Judges 5
The full text of Judges 5 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
2 "When the leaders in Israel take the lead,
when the people willingly offer themselves—
bless the LORD!
3 Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
I, even I, will sing to the LORD;
I will make music to the LORD, the God of Israel.
4 LORD, when you went out from Seir,
when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook, the heavens poured,
the clouds poured down water.
5 The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai,
before the LORD, the God of Israel.
6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, the roads were abandoned;
travelers took the winding paths.
7 Villages in Israel stood empty;
they stood empty until I, Deborah, arose,
until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8 When they chose new gods,
then war came to the city gates,
and not a shield or spear was seen
among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart is with Israel's commanders,
with the willing volunteers among the people.
Bless the LORD!
10 You who ride on white donkeys,
sitting on saddle blankets,
and you who walk along the road—
consider
11 to the voice of the singers at the watering places.
There they recount the righteous acts of the LORD,
the righteous acts of his villagers in Israel.
Then the people of the LORD went down to the city gates.
12 Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
Wake up, wake up, break into song!
Arise, Barak! Take captive your captives,
son of Abinoam.
13 Then the survivors came down to the nobles;
the people of the LORD came down to me against the mighty.
14 From Ephraim came those rooted in Amalek;
Benjamin was with the peoples who followed you.
From Makir the commanders came down,
and from Zebulun those who carry a marshal's staff.
15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
yes, Issachar was with Barak, sent into the valley at his heels.
In the districts of Reuben there was deep searching of heart.
16 Why did you stay among the sheep pens
to hear the whistling for the flocks?
In the districts of Reuben there was deep searching of heart.
17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan.
And Dan, why did he linger by the ships?
Asher sat still at the seacoast,
staying in his coves.
18 Zebulun was a people who risked their lives;
so did Naphtali, on the heights of the field.
19 Kings came and fought;
then the kings of Canaan fought
at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo,
but they carried off no silver, no plunder.
20 From the heavens the stars fought;
from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The river Kishon swept them away,
the ancient river, the river Kishon.
March on, my soul; be strong!
22 Then thundered the horses' hooves—
galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.
23 "Curse Meroz," said the angel of the LORD,
"curse its people bitterly,
because they did not come to help the LORD,
to help the LORD against the mighty."
24 Most blessed of women be Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk;
in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curds.
26 Her hand reached for the tent peg,
her right hand for the workman's hammer.
She struck Sisera, she crushed his head,
she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still.
At her feet he sank, he fell;
where he sank, there he fell—destroyed.
28 Through the window peered Sisera's mother;
behind the lattice she cried out:
'Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?'
29 Her wisest ladies answer her;
indeed she keeps repeating to herself:
30 'Are they not finding and dividing the spoil—
a girl or two for each man,
colored garments as plunder for Sisera,
colored garments embroidered,
richly embroidered cloth for my neck—all as plunder?'
31 "So may all your enemies perish, LORD!
But may those who love you be like the sun
when it rises in its strength."
Then the land had peace for forty years.
Translation notes (15)
- Judges 5:1a Verses 2-31 contain the Song of Deborah, which is one of the oldest poems in the Hebrew Bible. Its ancient language is very difficult in some places; textual difficulties are noted but not resolved in this translation. The lines are presented as poetry.
- Judges 5:2a The opening line, which includes the Hebrew phrase bifroa pera'oth, is obscure. It has been interpreted as "when leaders lead," "when locks of hair hang loose (for battle or as a vow)," or "when the people are set free." The exact meaning is uncertain and is not specified in the text.
- Judges 5:5a "The One of Sinai" translates a phrase that literally means "this Sinai." Some interpreters understand this to mean "the mountains flowed/streamed" rather than "quaked." This ancient phrase is difficult, and the exact reading is not specified in the text.
- Judges 5:7a Both "villages" (from the Hebrew word perazon) and the verb "arose" are difficult to translate here; the verb's archaic form can be read as either "I arose" or "you arose." Some translate perazon as "warriors" or "rural life." The text does not specify which readings are intended.
- Judges 5:8a This verse is considered one of the most textually uncertain in the Song of Deborah. The phrase "They chose new gods" and the second line are unclear; some early manuscripts read "God chose new things," or the lines about war and weapons are translated very differently. The Hebrew text is difficult, and this translation does not attempt to resolve these uncertainties.
- Judges 5:10a The phrase "Sitting on saddle blankets" translates the Hebrew word middin, which is uncertain and can also be understood as "rich carpets" or "on the seat of judgment." Similarly, the Hebrew word sichu, translated as "consider," may also mean "sing" or "tell." This translation does not attempt to definitively resolve these uncertainties.
- Judges 5:11a The opening Hebrew phrase mqol mechatsetsim is uncertain and can be translated as "the voice of those who divide flocks," "the sound of archers," or "the music at the watering places." This verse continues the difficult textual issues found in verses 8-10, and this translation does not attempt to resolve these uncertainties.
- Judges 5:13a This verse is considered severely textually uncertain. The Hebrew verb yerad, meaning "came down" or "have dominion," along with the words sarid ("survivor" or "remnant") and 'addirim ("nobles" or "mighty"), and the phrase "to me" are all unclear, with ancient translations differing widely. This rendering is one possible reconstruction, and this translation does not attempt to resolve these uncertainties.
- Judges 5:14a The description of the tribes gathering for battle in verses 14-18 contains much archaic and uncertain phrasing. Phrases like "Rooted in Amalek" and "those who carry a marshal's staff," along with several lines describing the tribes, are difficult to translate. While the current renderings are defensible, this translation does not attempt to definitively resolve these unclear points.
- Judges 5:15a The lines describing the tribe of Reuben in verses 15b-16 are difficult to translate. The Hebrew word translated as "searching of heart" appears with two slightly different spellings in verse 15 ("resolves") and verse 16 ("searchings"). The overall phrasing is uncertain, and this translation does not attempt to resolve these issues definitively.
- Judges 5:21a The Hebrew phrase nachal qedumim, translated as "the ancient river," is uncertain; some scholars translate it as "the onrushing river" or understand it as a place name. The last line of the verse is also difficult to translate, and this translation does not attempt to resolve its uncertainties.
- Judges 5:24a This Song now celebrates Jael's killing of Sisera, as described in Judges 4:21, with praise. The poem's exaltation of this act is presented exactly as the text gives it; this translation does not attempt to comment on the ethics of the killing or of the Song's praise.
- Judges 5:26a The verbs "struck," "crushed," "shattered," and "pierced" are used together for poetic emphasis, though their exact meanings can vary in different traditions. The graphic description of the killing is translated plainly and not softened; this translation does not attempt to comment on its ethics.
- Judges 5:30a The phrase "A girl or two for each man" translates the coarse Hebrew word racham, which literally means "a womb" and is used here as a brutal term for captured women. This verse attributes the casual expectation of wartime rape and looting to the enemy women; the text is translated plainly and not softened, and this translation does not attempt to comment on its content.
- Judges 5:31a The closing line, "Then the land had peace for forty years," returns to a prose style and uses a formulaic statement about peace, similar to Judges 3:11 and 3:30. This line is presented separately from the Song's final poetic couplet.
About this translation
You are reading the Trinity Bible Version (TBV) — an original 2026 translation made straight from the Hebrew, in clear modern English, exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter of every book is free to read online. For the study edition — with Hebrew and Greek on every verse and the full translation notes — open Judges in the Trinity Bible app.
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