5 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this victory song:[a]

2 “When the leaders took the lead[b] in Israel,When the people answered the call to war—Praise the Lord!3 Hear, O kings!Pay attention, O rulers!I will sing to the Lord![c]I will sing[d] to the Lord God of Israel!4 O Lord, when you departed[e] from Seir,

when you marched from Edom’s plains,the earth shook, the heavens poured down,the clouds poured down rain.[f]5 The mountains trembled[g] before the Lord, the God of Sinai;[h]before the Lord God of Israel.6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,

in the days of Jael caravans[i] disappeared;[j]travelers[k] had to go on winding side roads.7 Warriors[l] were scarce;[m]they were scarce in Israel,until you[n] arose, Deborah,until you arose as a motherly protector[o] in Israel.8 God chose new leaders,[p]then fighters appeared in the city gates;[q]but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found[r]among forty military units[s] in Israel.9 My heart went out[t] to Israel’s leaders,to the people who answered the call to war.Praise the Lord!10 You who ride on light-colored female donkeys,

who sit on saddle blankets,[u]you who walk on the road, pay attention!11 Hear[v] the sound of those who divide the sheep[w] among the watering places;there they tell of[x] the Lord’s victorious deeds,the victorious deeds of his warriors[y] in Israel.Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates—12 Wake up, wake up, Deborah!

Wake up, wake up, sing a song!Get up, Barak!Capture your prisoners of war,[z] son of Abinoam!13 Then the survivors[aa] came down[ab] to the mighty ones;[ac]the Lord’s people came down to me[ad] as[ae] warriors.14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek;[af]they follow[ag] after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers.From Makir leaders came down,from Zebulun came[ah] the ones who march carrying[ai] an officer’s staff.15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah;the men of Issachar[aj] supported[ak] Barak;into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command.[al]Among the clans of Reuben there was intense[am] heart searching.[an]16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds,[ao]listening to the shepherds playing their pipes[ap] for their flocks?[aq]As for the clans of Reuben—there was intense searching of heart.17 Gilead stayed put[ar] beyond the Jordan River.As for Dan—why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards?[as]Asher remained[at] on the seacoast;he stayed[au] by his harbors.[av]18 The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives;[aw]Naphtali charged onto the battlefields.[ax]19 Kings came, they fought;

the kings of Canaan foughtat Taanach by the waters of Megiddo,but[ay] they took no silver as plunder.20 From the sky[az] the stars[ba] fought,from their paths in the heavens[bb] they fought against Sisera.21 The Kishon River carried them off;the river confronted them[bc]—the Kishon River.Step on the necks of the strong![bd]22 The horses’[be] hooves pounded the ground;[bf]

the stallions galloped madly.[bg]23 ‘Call judgment down on[bh] Meroz,’ says the angel of the Lord;‘Be sure[bi] to call judgment down on[bj] those who live there,because they did not come to help in the Lord’s battle,[bk]to help in the Lord’s battle against the warriors.’[bl]24 The most rewarded[bm] of women should be Jael,

the wife of Heber the Kenite!She should be the most rewarded of women who live in tents.25 He asked for water,and she gave him milk;in a bowl fit for a king,[bn]she served him curds.26 Her left[bo] hand reached for the tent peg,her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.She “hammered”[bp] Sisera,she shattered his skull,[bq]she smashed his head,[br]she drove the tent peg through his temple.[bs]27 Between her feet he collapsed,he fell limp and was lifeless;[bt]between her feet he collapsed and fell,in the spot where he collapsed,there he fell—violently killed![bu]28 Through the window she looked;

Sisera’s mother cried out through the lattice:‘Why is his chariot so slow to return?Why are the hoofbeats of his chariot horses[bv] delayed?’29 The wisest of her ladies[bw] answer;indeed she even thinks to herself,30 ‘No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder[bx]—a girl or two for each man to rape![by]Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth,[bz]he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth,[ca]two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth,for the neck of the plunderer!’[cb]31 May all your enemies perish like this, O Lord!

But may those who love you shinelike the rising sun at its brightest.”[cc]

And the land had rest for forty years.