The Song of Deborah and Barak |
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Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abin'o-am on that day, saying,
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Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel,
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when the people willingly offered themselves. |
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Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes;
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I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; |
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I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel. |
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LORD, when thou wentest out of Se'ir,
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when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, |
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the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, |
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the clouds also dropped water. |
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The mountains melted from before the LORD,
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even that Si'nai from before the LORD God of Israel. Ex. 19.18 |
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| 6 |
In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath,
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in the days of Ja'el, |
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the highways were unoccupied, |
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and the travelers walked through byways. |
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The inhabitants of the villages ceased,
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they ceased in Israel, |
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until that I Deborah arose, |
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that I arose a mother in Israel. |
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| 8 |
They chose new gods;
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then was war in the gates: |
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was there a shield or spear seen |
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among forty thousand in Israel? |
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| 9 |
My heart is toward the governors of Israel,
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that offered themselves willingly among the people. |
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Bless ye the LORD. |
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| 10 |
Speak, ye that ride on white asses,
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ye that sit in judgment, |
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and walk by the way. |
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| 11 |
They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water,
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there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD, |
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even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: |
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then shall the people of the LORD go down to the gates. |
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Awake, awake, Deborah:
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awake, awake, utter a song: |
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arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, |
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thou son of Abin'o-am. |
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Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people:
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the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty. |
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Out of E'phra-im was there a root of them against Am'alek;
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after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; |
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out of Machir came down governors, |
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and out of Zeb'ulun they that handle the pen of the writer. |
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And the princes of Is'sachar were with Deborah;
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even Is'sachar, and also Barak: |
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he was sent on foot into the valley. |
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For the divisions of Reuben |
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there were great thoughts of heart. |
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Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds,
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to hear the bleatings of the flocks? |
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For the divisions of Reuben |
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there were great searchings of heart. |
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Gil'e-ad abode beyond Jordan:
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and why did Dan remain in ships? |
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Asher continued on the seashore, |
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and abode in his breaches. |
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Zeb'ulun and Naph'tali were a people
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that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field. |
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| 19 |
The kings came and fought;
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then fought the kings of Canaan |
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in Ta'anach by the waters of Megid'do; |
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they took no gain of money. |
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They fought from heaven;
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the stars in their courses fought against Sis'era. |
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The river of Kishon swept them away,
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that ancient river, the river Kishon. |
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O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength. |
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Then were the horsehoofs broken
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by the means of the prancings, |
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the prancings of their mighty ones. |
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Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD,
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curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; |
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because they came not to the help of the LORD, |
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to the help of the LORD against the mighty. |
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Blessed above women shall Ja'el the wife of Heber the Kenite be;
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blessed shall she be above women in the tent. |
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He asked water, and she gave him milk;
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she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. |
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| 26 |
She put her hand to the nail,
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and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; |
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and with the hammer she smote Sis'era, she smote off his head, |
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when she had pierced and stricken through his temples. |
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| 27 |
At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down:
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at her feet he bowed, he fell: |
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where he bowed, there he fell down dead. |
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| 28 |
The mother of Sis'era looked out at a window,
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and cried through the lattice, |
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Why is his chariot so long in coming? |
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Why tarry the wheels of his chariots? |
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Her wise ladies answered her,
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yea, she returned answer to herself, |
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| 30 |
Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey;
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to every man a damsel or two; |
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to Sis'era a prey of divers colors, |
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a prey of divers colors of needlework, |
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of divers colors of needlework on both sides, |
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meet for the necks of them that take the spoil? |
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| 31 |
So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD:
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but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. |
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| | ¶ And the land had rest forty years. |
