Judges 5:10-20

10 "¹You who ride on white donkeys, You who sit on rich carpets, And you who travel on the road -sing!

11 "At the sound of those who divide flocks among ²the watering places, There they shall recount ³the righteous deeds of the LORD, The righteous deeds for His peasantry in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went down ⁴to the gates.

12 "⁵Awake, awake, Deborah; Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, Barak, and ⁶take away your captives, O son of Abinoam.

13 "Then survivors came down to the nobles; The people of the LORD came down to me as warriors.

14 "From Ephraim those whose root is ⁷in Amalek came down, Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples; From Machir commanders came down, And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of office.

15 "And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As was Issachar, so was Barak; Into the valley they rushed ⁸at his heels; Among the divisions of Reuben There were great resolves of heart.

16 "Why did you sit among ⁹the sheepfolds, To hear the piping for the flocks? Among the divisions of Reuben There were great searchings of heart.

17 "¹⁰Gilead remained across the Jordan; And why did Dan stay in ships? Asher sat at the seashore *, And remained by its landings.

18 "¹¹Zebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death, And Naphtali also, on the high places of the field.

19 "¹²The kings came and fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan ¹³At Taanach near the waters of Megiddo; ¹⁴They took no plunder in silver.

20 "¹⁵The stars fought from heaven, From their courses they fought against Sisera.

Judges 5:10-20 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.

Cross References

• 1. Judges 10:4; Judges 12:14
• 2. Genesis 24:11; Genesis 29:2, 3
• 3. 1 Samuel 12:7; Micah 6:5
• 4. Judges 5:8
• 5. Psalms 57:8
• 6. Psalms 68:18; Ephesians 4:8
• 7. Judges 12:15
• 8. Judges 4:10
• 9. Num 32:1, 2, 24, 36
• 10. Joshua 22:9
• 11. Judges 4:6, 10
• 12. Joshua 11:1-5; Judges 4:13
• 13. Judges 1:27
• 14. Judges 5:30
• 15. Joshua 10:12-14

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "tawny"
• [b]. Or "declare it"
• [c]. Or "rural dwellers"
• [d]. Or "utter"
• [e]. Lit "the scribe"
• [f]. So with ancient versions; Heb "My princes"
• [g]. Lit "feet"
• [h]. Or "saddlebags"
• [i]. Or "dwelt"
• [j]. Or "dwelt"