Judges 5:21-31

21 A flood in the Kishon swept them away - the onrushing Kishon River. I shall march, march on, with strength!

22 Then the horses came galloping on, stamping the ground with their hoofs.

23 "Put a curse on Meroz," says the angel of the Lord, "a curse, a curse on those who live there. They did not come to help the Lord, come as soldiers to fight for him."

24 The most fortunate of women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite - the most fortunate of women who live in tents.

25 Sisera asked for water, but she gave him milk; she brought him cream in a beautiful bowl.

26 She took a tent peg in one hand, a worker's hammer in the other; she struck Sisera and crushed his skull; she pierced him through the head.

27 He sank to his knees, fell down and lay still at her feet. At her feet he sank to his knees and fell; he fell to the ground, dead.

28 Sisera's mother looked out of the window; she gazed from behind the lattice. "Why is his chariot so late in coming?" she asked. "Why are his horses so slow to return?"

29 Her wisest friends answered her, and she told herself over and over,

30 "They are only finding things to capture and divide, a woman or two for every soldier, rich cloth for Sisera, embroidered pieces for the neck of the queen."

31 So may all your enemies die like that, O Lord, but may your friends shine like the rising sun! And there was peace in the land for forty years.

Judges 5:21-31 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 5

This chapter contains a song of praise on account of the victories obtained over Jabin, and his kingdom; after an exhortation to praise is given, and kings excited to attend to it, the majestic appearance of God at Seir, on Sinai, is observed, to raise in the mind a divine veneration of him, Jud 5:1-5; then the miserable state and condition Israel was in before these victories, and therefore had the more reason to be thankful, Jud 5:6-8; the governors, and judges, and the people that were delivered, together with Deborah and Barak, are stirred up to rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, and bless his name, Jud 5:9-13; and those who willingly engaged in the war are praised, and such who were negligent reproved, and some even cursed, Jud 5:14-23; but Jael, Heber's wife, is particularly commended for her exploit in slaying Sisera, Jud 5:24-27; and the mother of Sisera, and her ladies, are represented as wondering at his long delay, and as assured of his having got the victory, Jud 5:28-30; and the song is concluded with a prayer for the destruction, of the enemies of the Lord, and for the happiness and glory of them that love him, Jud 5:31.

Footnotes

• [a]. [Some ancient translations] gazed; [Hebrew] cried out.
• [b]. [Probable text] queen; [Hebrew] plunder.