Daily Meditation
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.
Today’s Reading
Judges
Chapter 5
When the people
willingly offered themselves
1 Then sang Deborah
and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying, 2 Praise ye the Lord for the
avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves. 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. 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 The mountains melted from before the
Lord, even that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel. 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. 7 The inhabitants of the villages ceased,
they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in
Israel. 8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or
spear seen among forty thousand in Israel? 9 My heart is toward the governors
of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the
Lord. 10 Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk
by the way. 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. 12 Awake, awake, Deborah: awake,
awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of
Abinoam. 13 Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among
the people: the Lord made me have dominion over the mighty. 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. 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. 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. 17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and
why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his
breaches. 18 Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto
the death in the high places of the field. 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. 20 They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought
against Sisera. 21 The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the
river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength. 22 Then were the
horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty
ones. 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. 24 Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of
Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent. 25 He asked
water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. 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. 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. 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? 29 Her
wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself, 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? 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.
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