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Judges 5 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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The Song of Deborah
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:1 - On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:2 - “Israel’s leaders took charge,
and the people gladly followed.
Praise the LORD!
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:3 - “Listen, you kings!
Pay attention, you mighty rulers!
For I will sing to the LORD.
I will make music to the LORD, the God of Israel.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:4 - “LORD, when you set out from Seir
and marched across the fields of Edom,
the earth trembled,
and the cloudy skies poured down rain.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:5 - The mountains quaked in the presence of the LORD,
the God of Mount Sinai—
in the presence of the LORD,
the God of Israel.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:6 - “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
and in the days of Jael,
people avoided the main roads,
and travelers stayed on winding pathways.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:7 - There were few people left in the villages of Israel[fn]
until Deborah arose as a mother for Israel.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:8 - When Israel chose new gods,
war erupted at the city gates.
Yet not a shield or spear could be seen
among forty thousand warriors in Israel!
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:9 - My heart is with the commanders of Israel,
with those who volunteered for war.
Praise the LORD!
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:10 - “Consider this, you who ride on fine donkeys,
you who sit on fancy saddle blankets,
and you who walk along the road.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:11 - Listen to the village musicians[fn]
gathered at the watering holes.
They recount the righteous victories of the LORD
and the victories of his villagers in Israel.
Then the people of the LORD
marched down to the city gates.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:12 - “Wake up, Deborah, wake up!
Wake up, wake up, and sing a song!
Arise, Barak!
Lead your captives away, son of Abinoam!
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:13 - “Down from Tabor marched the few against the nobles.
The people of the LORD marched down against mighty warriors.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:14 - They came down from Ephraim—
a land that once belonged to the Amalekites;
they followed you, Benjamin, with your troops.
From Makir the commanders marched down;
from Zebulun came those who carry a commander’s staff.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:15 - The princes of Issachar were with Deborah and Barak.
They followed Barak, rushing into the valley.
But in the tribe of Reuben
there was great indecision.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:16 - Why did you sit at home among the sheepfolds—
to hear the shepherds whistle for their flocks?
Yes, in the tribe of Reuben
there was great indecision.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:17 - Gilead remained east of the Jordan.
And why did Dan stay home?
Asher sat unmoved at the seashore,
remaining in his harbors.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:18 - But Zebulun risked his life,
as did Naphtali, on the heights of the battlefield.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:19 - “The kings of Canaan came and fought,
at Taanach near Megiddo’s springs,
but they carried off no silver treasures.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:20 - The stars fought from heaven.
The stars in their orbits fought against Sisera.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:21 - The Kishon River swept them away—
that ancient torrent, the Kishon.
March on with courage, my soul!
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:22 - Then the horses’ hooves hammered the ground,
the galloping, galloping of Sisera’s mighty steeds.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:23 - ‘Let the people of Meroz be cursed,’ said the angel of the LORD.
‘Let them be utterly cursed,
because they did not come to help the LORD
to help the LORD against the mighty warriors.’
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:24 - “Most blessed among women is Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite.
May she be blessed above all women who live in tents.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:25 - Sisera asked for water,
and she gave him milk.
In a bowl fit for nobles,
she brought him yogurt.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:26 - Then with her left hand she reached for a tent peg,
and with her right hand for the workman’s hammer.
She struck Sisera with the hammer, crushing his head.
With a shattering blow, she pierced his temples.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:27 - He sank, he fell,
he lay still at her feet.
And where he sank,
there he died.
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:28 - “From the window Sisera’s mother looked out.
Through the window she watched for his return, saying,
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why don’t we hear the sound of chariot wheels?’
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:29 - “Her wise women answer,
and she repeats these words to herself:
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:30 - ‘They must be dividing the captured plunder—
with a woman or two for every man.
There will be colorful robes for Sisera,
and colorful, embroidered robes for me.
Yes, the plunder will include
colorful robes embroidered on both sides.’
Unchecked Copy BoxJdg 5:31 - “LORD, may all your enemies die like Sisera!
But may those who love you rise like the sun in all its power!” Then there was peace in the land for forty years.
NLT Footnotes
The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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Judges Chapter 5 — Additional Translations: