Judges 4-5
New King James Version
Deborah
4 When Ehud was dead, (A)the children of Israel again did (B)evil in the sight of the Lord. 2 So the Lord (C)sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in (D)Hazor. The commander of his army was (E)Sisera, who dwelt in (F)Harosheth Hagoyim. 3 And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; for Jabin had nine hundred (G)chariots of iron, and for twenty years (H)he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 (I)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. 6 Then she sent and called for (J)Barak the son of Abinoam from (K)Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and [a]deploy troops at Mount (L)Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; 7 and against you (M)I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the (N)River Kishon; and I will [b]deliver him into your hand’?”
8 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!”
9 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 (O)sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called (P)Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; he went up with ten thousand men (Q)under[c] his command, and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber (R)the Kenite, of the children of (S)Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent near the terebinth tree at Zaanaim, (T)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, [d]“Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand. (U)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 (V)left.
17 However, Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of (W)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 [e]blanket.
19 Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened (X)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, (Y)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
5 Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam (Z)sang on that day, saying:
2 “When[f] leaders (AA)lead in Israel,
(AB)When the people [g]willingly offer themselves,
Bless the Lord!
3 “Hear,(AC) O kings! Give ear, O princes!
I, even (AD)I, will sing to the Lord;
I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.
4 “Lord, (AE)when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from (AF)the field of Edom,
The earth trembled and the heavens poured,
The clouds also poured water;
5 (AG)The mountains [h]gushed before the Lord,
(AH)This Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel.
6 “In the days of (AI)Shamgar, son of Anath,
In the days of (AJ)Jael,
(AK)The highways were deserted,
And the travelers walked along the byways.
7 Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel,
Until I, Deborah, arose,
Arose a mother in Israel.
8 They chose (AL)new gods;
Then there was war in the gates;
Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.
9 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 (AM)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,(AN) 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 (AO)Amalek.
After you, Benjamin, with your peoples,
From Machir rulers came down,
And from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter’s staff.
15 And [i]the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
As Issachar, so was Barak
Sent into the valley [j]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 (AP)Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan,
And why did Dan remain [k]on ships?
(AQ)Asher continued at the seashore,
And stayed by his inlets.
18 (AR)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 (AS)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 (AT)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 [l]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;
(AU)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 (AV)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 [m]ladies answered her,
Yes, she [n]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 (AW)perish, O Lord!
But let those who love Him be (AX)like the (AY)sun
When it comes out in full (AZ)strength.”
So the land had rest for forty years.
Footnotes
- Judges 4:6 march
- Judges 4:7 Lit. draw
- Judges 4:10 Lit. at his feet
- Judges 4:14 Arise!
- Judges 4:18 rug
- Judges 5:2 Or When locks are loosed
- Judges 5:2 volunteer
- Judges 5:5 flowed
- Judges 5:15 So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT And my princes in Issachar
- Judges 5:15 Lit. at his feet
- Judges 5:17 Or at ease
- Judges 5:23 Or Angel
- Judges 5:29 princesses
- Judges 5:29 Lit. repeats her words to herself
Psalm 39-41
New King James Version
Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness
To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will guard my ways,
Lest I sin with my (A)tongue;
I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,
While the wicked are before me.”
2 (B)I was mute with silence,
I held my peace even from good;
And my sorrow was stirred up.
3 My heart was hot within me;
While I was [a]musing, the fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, (C)make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.
5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but (D)vapor. Selah
6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow;
Surely they [b]busy themselves in vain;
He heaps up riches,
And does not know who will gather them.
7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My (E)hope is in You.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Do not make me (F)the reproach of the foolish.
9 (G)I was mute, I did not open my mouth,
Because it was (H)You who did it.
10 (I)Remove Your plague from me;
I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.
11 When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity,
You make his beauty (J)melt away like a moth;
Surely every man is vapor. Selah
12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And give ear to my cry;
Do not be silent at my tears;
For I am a stranger with You,
A sojourner, (K)as all my fathers were.
13 (L)Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength,
Before I go away and (M)am no more.”
Faith Persevering in Trial(N)
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
40 I (O)waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of (P)the miry clay,
And (Q)set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
3 (R)He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.
4 (S)Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
5 (T)Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
(U)And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.
6 (V)Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 (W)I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is (X)within my heart.”
9 (Y)I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, (Z)I do not restrain my lips,
O Lord, You Yourself know.
10 (AA)I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord;
(AB)Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.
12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
(AC)My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.
13 (AD)Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me!
14 (AE)Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my [c]life;
Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil.
15 Let them be (AF)confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 (AG)Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation (AH)say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
17 (AI)But I am poor and needy;
(AJ)Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.
The Blessing and Suffering of the Godly
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
41 Blessed is he who considers the [d]poor;
The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
2 The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,
And he will be blessed on the earth;
(AK)You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
3 The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;
You will [e]sustain him on his sickbed.
4 I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;
(AL)Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
5 My enemies speak evil of me:
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 And if he comes to see me, he speaks [f]lies;
His heart gathers iniquity to itself;
When he goes out, he tells it.
7 All who hate me whisper together against me;
Against me they [g]devise my hurt.
8 “An[h] evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.
And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”
9 (AM)Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,
(AN)Who ate my bread,
Has [i]lifted up his heel against me.
10 But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up,
That I may repay them.
11 By this I know that You are well pleased with me,
Because my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,
And (AO)set me before Your face forever.
13 (AP)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.
Footnotes
- Psalm 39:3 meditating
- Psalm 39:6 make an uproar for nothing
- Psalm 40:14 Lit. soul
- Psalm 41:1 helpless or powerless
- Psalm 41:3 restore
- Psalm 41:6 empty words
- Psalm 41:7 plot
- Psalm 41:8 Lit. A thing of Belial
- Psalm 41:9 Acted as a traitor
1 Corinthians 13
New King James Version
The Greatest Gift
13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of (A)prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, (B)so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And (C)though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body [a]to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 (D)Love suffers long and is (E)kind; love (F)does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not [b]puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, (G)does not seek its own, is not provoked, [c]thinks no evil; 6 (H)does not rejoice in iniquity, but (I)rejoices in the truth; 7 (J)bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 (K)For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is [d]perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For (L)now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then (M)face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 13:3 NU so I may boast
- 1 Corinthians 13:4 arrogant
- 1 Corinthians 13:5 keeps no accounts of evil
- 1 Corinthians 13:10 complete
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Bible Gateway Recommends
