Judges 5:4-23

⁴Lord, at thy going forth out of Seir, at thy marching along out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, also the heavens dropped, also the clouds dropped water.

⁵The mountains melted away because of the presence of the Lord, yonder Sinai, because of the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁶In the days of Shamgar the son of 'Anath, in the days of Ja'el, the highways were unoccupied, and those who travelled on roads walked through crooked by-paths.

⁷Desolate were the open towns in Israel, they were desolate, until that I arose, Deborah, that I arose a mother in Israel.

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

⁹My heart belongeth to the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people: praise ye the Lord.

¹⁰Ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and ye who walk on the way, utter praise!

¹¹Urged on by the voice of those who divide the flocks between the watering wells, there shall they rehearse the benefits of the Lord, the benefits toward his open towns in Israel; for now go down again to the gates the people of the Lord.

¹²Awake, awake, Deborah! awake, awake, utter a song! up, Barak, and lead away thy captives, son of Abino'am.

¹³Then obtained dominion a few that had escaped for the nobles among the people—the Lord gave me dominion over the mighty.

¹⁴They whose root is out of Ephraim were against 'Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, with thy armies; out of Machir came down lawgivers, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.

¹⁵And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yea Issachar, the support of Barak; into the valley he hastened down in his train; but at the streams of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart.

¹⁶Why didst thou sit among the sheepfolds to hear the bleatings of the flocks? At the streams of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.

¹⁷Gil'ad abode beyond the Jordan; and Dan—why would he tarry in ships? Asher remained on the seashore, and abode near his bays.

¹⁸Zebulun is a people that jeoparded its life unto death, and Naphtali—on the high places of the battle field.

¹⁹There came kings, and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan, in Ta'anach by the waters of Megiddo: gain of money they took not away.

²⁰From heaven they fought—the stars in their courses fought against Sissera.

²¹The stream of Kishon swept them away, that ancient stream, the stream of Kishon: step along, O my soul, in victorious strength.

²²Then were crushed the hoofs of the horses, through the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones.

²³Curse ye Meroz, saith the messenger of the Lord, yea, curse ye bitterly its inhabitants; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord among the mighty.