Jueces 5

VBL · Chapter 5/21

1Aquel día Débora y Barak, hijo de Abinoam, entonaron esta canción:

2Los líderes de Israel se hicieron cargo, y el pueblo se comprometió totalmente. ¡Alabado sea el Señor!

3¡Escuchen, reyes! ¡Prestad atención, gobernantes! Yo, sí yo, cantaré al Señor; alabaré al Señor, el Dios de Israel, con un canto.

4Señor, cuando saliste de Seir, cuando marchaste del país de Edom, la tierra tembló, la lluvia cayó del cielo, las nubes derramaron agua.

5Las montañas se derritieron en presencia del Señor, el Dios del Sinaí, en presencia del Señor, el Dios de Israel.

6En los días de Shamgar, hijo de Anat, en los días de Jael, la gente no usaba las carreteras principales y se quedaba en caminos sinuosos.

7La vida de las aldeas en Israel estaba abandonada hasta que yo, Débora, entré en escena como madre en Israel.

8Cuando el pueblo eligió nuevos dioses, entonces la guerra llegó a sus puertas. Ni siquiera un escudo o una lanza podían encontrarse entre los cuarenta mil guerreros de Israel.

9Mis pensamientos están con los comandantes israelitas y con la gente que se ofreció como voluntaria. ¡Alabado sea el Señor!

10Ustedes, que van montados en asnos blancos, sentados en cómodas mantas, viajando por el camino, observen

11De lo que habla la gente cuando se reúne en los abrevaderos. Describen los actos justos del Señor y los de sus guerreros en Israel. Entonces el pueblo del Señor se dirigió a las puertas de la ciudad.

12“¡Despierta, Débora, despierta! ¡Despierta, despierta, canta una canción! ¡Levántate, Barac! Captura a tus prisioneros, hijo de Abinoam”.

13Los sobrevivientes fueron a atacar a los nobles, el pueblo del Señor fue a atacar a los poderosos.

14Algunos vinieron de Efraín, tierra que solía pertenecer a los amalecitas; la tribu de Benjamín te siguió con sus hombres. Los comandantes vinieron de Maquir; de Zabulón vinieron los que llevan el bastón de mando de un militar.

15Los jefes de Isacar apoyaron a Débora y a Barac; corrieron hacia el valle siguiendo a Barac. Pero la tribu de Rubén estaba muy indecisa.

16¿Por qué se quedaron en casa, en los rediles, escuchando a los pastores que silbaban por sus rebaños? La tribu de Rubén realmente no podía decidir qué hacer.

17Galaad se quedó al otro lado del Jordán. Dan se quedó con sus barcos. Aser se quedó en la costa, sin moverse de sus puertos.

18El pueblo de Zabulón arriesgó su vida, al igual que Neftalí en los campos de batalla de altura.

19Los reyes vinieron y lucharon, los reyes cananeos lucharon en Tanac, cerca de las aguas de Meguido, pero no obtuvieron ningún botín de plata.

20Las estrellas lucharon desde el cielo. Las estrellas en sus cursos lucharon contra Sísara.

21El río Cisón los arrastró: ¡el viejo río se convirtió en un torrente impetuoso! ¡Pero yo marché con valentía!

22Entonces los cascos de los caballos se agitaron ruidosamente, sus sementales salieron en estampida.

23“Maldice a Meroz,” dice el ángel del Señor. “Maldice totalmente a los que viven allí, porque se negaron a venir a ayudar al Señor, a ayudar al Señor contra los poderosos enemigos”.

24Jael, la esposa de Heber el ceneo, es la más alabada entre las mujeres. Ella merece ser alabada por encima de todas las demás mujeres que viven en tiendas.

25Él pidió agua y ella le dio leche. En un recipiente digno de los nobles le llevó suero de leche.

26Con una mano tomó la estaca de la tienda y con la derecha sostuvo un martillo de obrero. Golpeó a Sísara y le rompió el cráneo; le destrozó y perforó la sien.

27A sus pies se desplomó, cayó, quedó inmóvil. A sus pies se desplomó, cayó; donde se desplomó, allí cayó, su vida le fue arrebatada.

28La madre de Sísara se asomó a la ventana. A través de la ventana enrejada gritó: “¿Por qué tarda tanto en llegar su carro? ¿Por qué se retrasa tanto el sonido de su carro?”

29La más sabia de sus damas le dice, y ella se repite a sí misma las mismas palabras:

30“Están ocupados repartiendo el botín y asignando una o dos jóvenes para cada hombre. Dentro del botín seguro habrá ropas de colores para Sísara; en el botín habrá ropas de colores bellamente bordadas; un botín de ropas de doble bordado que llegan hasta el cuello”.

31¡Que todos tus enemigos mueran así, Señor! ¡Pero que los que te aman brillen como el sol en todo su esplendor!

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Deborah and Barak sing a victory song celebrating the battle against Sisera, praising the Lord, condemning the tribes that did not help, and extolling Jael's courage.

Explanation

This song is considered by scholars to be one of the oldest poetic texts in the Hebrew Bible, with archaic and vivid language that celebrates the victory in cosmic terms — even the stars 'fought against Sisera' (v.20). The poem does not hesitate to publicly name and shame the town of Meroz for failing to help in the battle, showing that solidarity among the tribes of Israel was regarded as a sacred obligation, not an optional one. The final scene, imagining Sisera's mother anxiously waiting for a son who is already dead, adds a layer of tragic humanity even to the defeated side — a rare and powerful literary device.

Fun facts

  • Biblical linguists consider the Hebrew of the Song of Deborah particularly archaic and difficult to translate, suggesting it is one of the oldest texts preserved in the Bible, possibly contemporary with the events it describes.
  • The dramatic repetition 'at her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still' (v.27) is a Hebrew poetic technique called intensifying parallelism, used to draw out the climactic moment of the narrative.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jueces 5:1Deborah and Barak sing this song of victory on the very day Sisera is defeated, celebrating what had just happened.
  2. Jueces 5:2The song opens by praising the Lord because the leaders took the lead and the people willingly offered themselves for war.
  3. Jueces 5:3Deborah calls on kings and princes to listen, because she herself will sing and give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.
  4. Jueces 5:4The poem describes God going out from Seir, in the region of Edom, with the earth trembling and the clouds pouring down water, a storm image that represents divine power at work in the battle.
  5. Jueces 5:5The mountains melt before the Lord, even Sinai itself, in the sweeping, poetic language typical of ancient war songs.
  6. Jueces 5:6In the days of Shamgar and of Jael, the highways became dangerous and deserted, and travelers had to take winding byways to hide from their enemies.
  7. Jueces 5:7The villages had ceased to exist in Israel, until Deborah rose up as a mother to the people, that is, as protector and guide in a time with no leadership.
  8. Jueces 5:8When the people chose new gods, war soon followed; the verse notes that hardly anyone in Israel had a shield or spear to defend themselves, showing just how unarmed they were.
  9. Jueces 5:9Deborah’s heart goes out to the leaders of Israel who willingly offered themselves to fight, and she calls the people to praise the Lord for it.
  10. Jueces 5:10She calls out to those who ride on white donkeys, those who sit to judge, and those who walk along the road, urging them to speak of what happened.
  11. Jueces 5:11Even near the watering places, where the sound of the archers is heard, the people begin recounting the righteous acts of the Lord on behalf of His villages in Israel.
  12. Jueces 5:12The song calls Deborah and Barak to wake up and act: she is to break into song, and he is to lead away the captives taken in battle.
  13. Jueces 5:13The Lord makes Deborah have dominion over the mighty who remain, giving her authority over the valiant men of the people.
  14. Jueces 5:14The song praises the part played by Ephraim, Benjamin, Machir, and Zebulun in the war, tribes that sent fighters and leaders into battle.
  15. Jueces 5:15The chiefs of Issachar also came with Deborah, and Barak was sent on foot into the valley; but the tribe of Reuben held great debates among themselves before deciding what to do.
  16. Jueces 5:16The song asks why Reuben stayed among the sheepfolds, merely listening to the bleating of the flocks, criticizing the indecision of a tribe that talked a great deal but never went to war.
  17. Jueces 5:17Gilead stays on the other side of the Jordan without helping, Dan lingers by the ships, and Asher remains at the seashore, all tribes that prefer to stay out of the fighting.
  18. Jueces 5:18Zebulun and Naphtali, by contrast, are praised for risking their very lives on the heights of the battlefield, unlike the tribes that stayed away.
  19. Jueces 5:19Canaanite kings come to fight at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo, but leave without taking any spoil of silver, that is, they lose the battle and gain nothing.
  20. Jueces 5:20The poem says that even the stars fought from heaven against Sisera, an image that credits the victory to a power far greater than that of the Israelites themselves.
  21. Jueces 5:21The river Kishon sweeps the enemies away; a sudden flood likely helped mire Sisera’s war chariots in the mud.
  22. Jueces 5:22The horses’ hooves are broken by the hard galloping of the warriors, an image of the confusion and desperate flight of the battle.
  23. Jueces 5:23The angel of the Lord curses the city of Meroz because its inhabitants did not come to help in the war against the enemies, showing that refusing to fight also carried a consequence.
  24. Jueces 5:24Deborah’s song calls Jael blessed above women, openly celebrating Sisera’s death. This is an ancient war song, and its role is to celebrate Israel’s victory, not to pass moral judgment on the method used.
  25. Jueces 5:25Sisera asks for water, but Jael gives him milk, served in a noble bowl, a gesture of hospitality that was actually part of the trap.
  26. Jueces 5:26The poem describes the blow in detail: Jael reaches out her hand for the tent peg and the hammer, drives it into Sisera’s head, and pierces his temples.
  27. Jueces 5:27At Jael’s feet Sisera bows, falls, and lies dead, the action repeated in three short phrases that heighten the song’s dramatic tone.
  28. Jueces 5:28Sisera’s mother looks out through the window, anxious, asking why her son’s chariot is so long in coming back from the war.
  29. Jueces 5:29The wisest of her ladies try to answer her, and she herself repeats the question to comfort herself, not knowing that her son is already dead.
  30. Jueces 5:30They imagine the delay is because the men are dividing the spoil of victory, including captured women and embroidered cloth, a cruel irony, since it is Sisera himself who lies dead.
  31. Jueces 5:31The song ends by asking that all the Lord’s enemies perish this way, while those who love Him shine like the sun; after this, the land has rest for forty years.

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