Judges 4-5
Deborah and Barak
4 After Ehud died, the people of Israel sinned against the Lord again. 2 So the Lord let them be conquered by Jabin, a Canaanite king who ruled in the city of Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived at Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles. 3 Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots, and he ruled the people of Israel with cruelty and violence for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help.
4 Now Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet, and she was serving as a judge for the Israelites at that time. 5 She would sit under a certain palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel would go there for her decisions. 6 One day she sent for Barak son of Abinoam from the city of Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given you this command: ‘Take ten thousand men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them to Mount Tabor. 7 I will bring Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, to fight you at the Kishon River. He will have his chariots and soldiers, but I will give you victory over him.’”
8 Then Barak replied, “I will go if you go with me, but if you don't go with me, I won't go either.”
9 She answered, “All right, I will go with you, but you won't get any credit for the victory, because the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman.” So Deborah set off for Kedesh with Barak. 10 Barak called the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and ten thousand men followed him. Deborah went with him.
11 In the meantime Heber the Kenite had set up his tent close to Kedesh near the oak tree at Zaanannim. He had moved away from the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, the brother-in-law of Moses.
12 When Sisera learned that Barak had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 he called out his nine hundred iron chariots and all his men, and sent them from Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles to the Kishon River.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! The Lord is leading you! Today he has given you victory over Sisera.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with his ten thousand men. 15 When Barak attacked with his army, the Lord threw Sisera into confusion together with all his chariots and men. Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot. 16 Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles, and Sisera's whole army was killed. Not a man was left.
17 Sisera ran away to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because King Jabin of Hazor was at peace with Heber's family. 18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, sir; come into my tent. Don't be afraid.” So he went in, and she hid him behind a curtain.[a] 19 He said to her, “Please give me a drink of water; I'm thirsty.” She opened a leather bag of milk, gave him a drink, and hid him again. 20 Then he told her, “Stand at the door of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks you if anyone is here, say no.”
21 Sisera was so tired that he fell sound asleep. Then Jael took a hammer and a tent peg, quietly went up to him, and killed him by driving the peg right through the side of his head and into the ground. 22 When Barak came looking for Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come here! I'll show you the man you're looking for.” So he went in with her, and there was Sisera on the ground, dead, with the tent peg through his head.
23 That day God gave the Israelites victory over Jabin, the Canaanite king. 24 They pressed harder and harder against him until they destroyed him.
The Song of Deborah and Barak
5 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
2 Praise the Lord!
The Israelites were determined to fight;
the people gladly volunteered.
3 Listen, you kings!
Pay attention, you rulers!
I will sing and play music
to Israel's God, the Lord.
4 Lord, when you left the mountains of Seir,
when you came out of the region of Edom,
the earth shook, and rain fell from the sky.
Yes, water poured down from the clouds.
5 (A)The mountains quaked before the Lord of Sinai,
before the Lord, the God of Israel.
6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael,
caravans no longer went through the land,
and travelers used the back roads.
7 The towns of Israel stood abandoned, Deborah;
they stood empty until you came,[b]
came like a mother for Israel.
8 Then there was war in the land
when the Israelites chose new gods.
Of the forty thousand men in Israel,
did anyone carry shield or spear?
9 My heart is with the commanders of Israel,
with the people who gladly volunteered.
Praise the Lord!
10 Tell of[c] it, you that ride on white donkeys,
sitting on saddles,
and you that must walk wherever you go.
11 Listen! The noisy crowds around the wells
are telling of the Lord's victories,
the victories of Israel's people!
Then the Lord's people marched down from their cities.[d]
12 Lead on, Deborah, lead on!
Lead on! Sing a song! Lead on!
Forward, Barak son of Abinoam,
lead your captives away!
13 Then the faithful ones came down to their leaders;
the Lord's people came to him[e] ready to fight.
14 They came[f] from Ephraim into the valley,[g]
behind the tribe of Benjamin and its people.
The commanders came down from Machir,
the officers down from Zebulun.
15 The leaders of Issachar came with Deborah;
yes, Issachar came and Barak too,
and they followed him into the valley.
But the tribe of Reuben was divided;
they could not decide to come.
16 Why did they stay behind with the sheep?
To listen to shepherds calling the flocks?
Yes, the tribe of Reuben was divided;
they could not decide to come.
17 The tribe of Gad stayed east of the Jordan,
and the tribe of Dan remained by the ships.
The tribe of Asher stayed by the seacoast;
they remained along the shore.
18 But the people of Zebulun and Naphtali
risked their lives on the battlefield.
19 At Taanach, by the stream of Megiddo,
the kings came and fought;
the kings of Canaan fought,
but they took no silver away.
20 The stars fought from the sky;
as they moved across the sky,
they fought against Sisera.
21 A flood in the Kishon swept them away—
the onrushing Kishon River.
I shall march, march on, with strength!
22 Then the horses came galloping on,
stamping the ground with their hoofs.
23 “Put a curse on Meroz,” says the angel of the Lord,
“a curse, a curse on those who live there.
They did not come to help the Lord,
come as soldiers to fight for him.”
24 The most fortunate of women is Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite—
the most fortunate of women who live in tents.
25 Sisera asked for water, but she gave him milk;
she brought him cream in a beautiful bowl.
26 She took a tent peg in one hand,
a worker's hammer in the other;
she struck Sisera and crushed his skull;
she pierced him through the head.
27 He sank to his knees,
fell down and lay still at her feet.
At her feet he sank to his knees and fell;
he fell to the ground, dead.
28 Sisera's mother looked out of the window;
she gazed[h] from behind the lattice.
“Why is his chariot so late in coming?” she asked.
“Why are his horses so slow to return?”
29 Her wisest friends answered her,
and she told herself over and over,
30 “They are only finding things to capture and divide,
a woman or two for every soldier,
rich cloth for Sisera,
embroidered pieces for the neck of the queen.”[i]
31 So may all your enemies die like that, O Lord,
but may your friends shine like the rising sun!
And there was peace in the land for forty years.
Footnotes:
- Judges 4:18 hid him behind a curtain; or covered him with a rug.
- Judges 5:7 abandoned, Deborah … you came; or abandoned; they stood empty until I, Deborah, came.
- Judges 5:10 Tell of; or Think about.
- Judges 5:11 from their cities; or to their gates.
- Judges 5:13 One ancient translation him; Hebrew me.
- Judges 5:14 Probable text They came; Hebrew Their root.
- Judges 5:14 One ancient translation into the valley; Hebrew in Amalek.
- Judges 5:28 Some ancient translations gazed; Hebrew cried out.
- Judges 5:30 Probable text queen; Hebrew plunder.
Cross references:
Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society
Luke 22:35-53
Purse, Bag, and Sword
35 (A)Then Jesus asked his disciples, “When I sent you out that time without purse, bag, or shoes, did you lack anything?”
“Not a thing,” they answered.
36 “But now,” Jesus said, “whoever has a purse or a bag must take it; and whoever does not have a sword must sell his coat and buy one. 37 (B)For I tell you that the scripture which says, ‘He shared the fate of criminals,’ must come true about me, because what was written about me is coming true.”
38 The disciples said, “Look! Here are two swords, Lord!”
“That is enough!”[a] he replied.
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives(C)
39 Jesus left the city and went, as he usually did, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples went with him. 40 When he arrived at the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”
41 Then he went off from them about the distance of a stone's throw and knelt down and prayed. 42 “Father,” he said, “if you will, take this cup of suffering away from me. Not my will, however, but your will be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 In great anguish he prayed even more fervently; his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[b]
45 Rising from his prayer, he went back to the disciples and found them asleep, worn out by their grief. 46 He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation.”
The Arrest of Jesus(D)
47 Jesus was still speaking when a crowd arrived, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. He came up to Jesus to kiss him. 48 But Jesus said, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you betray the Son of Man?”
49 When the disciples who were with Jesus saw what was going to happen, they asked, “Shall we use our swords, Lord?” 50 And one of them struck the High Priest's slave and cut off his right ear.
51 But Jesus said, “Enough of this!” He touched the man's ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests and the officers of the Temple guard and the elders who had come there to get him, “Did you have to come with swords and clubs, as though I were an outlaw? 53 (E)I was with you in the Temple every day, and you did not try to arrest me. But this is your hour to act, when the power of darkness rules.”
Footnotes:
- Luke 22:38 That is enough; or Enough of this.
- Luke 22:44 Some manuscripts do not have verses 43-44.
Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society
Psalm 94
God the Judge of All
94 Lord, you are a God who punishes;
reveal your anger!
2 You are the judge of us all;
rise and give the proud what they deserve!
3 How much longer will the wicked be glad?
How much longer, Lord?
4 How much longer will criminals be proud
and boast about their crimes?
5 They crush your people, Lord;
they oppress those who belong to you.
6 They kill widows and orphans,
and murder the strangers who live in our land.
7 They say, “The Lord does not see us;
the God of Israel does not notice.”
8 My people, how can you be such stupid fools?
When will you ever learn?
9 God made our ears—can't he hear?
He made our eyes—can't he see?
10 He scolds the nations—won't he punish them?[a]
He is the teacher of us all—hasn't he any knowledge?
11 (A)The Lord knows what we think;
he knows how senseless our reasoning is.
12 Lord, how happy are those you instruct,
the ones to whom you teach your law!
13 You give them rest from days of trouble
until a pit is dug to trap the wicked.
14 The Lord will not abandon his people;
he will not desert those who belong to him.
15 Justice will again be found in the courts,
and all righteous people will support it.
16 Who stood up for me against the wicked?
Who took my side against the evildoers?
17 If the Lord had not helped me,
I would have gone quickly to the land of silence.[b]
18 I said, “I am falling”;
but your constant love, O Lord, held me up.
19 Whenever I am anxious and worried,
you comfort me and make me glad.
20 You have nothing to do with corrupt judges,
who make injustice legal,
21 who plot against good people
and sentence the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord defends me;
my God protects me.
23 He will punish them for their wickedness
and destroy them for their sins;
the Lord our God will destroy them.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 94:10 them?; or our wicked leaders?
- Psalm 94:17 The world of the dead (see 6.5).
Cross references:
Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society
Proverbs 14:3-4
3 Proud fools talk too much; the words of the wise protect them.
4 Without any oxen to pull the plow your barn will be empty, but with them it will be full of grain.[a]
Footnotes:
- Proverbs 14:4 your barn will be … grain; or you may grow a little grain, but with them you can grow much more.
Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society