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

² "When leaders lead in Israel, When the people willingly offer themselves, Bless the LORD!

³ "Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I, even I, will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.

⁴ "LORD, when You went out from Seir, When You marched from the field of Edom, The earth trembled and the heavens poured, The clouds also poured water;

⁵ The mountains gushed before the LORD, This Sinai, before the LORD God of Israel.

⁶ "In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, In the days of Jael, The highways were deserted, And the travelers walked along the byways.

⁷ Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Arose a mother in Israel.

⁸ They chose new gods; Then there was war in the gates; Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

⁹ My heart is with the rulers of Israel Who offered themselves willingly with the people. Bless the LORD!

¹⁰ "Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, Who sit in judges' attire, And who walk along the road.

¹¹ Far from the noise of the archers, among the watering places, There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, The righteous acts for His villagers in Israel; Then the people of the LORD shall go down to the gates.

¹² "Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away, O son of Abinoam!

¹³ "Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles; The LORD came down for me against the mighty.

¹⁴ From Ephraim were those whose roots were in Amalek. After you, Benjamin, with your peoples, From Machir rulers came down, And from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter's staff.

¹⁵ And the princes of Issachar [fn] were with Deborah;As Issachar, so was BarakSent into the valley under his command; [fn] Among the divisions of ReubenThere were great resolves of heart.

¹⁶ Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the pipings for the flocks? The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart.

¹⁷ Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan,And why did Dan remain on ships? [fn] Asher continued at the seashore,And stayed by his inlets.

¹⁸ Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death, Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.

¹⁹ "The kings came and fought, Then the kings of Canaan fought In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; They took no spoils of silver.

²⁰ They fought from the heavens; The stars from their courses fought against Sisera.

²¹ The torrent of Kishon swept them away, That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, march on in strength!

²² Then the horses' hooves pounded, The galloping, galloping of his steeds.

²³ 'Curse Meroz,' said the angel [fn] of the Lord,'Curse its inhabitants bitterly,Because they did not come to the help of the Lord,To the help of the Lord against the mighty.'

²⁴ "Most blessed among women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Blessed is she among women in tents.

²⁵ He asked for water, she gave milk; She brought out cream in a lordly bowl.

²⁶ She stretched her hand to the tent peg, Her right hand to the workmen's hammer; She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head, She split and struck through 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 dead.

²⁸ "The mother of Sisera looked through the window, And cried out through the lattice, "Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarries the clatter of his chariots?'

²⁹ Her wisest ladies answered her, Yes, she answered herself,

³⁰ "Are they not finding and dividing the spoil: To every man a girl or two; For Sisera, plunder of dyed garments, Plunder of garments embroidered and dyed, Two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of the looter?'

³¹ "Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But let those who love Him be like the sun When it comes out in full strength." So the land had rest for forty years.