up,
Until I rose up as a mother in Israel.23 - ¶ They proceeded to choose new gods.24
It was then there was war[c] in the gates.[d]25
¶ A shield could not be seen, nor a lance,
Among forty thousand in Israel.26 - ¶ My heart is for the commanders of Israel,27
Who were volunteers among the people.28
BLESS Jehovah.29 - ¶ YOU riders on yellowish-red she-asses,30
YOU who sit on rich carpets,[e]
¶ And YOU who walk on the road,
Consider!31 - ¶ Some of the voices of the water distributors among the places of drawing water,32
There they began to recount the righteous acts of Jehovah,33
¶ The righteous acts of his dwellers in open country in Israel.
It was then Jehovah’s people made their way down to the gates. - ¶ Awake, awake, O Debʹo·rah;34
Awake, awake, utter a song!35
Rise up, Baʹrak,36 and lead your captives[f] away, you son of A·binʹo·am!37 - ¶ It was then the survivors came down to the majestic ones;
Jehovah’s people came down to me against the mighty ones. - ¶ Out of Eʹphra·im was their origin in the low plain,[g]38
With[h] you, O Benjamin, among your peoples.
¶ Out of Maʹchir39 the commanders went down,
And out of Zebʹu·lun those handling the equipment of a scribe.40 - ¶ And the princes in Isʹsa·char41 were with Debʹo·rah,
And as Isʹsa·char, so was Baʹrak.42
¶ Into the low plain he was sent on foot.43
Among the divisions of Reuʹben great were the searchings[i] of the heart.44 - ¶ Why did you sit down between the two saddlebags,
To listen to the pipings for the flocks?45
For the divisions of Reuʹben there were great searchings of the heart.46 - ¶ Gilʹe·ad kept to his residence on the other side of the Jordan;47
And Dan, why did he continue to dwell for the time in ships?48
¶ Ashʹer sat idle at the seashore,
And by his landing places he kept residing.49 - ¶ Zebʹu·lun was a people that scorned their souls to the point of death;50
Naphʹta·li51 also, on the heights of the field.52 - ¶ Kings came, they fought;
It was then that the kings of Caʹnaan fought53
¶ In Taʹa·nach54 by the waters of Me·gidʹdo.55
No gain of silver did they take.56 - ¶ From heaven did the stars fight,57
From their orbits they fought against Sisʹe·ra. - ¶ The torrent of Kiʹshon washed them away,58
The torrent of ancient days,[j] the torrent of Kiʹshon.59
You went treading down strength,60 O my soul. - ¶ It was then that the hoofs of horses pawed61
Because of dashings upon dashings of his stallions. - ¶ ‘CURSE62 Meʹroz,’ said the angel of Jehovah,63
‘CURSE its inhabitants incessantly,
¶ For they did not come to the assistance of Jehovah,
To the assistance of Jehovah with the mighty ones.’ - ¶ Jaʹel64 the wife of Heʹber the Kenʹite65 will be most blessed among women,
Among women in the tent she will be most blessed.66 - ¶ Water he asked, milk she gave;
In the large banquet bowl of majestic ones she presented curdled milk.67 - ¶ Her hand to the tent pin she then thrust out,
And her right hand to the mallet of hard workers.68
¶ And she hammered Sisʹe·ra, she pierced his head through,69
And she broke apart and cut up his temples. - ¶ Between her feet he collapsed, he fell, he lay down;
Between her feet he collapsed, he fell;
Where he collapsed, there he fell overcome.70 - ¶ From the window a woman looked out and kept watching for him,[k]
The mother of Sisʹe·ra from the lattice,71
¶ ‘Why has his war chariot delayed in coming?72
Why must the hoofbeats of his chariots be so late?’73 - ¶ The wise ones of her noble ladies[l]74 would answer her,
Yes, she too would talk back to herself with her own sayings, - ¶ ‘Ought they not to find, ought they not to distribute spoil,75
A womb—two wombs[m] to every able-bodied man,76
Spoil of dyed stuffs for Sisʹe·ra, spoil of dyed stuffs,
¶ An embroidered garment, dyed stuff, two embroidered garments
For the necks of [men of] spoil?’[n] - ¶ Thus let all your enemies perish,77 O Jehovah,
And let your[o] lovers78 be as when the sun goes forth in its mightiness.”79
¶ And the land had no further disturbance for forty years.80
FOOTNOTES
- ^ “Flowed,” MVg; TSy, “quaked”; LXX, “were shaken.”
- ^ Lit., “pathways ceased [suffered neglect].”
- ^ The meaning in M is obscure.
- ^ “Then the cities of the governors (princes) fought,” LXXB.
- ^ The meaning in M is obscure; LXXBVg, “sit in judgment.”
- ^ Or, “captivity,” that is, a body of captives.
- ^ “In the low plain,” LXXATh; MLXXBVg, “in Amalek.”
- ^ Or, “after.”
- ^ “Searchings,” as in vs 16; M, “prescriptions.”
- ^ “Torrent of ancient days.” Or, “torrent of attack.” Heb., naʹchal qedhu·mimʹ; qedhu·mimʹ is of uncertain meaning; LXXB, “ancient winter-torrent”; Vg, “torrent Cadumim.”
- ^ “Kept watching [for him],” T; M, “kept lamenting.”
- ^ Or, “her princesses.” Heb., sa·roh·theyʹha.
- ^ Soldiers’ expression for captured concubines.
- ^ “For the neck of a king’s wife,” by a change of one Heb. letter; by a slight change of vowel pointing, “for my neck as spoil”; by a change of a final Heb. letter, “for his neck as spoil.”
- ^ “Your,” SyVg; MLXX, “his.”
REFERENCES
- ^ Jg 4:4
- ^ Heb 11:32
- ^ Jg 4:6
- ^ Ex 15:1; De 31:19, 30; 1Ch 16:9; Ps 18:superscription
- ^ Jg 4:10; Ps 110:3
- ^ Ex 18:10; 2Ch 20:26; Ps 145:2
- ^ Ps 119:46
- ^ 2Sa 22:50; Ps 7:17
- ^ Ex 5:1; 20:2
- ^ De 33:2; Ps 68:7
- ^ Hab 3:3
- ^ 2Sa 22:8
- ^ Ps 68:8
- ^ De 4:11; Ps 97:5
- ^ Ne 9:13
- ^ Ex 19:18
- ^ Ex 5:1; 20:2
- ^ Jg 3:31
- ^ Jg 4:17
- ^ Le 26:22; Is 33:8
- ^ Jg 4:2
- ^ Jg 4:4
- ^ Jg 4:5
- ^ De 32:16; Jg 2:12; 4:1
- ^ Nu 33:56; Jg 4:2
- ^ Jg 4:3; 1Sa 13:19
- ^ Jg 4:6
- ^ Jg 4:10; Ps 110:3
- ^ Jg 5:2; Ps 103:1
- ^ Jg 10:4; 12:14
- ^ Ps 105:2; 145:5
- ^ Ex 2:16
- ^ De 32:4; 1Sa 12:7; Ps 145:7; Mc 6:5
- ^ Jg 4:4
- ^ Jg 5:1
- ^ Jg 4:6
- ^ Jg 5:1
- ^ Jos 16:4
- ^ Nu 32:39
- ^ 2Ki 25:19; 2Ch 26:11
- ^ Ge 49:15; 1Ch 12:32
- ^ Jg 4:6; Heb 11:32
- ^ Jg 4:14
- ^ Pr 3:27
- ^ Nu 32:1, 24
- ^ Jm 4:17
- ^ Jos 22:9
- ^ Jos 19:46; Jon 1:3
- ^ Jos 19:24
- ^ Jg 4:10; 6:35; 1Ch 12:33; Ps 68:27
- ^ Jg 4:6
- ^ Jg 4:14
- ^ De 7:24; Jg 4:13
- ^ Jg 1:27
- ^ Jos 12:21
- ^ Jg 4:16; 5:30
- ^ Ge 18:14; Jos 10:11; Jg 4:15; 1Sa 7:10; Ps 135:7
- ^ Jg 4:7; Ps 83:9
- ^ Jg 4:13; Ps 44:3
- ^ Ps 44:5; Is 25:10; Mc 7:10
- ^ Ps 20:7; 147:10; Pr 21:31; Is 5:28
- ^ Je 48:10
- ^ Ex 23:23; Jg 2:1
- ^ Jg 4:17
- ^ Nu 24:21; Jg 1:16; 4:11
- ^ Pr 31:31
- ^ Jg 4:19
- ^ Pr 31:17
- ^ Jg 4:21
- ^ Jg 4:22
- ^ Pr 7:6; Sg 2:9
- ^ Jg 4:15; 1Sa 15:33
- ^ Jg 4:16
- ^ 2Sa 14:2; 20:16
- ^ Ex 15:9
- ^ De 20:14; 21:11
- ^ Ps 68:2; 83:9; 92:9
- ^ Ex 20:6; Ps 91:14; 97:10; Ro 8:28; 1Co 8:3
- ^ Ps 110:3; Da 12:3; Mt 13:43
- ^ Le 26:6; Jg 3:11, 30
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