Judges 5:1

Celebrating the Victory in Song

5:1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this victory song: ¹ 

Judges 4:12

4:12 When Sisera heard ²  that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,

Judges 4:14

4:14 Deborah said to Barak, “Spring into action, ³  for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you! ⁴  Has the Lord not taken the lead?” ⁵  Barak quickly went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

Judges 4:8

4:8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go. But if you do not go with me, I will not go.”

Judges 4:10

4:10 Barak summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him; ⁶  Deborah went up with him as well.

Judges 5:12

5:12 Wake up, wake up, Deborah!

Wake up, wake up, sing a song!

Get up, Barak!

Capture your prisoners of war, ⁷  son of Abinoam!

Judges 5:15

5:15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah,

the men of Issachar ⁸  supported ⁹  Barak;

into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command. ¹⁰ 

Among the clans of Reuben there was intense ¹¹  heart searching. ¹² 

Judges 4:6

4:6 She summoned ¹³  Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, “Is it not true that the Lord God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun!

Judges 4:9

4:9 She said, “I will indeed go with you. But you will not gain fame ¹⁴  on the expedition you are undertaking, ¹⁵  for the Lord will turn Sisera over to a woman.” ¹⁶  Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Judges 4:15-16

4:15 The Lord routed ¹⁷  Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword. ¹⁸  Sisera jumped out of ¹⁹  his chariot and ran away on foot. 4:16 Now Barak chased the chariots and the army all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s whole army died ²⁰  by the edge of the sword; not even one survived! ²¹ 

Judges 4:22

4:22 Now Barak was chasing Sisera. Jael went out to welcome him. She said to him, “Come here and I will show you the man you are searching for.” He went with her into the tent, ²²  and there he saw Sisera sprawled out dead ²³  with the tent peg in his temple.

[5:1]  ¹ tn The words “this victory song” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[4:12]  ² tn Heb “and they told Sisera.”

[4:14]  ³ tn Heb “Arise!”

[4:14]  ⁴ tn The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”

[4:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “Has the Lord not gone out before you?”

[4:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “went up at his feet.”

[5:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “take captive your captives.” (The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative here.)

[5:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “Issachar.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:15]  ⁷ tn Or “was true to.”

[5:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “at his feet.”

[5:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “great was.”

[5:15]  ¹⁰ tc The great majority of Hebrew mss have “resolves of heart,” but a few mss read “searchings of heart,” which is preferable in light of v. 16.

[4:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “sent and summoned.”

[4:9]  ⁸ tn Or “honor.”

[4:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “on [account of (?)] the way which you are walking.” Another option is to translate, “due to the way you are going about this.” In this case direct reference is made to Barak’s hesitancy as the reason for his loss of glory.

[4:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for into the hands of a woman the Lord will sell Sisera.”

[4:15]  ⁹ tn Or “caused to panic.”

[4:15]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “before Barak.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “got down from.”

[4:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fell.”

[4:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “was left.”

[4:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he went to her.”

[4:22]  ¹² tn Heb “fallen, dead.”