FocusOppression and deliverance
Connection to the wholeThe deliverers' accounts develop the repeated cycle while also revealing failures among leaders and people.
interpretation Judges 5:27
KJVAt her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
Read it in context
The Song of Deborah and Barak
Start reading at Judges 5:1 (Judges 5:1 to Judges 5:31).
An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
The deliverers' accounts develop the repeated cycle while also revealing failures among leaders and people.
- 5:1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,
- 5:2 Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.
- 5:3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.
- 5:4 LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.
- 5:5 The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel.
- 5:6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.
- 5:7 The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.
- 5:8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
- 5:9 My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the LORD.
- 5:10 Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.
- 5:11 They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the LORD go down to the gates.
- 5:12 Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.
- 5:13 Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people: the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty.
- 5:14 Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.
- 5:15 And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart.
- 5:16 Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
- 5:17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.
- 5:18 Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.
- 5:19 The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.
- 5:20 They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
- 5:21 The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
- 5:22 Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.
- 5:23 Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.
- 5:24 Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
- 5:25 He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.
- 5:26 She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.
- 5:27 At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
- 5:28 The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?
- 5:29 Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,
- 5:30 Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?
- 5:31 So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.
Who
- Who wrote the book? Samuel is the traditional Jewish attribution. The final writer cannot be identified with certainty; Samuel's name should therefore be given as a traditional answer, not a verified signature. Historical source: Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b–15a (record of Jewish attribution, not contemporary proof). traditionally held
- Who was present or being addressed in this passage? In the surrounding chapter context (Judges 4:1–5:31): Deborah, Barak, Jael, Israel's fighters, Jabin, and Sisera are central to the battle account. The song celebrates and interprets those events for its hearers. stated in the text
- Who was the book written to? Israel, looking back on the period between Joshua and the monarchy. The repeated notice that Israel had no king addresses readers for whom that earlier situation needed explanation. Biblical references: Judges 17:6; Judges 21:25. book background
What
- What is the topic of this reading unit? The Song of Deborah and Barak. Read Judges 5:1 through Judges 5:31 as a connected unit. interpretation
- How does it contribute to the book? The deliverers' accounts develop the repeated cycle while also revealing failures among leaders and people. interpretation
When
- When are the events or message set? The opening follows Joshua's death. The accounts cover the period before kingship, but the book does not supply a single modern calendar date for every episode. book background
Where
- What is the book’s geographic setting? The episodes move among Israel's tribal territories and surrounding peoples. A location in one judge's account should not be assigned to another without textual support. book background
- Where does the context start? This passage sits in The Song of Deborah and Barak (Judges 5:1 to Judges 5:31). Start reading at Judges 5:1. An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
How
- How does this book connect with Jesus Christ? Acts 13 recalls the judges as part of Israel's history before moving to David and the promised Saviour, Jesus. This historical connection does not make every judge's conduct exemplary. See Acts 13:20, Acts 13:22, Acts 13:23. interpretation
- How should this book guide our response? Recognize the danger of recurring unfaithfulness and self-directed conduct. Distinguish the LORD's deliverance from a deliverer's sins, and do not treat a vow or violent act as approved merely because it is narrated. interpretation
Cited: Judges 5:1, Judges 5:31, Acts 13:20, Acts 13:22, Acts 13:23
Who wrote it, and how we know
Samuel (traditional)
From early tradition
What Scripture saysThe book does not name its author.
Early traditionJewish tradition (Baba Bathra 14b) names Samuel.
What is debatedAuthorship is not stated in Scripture and cannot be confirmed. The repeated note that there was no king in Israel suggests a writer during the monarchy.
Related passages
Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).
Macro-Structure
See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.
Macro-Structure of Judges 5
Judges describes Israel after Joshua, including repeated apostasy and deliverance. It does not name its author. Narrated violence, vows, and misconduct are not endorsements merely because they appear in the account. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.
Judges 2:10 Judges 2:16 Judges 21:25
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.
Macro-Structure of Judges
Judges describes Israel after Joshua, including repeated apostasy and deliverance. It does not name its author. Narrated violence, vows, and misconduct are not endorsements merely because they appear in the account.
Judges 2:10 Judges 2:16 Judges 21:25
The situation after Joshua
Judges 1:1–3:6FocusIncomplete obedience and recurring apostasy
Connection to the wholeThe opening explains the conditions and recurring pattern that frame the accounts of the judges.
interpretation FocusOppression and deliverance
Connection to the wholeThe deliverers' accounts develop the repeated cycle while also revealing failures among leaders and people.
interpretation Disorder within Israel
Judges 17:1–21:25FocusCorrupted worship and communal violence
Connection to the wholeThe closing accounts expose religious and social disorder, repeatedly drawing attention to the absence of a king and self-directed conduct.
interpretation Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.