መሳፍንት 5

Deborah and Barak sing

¹That day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang, and these were the words: ²“When long hair hung loose in Israel, \q when the people volunteered freely, \q bless the LORD!^{a 3}Listen, you kings; pay attention, you rulers! \q I will sing, I myself, to the LORD; \q I will make music to the LORD, the God of Israel. ⁴LORD, when you set out from Seir, \q when you strode out from the land of Edom, \q the earth shook, the skies poured, \q the clouds poured down water. ⁵The mountains quaked at the presence of the LORD, \q the One of Sinai, at the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel.^{bc 6}In the time of Shamgar son of Anath, in the time of Jael, \q the highways lay empty, \q and travelers went by crooked side roads.^{d 7}The villages of Israel were deserted, deserted, \q until I, Deborah, arose, \q until I arose, a mother in Israel.^{ef 8}Israel chose new gods; \q then war came to the city gates. \q Not a shield or spear was to be seen \q among forty thousand in Israel.^{gh 9}My heart is with the commanders of Israel, \q who volunteered freely among the people. \q Bless the LORD! ¹⁰You who ride on white donkeys, \q you who sit on rich saddle cloths, \q and you who walk along the road, speak out!^{i 11}Over the voices of herders at the watering places, \q there they retell the righteous acts of the LORD, \q the righteous acts of his villagers in Israel. \q At that time the people of the LORD went down to their gates.^{jk 12}Wake up, wake up, Deborah! \q Wake up, wake up, break into song! \q Rise up, Barak, son of Abinoam, and lead your captives away! ¹³Then the survivors came down, the people, to join the nobles; \q the LORD came down for me against the mighty.^{lm 14}From Ephraim came those whose roots are in Amalek; \q after you, Benjamin, they came among your people. \q From Machir came down commanders, \q and from Zebulun those who carry the officer’s staff.^{n 15}The commanders of Issachar were with Deborah, \q and Issachar stood with Barak too, \q rushing into the valley at his heels. \q Among the divisions of Reuben \q there were great resolutions of heart.^{o 16}Why did you stay among the sheepfolds, \q listening to the shepherds whistling to their flocks? \q Among the divisions of Reuben \q there was great searching of heart.^{p 17}Gilead stayed across the Jordan. \q And Dan, why did he linger by the ships? \q Asher sat still along the seacoast, \q settled by his harbors. ¹⁸Zebulun was a people who held their lives cheap, ready to die, and so was Naphtali, \q on the high ground of the open field. ¹⁹The kings came and fought; \q the kings of Canaan fought then, \q at Taanach, by the streams of Megiddo, \q but they carried off no silver as plunder. ²⁰From the heavens the fight was joined; \q the stars, along their courses, \q made war on Sisera. ²¹The Kishon River swept them off, \q the age-old river, the Kishon River. \q My soul, march on in strength!^{qr 22}Then the horses’ hoofs hammered the ground \q as his strong steeds galloped and galloped. ²³‘Curse Meroz,’ says the angel of the LORD; \q ‘curse its people bitterly, \q because they did not come to help the LORD, \q to stand with him against the warriors.’ ²⁴May Jael be blessed above all women, \q the wife of Heber the Kenite, \q blessed above all women who live in tents. ²⁵He asked for water, and she gave milk; \q she served him curds in a bowl fit for princes. ²⁶She reached out her hand for the tent peg, \q her right hand for the workman’s mallet. \q She struck Sisera and crushed his head; \q she broke through and pierced his temple. ²⁷At her feet he sank down, he fell, he lay still; \q at her feet he sank down, he fell; \q at the place where he sank down, there he fell, slain. ²⁸Through the window she looked out, \q Sisera’s mother, and cried through the lattice, \q ‘Why is his chariot taking so long to come? \q Why are the hoofbeats of his chariots so late?’ ²⁹The wisest of her noble ladies answer her; \q she even gives herself the same answer: ³⁰‘They must be finding the spoil and sharing it out: \q a girl or two for every man; \q colored cloth as spoil for Sisera, \q colored cloth as spoil, richly embroidered, \q dyed cloth embroidered on both sides, for necks among the spoil.’^{s 31}So may all your enemies perish, LORD! \q But may those who love him be like the sun as it rises in its strength.” \q And the land had peace for forty years.