Judges 5:12

12 Awake, awake, Deborah! awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, and lead captive thy captives, thou 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 Ye that ride on white she-asses, ye that sit on carpets, and ye that walk by the way, consider.
11 Because of the voice of those who divide [the spoil] in the midst of the places of drawing water; There they rehearse the righteous acts of Jehovah, His righteous acts toward his villages in Israel. Then the people of Jehovah went down to the gates.
12 Awake, awake, Deborah! awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, and lead captive thy captives, thou son of Abinoam!
13 Then come down, thou, the remnant of nobles, [as his] people; Jehovah! come down with me in the midst of the mighty ones.
14 Out of Ephraim [came] those whose root was in Amalek; After thee was Benjamin among thy peoples. Out of Machir came down governors, And out of Zebulun they that handled the staff of the ruler.

Footnotes 1

The Darby Translation is in the public domain.