The Nations Remaining in the Land

Now these are (A)the nations which the Lord left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not [a]known any of the wars in Canaan (this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it), namely, (B)five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to [b]know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

(C)Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And (D)they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods.

Othniel

So the children of Israel did (E)evil in the sight of the Lord. They (F)forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and [c]Asherahs. Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He (G)sold them into the hand of (H)Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years. When the children of Israel (I)cried out to the Lord, the Lord (J)raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: (K)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 (L)The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord delivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

Ehud

12 (M)And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord strengthened (N)Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 Then he gathered to himself the people of Ammon and (O)Amalek, went and [d]defeated Israel, and took possession of (P)the City of Palms. 14 So the children of Israel (Q)served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.

15 But when the children of Israel (R)cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a (S)left-handed man. By him the children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud made himself a dagger (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh. 17 So he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.) 18 And when he had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back (T)from the [e]stone images that were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.”

He said, “Keep silence!” And all who attended him went out from him.

20 So Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber). Then Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” So he arose from his seat. 21 Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 Even the [f]hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly; and his entrails came out. 23 Then Ehud went out through the porch and shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

24 When he had gone out, [g]Eglon’s servants came to look, and to their surprise, the doors of the upper room were locked. So they said, “He is probably (U)attending[h] to his needs in the cool chamber.” 25 So they waited till they were (V)embarrassed, and still he had not opened the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them. And there was their master, fallen dead on the floor.

26 But Ehud had escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the [i]stone images and escaped to Seirah. 27 And it happened, when he arrived, that (W)he blew the trumpet in the (X)mountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mountains; and [j]he led them. 28 Then he said to them, “Follow me, for (Y)the Lord has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him, seized the (Z)fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over. 29 And at that time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And (AA)the land had rest for eighty years.

Shamgar

31 After him was (AB)Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines (AC)with an ox goad; (AD)and he also delivered (AE)Israel.

Deborah

When Ehud was dead, (AF)the children of Israel again did (AG)evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord (AH)sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in (AI)Hazor. The commander of his army was (AJ)Sisera, who dwelt in (AK)Harosheth Hagoyim. And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; for Jabin had nine hundred (AL)chariots of iron, and for twenty years (AM)he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel.

Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. (AN)And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. Then she sent and called for (AO)Barak the son of Abinoam from (AP)Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and [k]deploy troops at Mount (AQ)Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; and against you (AR)I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the (AS)River Kishon; and I will [l]deliver him into your hand’?”

And 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!”

So she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the Lord will (AT)sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called (AU)Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; he went up with ten thousand men (AV)under[m] his command, and Deborah went up with him.

11 Now Heber (AW)the Kenite, of the children of (AX)Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent near the terebinth tree at Zaanaim, (AY)which is beside Kedesh.

12 And they reported to Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. 13 So Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth Hagoyim to the River Kishon.

14 Then Deborah said to Barak, [n]“Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand. (AZ)Has not the Lord gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 15 And the Lord routed 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; not a man was (BA)left.

17 However, Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of (BB)Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; do not fear.” And when he had turned aside with her into the tent, she covered him with a [o]blanket.

19 Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened (BC)a jug of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there any man here?’ you shall say, ‘No.’ ”

21 Then Jael, Heber’s wife, (BD)took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. 22 And then, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, I will show you the man whom you seek.” And when he went into her tent, there lay Sisera, dead with the peg in his temple.

23 So on that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan in the presence of the children of Israel. 24 And the hand of the children of Israel grew stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

The Song of Deborah

Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam (BE)sang on that day, saying:

“When[p] leaders (BF)lead in Israel,
(BG)When the people [q]willingly offer themselves,
Bless the Lord!

“Hear,(BH) O kings! Give ear, O princes!
I, even (BI)I, will sing to the Lord;
I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.

Lord, (BJ)when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from (BK)the field of Edom,
The earth trembled and the heavens poured,
The clouds also poured water;
(BL)The mountains [r]gushed before the Lord,
(BM)This Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel.

“In the days of (BN)Shamgar, son of Anath,
In the days of (BO)Jael,
(BP)The highways were deserted,
And the travelers walked along the byways.
Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel,
Until I, Deborah, arose,
Arose a mother in Israel.
They chose (BQ)new gods;
Then there was war in the gates;
Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.
My heart is with the rulers of Israel
Who offered themselves willingly with the people.
Bless the Lord!

10 “Speak, you who ride on white (BR)donkeys,
Who sit in judges’ attire,
And who walk along the road.
11 Far from the noise of the archers, among the watering places,
There they shall recount the righteous acts of the Lord,
The righteous acts for His villagers in Israel;
Then the people of the Lord shall go down to the gates.

12 “Awake,(BS) awake, Deborah!
Awake, awake, sing a song!
Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away,
O son of Abinoam!

13 “Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles;
The Lord came down for me against the mighty.
14 From Ephraim were those whose roots were in (BT)Amalek.
After you, Benjamin, with your peoples,
From Machir rulers came down,
And from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter’s staff.
15 And [s]the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
As Issachar, so was Barak
Sent into the valley [t]under his command;
Among the divisions of Reuben
There were great resolves of heart.
16 Why did you sit among the sheepfolds,
To hear the pipings for the flocks?
The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart.
17 (BU)Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan,
And why did Dan remain [u]on ships?
(BV)Asher continued at the seashore,
And stayed by his inlets.
18 (BW)Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death,
Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.

19 “The kings came and fought,
Then the kings of Canaan fought
In (BX)Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;
They took no spoils of silver.
20 They fought from the heavens;
The stars from their courses fought against Sisera.
21 (BY)The torrent of Kishon swept them away,
That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon.
O my soul, march on in strength!
22 Then the horses’ hooves pounded,
The galloping, galloping of his steeds.
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the [v]angel of the Lord,
‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly,
Because they did not come to the help of the Lord,
To the help of the Lord against the mighty.’

24 “Most blessed among women is Jael,
The wife of Heber the Kenite;
(BZ)Blessed is she among women in tents.
25 He asked for water, she gave milk;
She brought out cream in a lordly bowl.
26 She stretched her hand to the tent peg,
Her right hand to the workmen’s hammer;
She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head,
She split and struck through his temple.
27 At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still;
At her feet he sank, he fell;
Where he sank, there he fell (CA)dead.

28 “The mother of Sisera looked through the window,
And cried out through the lattice,
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why tarries the clatter of his chariots?’
29 Her wisest [w]ladies answered her,
Yes, she [x]answered herself,
30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil:
To every man a girl or two;
For Sisera, plunder of dyed garments,
Plunder of garments embroidered and dyed,
Two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of the looter?’

31 “Thus let all Your enemies (CB)perish, O Lord!
But let those who love Him be (CC)like the (CD)sun
When it comes out in full (CE)strength.”

So the land had rest for forty years.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 3:1 experienced
  2. Judges 3:4 find out
  3. Judges 3:7 Name or symbol for Canaanite goddesses
  4. Judges 3:13 struck
  5. Judges 3:19 Tg. quarries
  6. Judges 3:22 handle
  7. Judges 3:24 Lit. his
  8. Judges 3:24 Lit. covering his feet
  9. Judges 3:26 Tg. quarries
  10. Judges 3:27 Lit. he went before them
  11. Judges 4:6 march
  12. Judges 4:7 Lit. draw
  13. Judges 4:10 Lit. at his feet
  14. Judges 4:14 Arise!
  15. Judges 4:18 rug
  16. Judges 5:2 Or When locks are loosed
  17. Judges 5:2 volunteer
  18. Judges 5:5 flowed
  19. Judges 5:15 So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT And my princes in Issachar
  20. Judges 5:15 Lit. at his feet
  21. Judges 5:17 Or at ease
  22. Judges 5:23 Or Angel
  23. Judges 5:29 princesses
  24. Judges 5:29 Lit. repeats her words to herself

These are the nations the Lord left to test(A) all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): the five(B) rulers of the Philistines,(C) all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites(D) living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon(E) to Lebo Hamath.(F) They were left to test(G) the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.

The Israelites lived(H) among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,(I) Hivites and Jebusites.(J) They took their daughters(K) in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.(L)

Othniel

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord(M) their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.(N) The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold(O) them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim(P) king of Aram Naharaim,[a](Q) to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. But when they cried out(R) to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer,(S) Othniel(T) son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came on him,(U) so that he became Israel’s judge[b] and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim(V) king of Aram(W) into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace(X) for forty years,(Y) until Othniel son of Kenaz(Z) died.

Ehud

12 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,(AA) and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab(AB) power over Israel. 13 Getting the Ammonites(AC) and Amalekites(AD) to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms.[c](AE) 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab(AF) for eighteen years.

15 Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer(AG)—Ehud(AH), a left-handed(AI) man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute(AJ) to Eglon king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud(AK) had made a double-edged sword about a cubit[d] long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. 17 He presented the tribute(AL) to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man.(AM) 18 After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it. 19 But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”

The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left.

20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace[e](AN) and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose(AO) from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword(AP) from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. 22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. 23 Then Ehud went out to the porch[f]; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

24 After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself(AQ) in the inner room of the palace.” 25 They waited to the point of embarrassment,(AR) but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.

26 While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the stone images and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet(AS) in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.

28 “Follow me,” he ordered, “for the Lord has given Moab,(AT) your enemy, into your hands.(AU)” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan(AV) that led to Moab; they allowed no one to cross over. 29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped. 30 That day Moab(AW) was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace(AX) for eighty years.

Shamgar

31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath,(AY) who struck down six hundred(AZ) Philistines(BA) with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.

Deborah

Again the Israelites did evil(BB) in the eyes of the Lord,(BC) now that Ehud(BD) was dead. So the Lord sold them(BE) into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.(BF) Sisera,(BG) the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron(BH) and had cruelly oppressed(BI) the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.

Now Deborah,(BJ) a prophet,(BK) the wife of Lappidoth, was leading[g] Israel at that time. She held court(BL) under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah(BM) and Bethel(BN) in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. She sent for Barak son of Abinoam(BO) from Kedesh(BP) in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali(BQ) and Zebulun(BR) and lead them up to Mount Tabor.(BS) I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s(BT) army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River(BU) and give him into your hands.(BV)’”

Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

“Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.(BW) 10 There Barak summoned(BX) Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him.

11 Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites,(BY) the descendants of Hobab,(BZ) Moses’ brother-in-law,[h] and pitched his tent by the great tree(CA) in Zaanannim(CB) near Kedesh.

12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,(CC) 13 Sisera summoned from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River(CD) all his men and his nine hundred chariots fitted with iron.(CE)

14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands.(CF) Has not the Lord gone ahead(CG) of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. 15 At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed(CH) Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.

16 Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left.(CI) 17 Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael,(CJ) the wife of Heber the Kenite,(CK) because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor(CL) and the family of Heber the Kenite.

18 Jael(CM) went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

19 “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk,(CN) gave him a drink, and covered him up.

20 “Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’”

21 But Jael,(CO) Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep,(CP) exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.(CQ)

22 Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael(CR) went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead.(CS)

23 On that day God subdued(CT) Jabin(CU) king of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.(CV)

The Song of Deborah

On that day Deborah(CW) and Barak son of Abinoam(CX) sang this song:(CY)

“When the princes in Israel take the lead,
    when the people willingly offer(CZ) themselves—
    praise the Lord!(DA)

“Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
    I, even I, will sing to[i] the Lord;(DB)
    I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.(DC)

“When you, Lord, went out(DD) from Seir,(DE)
    when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook,(DF) the heavens poured,
    the clouds poured down water.(DG)
The mountains quaked(DH) before the Lord, the One of Sinai,
    before the Lord, the God of Israel.

“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,(DI)
    in the days of Jael,(DJ) the highways(DK) were abandoned;
    travelers took to winding paths.(DL)
Villagers in Israel would not fight;
    they held back until I, Deborah,(DM) arose,
    until I arose, a mother in Israel.
God chose new leaders(DN)
    when war came to the city gates,(DO)
but not a shield or spear(DP) was seen
    among forty thousand in Israel.
My heart is with Israel’s princes,
    with the willing volunteers(DQ) among the people.
    Praise the Lord!

10 “You who ride on white donkeys,(DR)
    sitting on your saddle blankets,
    and you who walk along the road,
consider 11 the voice of the singers[j] at the watering places.
    They recite the victories(DS) of the Lord,
    the victories of his villagers in Israel.

“Then the people of the Lord
    went down to the city gates.(DT)
12 ‘Wake up,(DU) wake up, Deborah!(DV)
    Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, Barak!(DW)
    Take captive your captives,(DX) son of Abinoam.’

13 “The remnant of the nobles came down;
    the people of the Lord came down to me against the mighty.
14 Some came from Ephraim,(DY) whose roots were in Amalek;(DZ)
    Benjamin(EA) was with the people who followed you.
From Makir(EB) captains came down,
    from Zebulun those who bear a commander’s[k] staff.
15 The princes of Issachar(EC) were with Deborah;(ED)
    yes, Issachar was with Barak,(EE)
    sent under his command into the valley.
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.
16 Why did you stay among the sheep pens[l](EF)
    to hear the whistling for the flocks?(EG)
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.
17 Gilead(EH) stayed beyond the Jordan.
    And Dan, why did he linger by the ships?
Asher(EI) remained on the coast(EJ)
    and stayed in his coves.
18 The people of Zebulun(EK) risked their very lives;
    so did Naphtali(EL) on the terraced fields.(EM)

19 “Kings came(EN), they fought,
    the kings of Canaan fought.
At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo,(EO)
    they took no plunder of silver.(EP)
20 From the heavens(EQ) the stars fought,
    from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The river Kishon(ER) swept them away,
    the age-old river, the river Kishon.
    March on, my soul; be strong!(ES)
22 Then thundered the horses’ hooves—
    galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.(ET)
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord.
    ‘Curse its people bitterly,
because they did not come to help the Lord,
    to help the Lord against the mighty.’

24 “Most blessed of women(EU) be Jael,(EV)
    the wife of Heber the Kenite,(EW)
    most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk;(EX)
    in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.
26 Her hand reached for the tent peg,
    her right hand for the workman’s hammer.
She struck Sisera, she crushed his head,
    she shattered and pierced his temple.(EY)
27 At her feet he sank,
    he fell; there he lay.
At her feet he sank, he fell;
    where he sank, there he fell—dead(EZ).

28 “Through the window(FA) peered Sisera’s mother;
    behind the lattice she cried out,(FB)
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
    Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’
29 The wisest of her ladies answer her;
    indeed, she keeps saying to herself,
30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils:(FC)
    a woman or two for each man,
colorful garments as plunder for Sisera,
    colorful garments embroidered,
highly embroidered garments(FD) for my neck—
    all this as plunder?(FE)

31 “So may all your enemies perish,(FF) Lord!
    But may all who love you be like the sun(FG)
    when it rises in its strength.”(FH)

Then the land had peace(FI) forty years.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 3:8 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
  2. Judges 3:10 Or leader
  3. Judges 3:13 That is, Jericho
  4. Judges 3:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  5. Judges 3:20 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verse 24.
  6. Judges 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  7. Judges 4:4 Traditionally judging
  8. Judges 4:11 Or father-in-law
  9. Judges 5:3 Or of
  10. Judges 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  11. Judges 5:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  12. Judges 5:16 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags