Judges 5:1-6

1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

2 For that the leaders took the lead in Israel, For that the people offered themselves willingly, Bless you Yahweh.

3 Hear, you kings; give ear, you princes; I, [even] I, will sing to Yahweh; I will sing praise to Yahweh, the God of Israel.

4 Yahweh, when you went forth out of Seir, When you marched out of the field of Edom, The earth trembled, the sky also dropped, Yes, the clouds dropped water.

5 The mountains quaked at the presence of Yahweh, Even yon Sinai at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, In the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, The travelers walked through byways.

Judges 5:1-6 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.