12 ‘Wake up,(A) wake up, Deborah!(B)
    Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, Barak!(C)
    Take captive your captives,(D) son of Abinoam.’

13 “The remnant of the nobles came down;
    the people of the Lord came down to me against the mighty.
14 Some came from Ephraim,(E) whose roots were in Amalek;(F)
    Benjamin(G) was with the people who followed you.
From Makir(H) captains came down,
    from Zebulun those who bear a commander’s[a] staff.
15 The princes of Issachar(I) were with Deborah;(J)
    yes, Issachar was with Barak,(K)
    sent under his command into the valley.
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.
16 Why did you stay among the sheep pens[b](L)
    to hear the whistling for the flocks?(M)
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.
17 Gilead(N) stayed beyond the Jordan.
    And Dan, why did he linger by the ships?
Asher(O) remained on the coast(P)
    and stayed in his coves.
18 The people of Zebulun(Q) risked their very lives;
    so did Naphtali(R) on the terraced fields.(S)

19 “Kings came(T), they fought,
    the kings of Canaan fought.
At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo,(U)
    they took no plunder of silver.(V)
20 From the heavens(W) the stars fought,
    from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The river Kishon(X) swept them away,
    the age-old river, the river Kishon.
    March on, my soul; be strong!(Y)
22 Then thundered the horses’ hooves—
    galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.(Z)
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord.
    ‘Curse its people bitterly,
because they did not come to help the Lord,
    to help the Lord against the mighty.’

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 5:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  2. Judges 5:16 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags

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