Judges 5:11-23

5:11 Hear the sound of those who divide the sheep among the watering places;

there they tell of the Lord’s victorious deeds,

the victorious deeds of his warriors in Israel.

Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates –

5:12 Wake up, wake up, Deborah!

Wake up, wake up, sing a song!

Get up, Barak!

Capture your prisoners of war, son of Abinoam!

5:13 Then the survivors came down to the mighty ones;

the Lord’s people came down to me as warriors.

5:14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek,

they follow after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers.

From Makir leaders came down,

from Zebulun came the ones who march carrying an officer’s staff.

5:15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah,

the men of Issachar supported Barak;

into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command.

Among the clans of Reuben there was intense heart searching.

5:16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds,

listening to the shepherds playing their pipes for their flocks?

As for the clans of Reuben – there was intense searching of heart.

5:17 Gilead stayed put beyond the Jordan River.

As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards?

Asher remained on the seacoast,

he stayed by his harbors.

5:18 The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives;

Naphtali charged on to the battlefields.

5:19 Kings came, they fought;

the kings of Canaan fought,

at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo,

but they took no silver as plunder.

5:20 From the sky the stars fought,

from their paths in the heavens they fought against Sisera.

5:21 The Kishon River carried them off;

the river confronted them – the Kishon River.

Step on the necks of the strong!

5:22 The horses’ hooves pounded the ground;

the stallions galloped madly.

5:23 ‘Call judgment down on Meroz,’ says the Lord’s angelic messenger;

‘Be sure to call judgment down on those who live there,

because they did not come to help in the Lord’s battle,

to help in the Lord’s battle against the warriors.’