📖 Judges — Chapter 5 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Judges 5:1 Then Rsang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,
Judges 5:2 Praise ye the LORD Rfor the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.
Judges 5:3 Hear, RO 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.
Judges 5:4 RLORD, 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.
Judges 5:5 The Rmountains Tmelted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel.
Judges 5:6 In the days of RShamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the Ttravellers walked through Tbyways.
Judges 5:7 The inhabitants of Rthe villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.
Judges 5:8 They chose Rnew gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
Judges 5:9 My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that Roffered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the LORD.
Judges 5:10 RTSpeak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.
Judges 5:11 They that are delivered from Rthe noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the Trighteous 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.
Judges 5:12 Awake, Rawake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.
Judges 5:13 Then Rhe made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people: the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty.
Judges 5:14 Out Rof 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 Thandle the pen of the writer.
Judges 5:15 And Rthe princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on Tfoot into the valley. TFor the divisions of Reuben there were great Tthoughts of heart.
Judges 5:16 Why abodest thou among the Rsheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? TFor the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
Judges 5:17 RGilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea Tshore, and abode in his Tbreaches.
Judges 5:18 RZebulun and Naphtali were a people that Tjeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.
Judges 5:19 The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in RTaanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.
Judges 5:20 They fought from heaven; Rthe stars in their Tcourses fought against Sisera.
Judges 5:21 The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. RO my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
Judges 5:22 Then were the Rhorsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, Tthe pransings of their mighty ones.
Judges 5:23 Curse ye Meroz, said Rthe 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.
Judges 5:24 Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
Judges 5:25 He Rasked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.
Judges 5:26 She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; and RTwith the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.
Judges 5:27 TAt her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: Rwhere he bowed, there he fell down Tdead.
Judges 5:28 The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried Rthrough the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?
Judges 5:29 Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned Tanswer to herself,
Judges 5:30 RHave they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to Tevery 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?
Judges 5:31 RSo 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.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Judges 5:1–11 — Praise after deliverance
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Deborah and Barak sing to the LORD. Their song remembers danger on the roads and in the villages, the choosing of new gods, and people who offered themselves willingly. Praise places the victory in the setting of God's acts and Israel's need.
Key Truth: Remembering deliverance can turn an event into grateful testimony.
Check What You Remember
1. Who sang with Deborah? (Judges 5:1)
Find it in Judges 5:1 (KJV).
2. Whom does the song call the people to praise? (Judges 5:2)
Find it in Judges 5:2 (KJV).
3. How did Deborah describe her role in Israel? (Judges 5:7)
Find it in Judges 5:7 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Judges 5:12–23 — Those who joined and those who stayed
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The song contrasts participating tribes with those who remained apart. Zebulun and Naphtali risked their lives. Poetic descriptions of the stars and Kishon emphasize that the battle was more than human strength; Meroz is rebuked for withholding help.
Key Truth: The song remembers both willing participation and refusal to help.
Check What You Remember
1. Which tribe is described as remaining in ships? (Judges 5:17)
Find it in Judges 5:17 (KJV).
2. Which river swept the enemy away? (Judges 5:21)
Find it in Judges 5:21 (KJV).
3. Which place was cursed for not coming to help? (Judges 5:23)
Find it in Judges 5:23 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Judges 5:24–31 — Jael, Sisera's mother, and the closing prayer
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The song praises Jael and recounts Sisera's fall. It contrasts his defeat with his mother's expectation of spoil, exposing the gap between expected triumph and reality. The final prayer pictures those who love the LORD as the sun going forth in strength.
Key Truth: The song's final hope centers on loving the LORD rather than boasting in victory.
Check What You Remember
1. Which woman is blessed in this section? (Judges 5:24)
Find it in Judges 5:24 (KJV).
2. Who looked through the lattice waiting for Sisera? (Judges 5:28)
Find it in Judges 5:28 (KJV).
3. How many years of rest followed? (Judges 5:31)
Find it in Judges 5:31 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Exodus 15:2 — Another song responds to deliverance with praise to the LORD.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
What detail would you include in a truthful account of help you have received? Consider how this song remembers both need and deliverance.
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What human response accompanies the song’s call to praise?
2. How does the song contrast Reuben with Zebulun and Naphtali?
3. How do the stars and Kishon contribute to the song’s portrayal of victory?
4. What specific failure brings the curse on Meroz?
5. What contrast ends the song’s prayer?
Notes
Write what you want to remember, questions to explore, or Scriptures to look up later. Your saved notes are private to your account.
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