Judges 5:12

12 "Awake! Awake, Deborah! Awake! Awake, sing a song! Arise Barak, and take hold of your captives, son of Abinoam!"

Judges 5:12 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 5:12

Awake, awake, Deborah, awake, awake, utter a song,
&c] Either perceiving some languor and remissness in her spirits, while she was delivering this song, and therefore arouses herself to attend to this service with more ardour and zeal; or rather finding herself more impressed with a sense of the great and good things the Lord had done for Israel, calls upon her soul to exert all its powers in celebrating the praises of the Lord, and therefore repeats the word awake so often as she does:

arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam;
for though the whole army of Sisera was destroyed, that not a man was left, ( Judges 4:16 ) yet as Barak pursued to Harosheth of the Gentiles, many there and in other places which fell into his hands, that belonged to Jabin, might be taken captive by him; and though the Canaanites were to be slain, yet they might first be led captive in triumph; and besides, there might be some of other nations that were taken by him in this war; see ( Psalms 68:18 ) .

Judges 5:12 In-Context

10 You who ride on white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and who travel on the road, give praise!
11 Let them tell the righteous acts of the Lord, the righteous deeds of His warriors in Israel, with the voices of the singers at the watering places. Then the Lord's people went down to the gates.
12 "Awake! Awake, Deborah! Awake! Awake, sing a song! Arise Barak, and take hold of your captives, son of Abinoam!"
13 The survivors came down to the nobles; the Lord's people came down to me with the warriors.
14 Those with their roots in Amalek [came] from Ephraim; Benjamin [came with] your people after you. The leaders came down from Machir, and those who carry a marshal's staff [came] from Zebulun.
Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.