Chapter 3

Idolatry Leads to Servitude

1 aNow these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not 1experienced any of the wars of Canaan;

2 only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might 1be taught war, 2those who had not 3experienced it formerly).

3 These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and athe Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as 1Lebo-hamath.

4 They were for 1atesting Israel, to find out if they would 2obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers 3through Moses.

5 aThe sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites;

6 and athey took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

7 The sons of Israel did awhat was evil in the sight of the Lord, and bforgot the Lord their God and cserved the Baals and the 1Asheroth.

8 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of 1Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.

The First Judge Delivers Israel

9 When the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them, aOthniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.

10 aThe Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of 1Mesopotamia into his hand, so that 2he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.

11 Then the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

12 Now the sons of Israel again adid evil in the sight of the Lord. So bthe Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord.

13 And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and 1defeated Israel, and they possessed athe city of the palm trees.

14 The sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

Ehud Delivers from Moab

15 But when the sons of Israel acried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by 1him to Eglon the king of Moab.

16 Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak.

17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.

18 It came about when he had finished presenting the tribute, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute.

19 But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who attended him left him.

20 Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat.

21 Ehud stretched out his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly.

22 The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out.

23 Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them.

24 When he had gone out, his servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “aHe is only 1relieving himself in the cool room.”

25 They waited until they 1became anxious; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the 2floor dead.

26 Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah.

27 It came about when he had arrived, that ahe blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them.

28 He said to them, “Pursue them, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hands.” So they went down after him and seized athe fords of the Jordan opposite Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross.

29 They struck down at that time about ten thousand Moabites, all robust and valiant men; and no one escaped.

30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was undisturbed for eighty years.

Shamgar Delivers from Philistines

31 After him came aShamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.

Chapter 4

Deborah and Barak Deliver from Canaanites

1 Then athe sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died.

2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of aJabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in bHarosheth-hagoyim.

3 The sons of Israel cried to the Lord; for he had nine hundred airon chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years.

4 Now Deborah, a 1prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.

5 She used to 1sit under the apalm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment.

6 Now she sent and summoned aBarak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, “1Behold, the Lord, the God of Israel, has commanded, ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun.

7 ‘I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his 1many troops to the river Kishon, and aI will give him into your hand.’ ”

8 Then Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”

9 She said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, afor the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

10 Barak called aZebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh, and ten thousand men went up 1bwith him; Deborah also went up with him.

11 Now Heber athe Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the 1oak in bZaanannim, which is near Kedesh.

12 Then they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.

13 Sisera called together all his chariots, anine hundred iron chariots, and all the people who were with him, from bHarosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon.

14 Deborah said to Barak, “Arise! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hands; 1behold, athe Lord has gone out before you.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

15 aThe Lord 1routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot.

16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; anot even one was left.

17 Now Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

18 Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my master, turn aside to me! Do not be afraid.” And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a 1rug.

19 aHe said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a 1bottle of milk and gave him a drink; then she covered him.

20 He said to her, “Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there anyone here?’ that you shall say, ‘No.’ ”

21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, atook a tent peg and 1seized a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died.

22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And he entered 1with her, and behold Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple.

23 So aGod subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel.

24 The hand of the sons of Israel pressed heavier and heavier upon Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had 1destroyed Jabin the king of Canaan.

Chapter 5

The Song of Deborah and Barak

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

2 “aThat 1the leaders led in Israel,

That bthe people volunteered,

Bless the Lord!

3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers!

aI—to the Lord, I will sing,

I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.

4 “aLord, when You went out from Seir,

When You marched from the field of Edom,

bThe earth quaked, the heavens also dripped,

Even the clouds dripped water.

5 “aThe mountains 1quaked at the presence of the Lord,

bThis Sinai, at the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.

6 “In the days of aShamgar the son of Anath,

In the days of bJael, the highways 1were deserted,

And travelers 2went by 3roundabout ways.

7 “The peasantry ceased, they ceased in Israel,

Until I, Deborah, arose,

Until I arose, a mother in Israel.

8 “aNew gods were chosen;

Then war was in the gates.

Not a shield or a spear was seen

Among forty thousand in Israel.

9 “My heart goes out to athe commanders of Israel,

The volunteers among the people;

Bless the Lord!

10 “aYou who ride on 1white donkeys,

You who sit on rich carpets,

And you who travel on the road—2sing!

11 “At the sound of those who divide flocks among athe watering places,

There they shall recount bthe righteous deeds of the Lord,

The righteous deeds for His 1peasantry in Israel.

Then the people of the Lord went down cto the gates.

12 “aAwake, awake, Deborah;

Awake, awake, 1sing a song!

Arise, Barak, and btake away your captives, O son of Abinoam.

13 “Then survivors came down to the nobles;

The people of the Lord came down to me as warriors.

14 “From Ephraim those whose root is ain Amalek came down,

Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples;

From Machir commanders came down,

And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of 1office.

15 “And the 1princes of Issachar were with Deborah;

As was Issachar, so was Barak;

Into the valley they rushed aat his 2heels;

Among the divisions of Reuben

There were great resolves of heart.

16 “Why did you sit among athe 1sheepfolds,

To hear the piping for the flocks?

Among the divisions of Reuben

There were great searchings of heart.

17 “aGilead 1remained across the Jordan;

And why did Dan stay in ships?

Asher sat at the seashore,

And 1remained by its landings.

18 “aZebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death,

And Naphtali also, on the high places of the field.

19 “aThe kings came and fought;

Then fought the kings of Canaan

bAt Taanach near the waters of Megiddo;

cThey took no plunder in silver.

20 “aThe stars fought from heaven,

From their courses they fought against Sisera.

21 “The torrent of Kishon swept them away,

The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.

aO my soul, march on with strength.

22 “aThen the horses’ hoofs beat

From the dashing, the dashing of his 1valiant steeds.

23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord,

‘Utterly curse its inhabitants;

aBecause they did not come to the help of the Lord,

To the help of the Lord against the warriors.’

24 “aMost blessed of women is Jael,

The wife of Heber the Kenite;

Most blessed is she of women in the tent.

25 “He asked for water and she gave him milk;

In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.

26 “She reached out her hand for the tent peg,

And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.

Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head;

And she shattered and pierced his temple.

27 “Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay;

Between her feet he bowed, he fell;

Where he bowed, there he fell 1dead.

28 “Out of the window she looked and lamented,

The mother of Sisera through the 1lattice,

‘Why does his chariot delay in coming?

Why do the 2hoofbeats of his chariots tarry?’

29 “Her wise princesses would answer her,

Indeed she repeats her words to herself,

30 ‘aAre they not finding, are they not dividing the spoil?

A maiden, two maidens for every warrior;

To Sisera a spoil of dyed work,

A spoil of dyed work embroidered,

Dyed work of double embroidery on the 1neck of the spoiler?’

31 “aThus let all Your enemies perish, O Lord;

bBut let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.”

And the land was undisturbed for forty years.