The Judges & Ruth

Awake, awake, Deborah; Awake, awake, utter a song: Arise, Barak, and lead away thy captives, thou son of Abinoam.

Then came down a remnant of the nobles and the people; Jehovah came down for me against the mighty.

Out of Ephraimcame downthey whose root is in Amalek; After thee, Benjamin, among thy peoples; Out of Machir came down governors, And out of Zebulun they that handle the marshal’s staff.

And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As was Issachar, so was Barak; Into the valley they rushed forth at his feet. By the watercourses of Reuben There were great resolves of heart.

Why sattest thou among the sheepfolds, To hear the pipings for the flocks? At the watercourses of Reuben There were great searchings of heart.

Gilead abode beyond the Jordan: And Dan, why did he remain in ships? Asher sat still at the haven of the sea, And abode by his creeks.

Zebulun was a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death, And Naphtali, upon the high places of the field.

The kings came and fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan, In Taanach by the waters of Megiddo: They took no gain of money.

From heaven fought the stars, From their courses they fought against Sisera.

The river Kishon swept them away, That ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength.

Then did the horsehoofs stamp By reason of the prancings, the prancings of their strong ones.

Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of Jehovah. Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof, Because they came not to the help of Jehovah, To the help of Jehovah against the mighty.

Blessed above women shall Jael be, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Blessed shall she be above women in the tent.

He asked water, andshe gave him milk; She brought him butter in a lordly dish.

She put her hand to the tent-pin, And her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; And with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote through his head; Yea, she pierced and struck through his temples.

At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay; At her feet he bowed, he fell: Where he bowed, there he fell down dead.

Through the window she looked forth, and cried, The mother of Siseracriedthrough the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariots?

Her wise ladies answered her, Yea, she returned answer to herself,

Have they not found, have they not divided the spoil? A damsel, two damsels to every man; To Sisera a spoil of dyed garments, A spoil of dyed garments embroidered, Of dyed garments embroidered on both sides, on the necks of the spoil?

So let all thine enemies perish, O Jehovah: But let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them;

and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

For they came up with their cattle and their tents; they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it.