Judges 5:1-12

The Song of Deborah 1On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:

2“When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves— praise the LORD !

3“Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I, even I, will sing to Or of the LORD ; I will praise the LORD, the God of Israel, in song.

4“When you, LORD, went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water.

5The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel.

6“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths.

7Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel.

8God chose new leaders when war came to the city gates, but not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

9My heart is with Israel’s princes, with the willing volunteers among the people. Praise the LORD !

10“You who ride on white donkeys, sitting on your saddle blankets, and you who walk along the road, consider

11the voice of the singers The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. at the watering places. They recite the victories of the LORD, the victories of his villagers in Israel. “Then the people of the LORD went down to the city gates.

12‘Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, break out in song! Arise, Barak! Take captive your captives, son of Abinoam.’