Judges 5:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Her wisest princesses answer, indeed, she answers herself,

NIV: The wisest of her ladies answer her; indeed, she keeps saying to herself,

NASB: Her wise princesses would answer her, Indeed she repeats her words to herself,

CSB: Her wisest princesses answer her; she even answers herself:

NLT: 'Her wise women answer, and she repeats these words to herself:

KJV: Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,

NKJV: Her wisest ladies answered her, Yes, she answered herself,

Deborah's song (Judges 5:1) is nearing its end. She has recorded the Lord's victory over the Canaanites (Judges 5:19–22) and the death of the general Sisera at the hand of a woman while he slept (Judges 5:24–27). Now, in a sense, Deborah celebrates the grief of Sisera's mother as she waits for the son who will never return (Judges 5:28). The reason for this crowing is driven by Sisera's long oppression of Israel (Judges 4:1–3) as well as details given in these verses. These indicate Sisera was not merely an oppressor, but an especially cruel and fearful one (Judges 5:30).

As depicted here, Sisera's mother stands at the window, crying and looking for her son. She asks why she has not yet heard or seen his chariot. The other royal ladies express the same concern. Here, Deborah seems to sarcastically refer to these women as "wise," as they are completely wrong in their assumption. In the next verse, the mother and princesses assume Sisera is late because he has so much captured loot to divide—including women, crassly referred to in the Canaanite city as "wombs."

Judges 5:24–31 completes a song of victory celebrating the defeat of the Canaanites (Judges 4:12–16). This especially notes the slaying of Sisera, Canaan's general, by the woman Jael. Her brutally efficient methods were described in the prior chapter (Judges 4:17–21). Sisera's death is given an especially dramatic, poetic treatment—the ancient written equivalent of a slow-motion sequence. The passage also imagines the surprise which will accompany Sisera's death, depicting it from the view of his mother and servants. The song ends with a plea that God would extend the same defeat to all His enemies. The peace won by Barak and Deborah (Judges 4:4–7) will last forty years.

Deborah and Barak sing a victory song she has written. This celebrates all the Lord accomplished through Israel's victory in battle over Sisera and Canaan. She praises God for willing volunteers and calls for everyone to pass along the story. She tells of the torrent of water that flowed down the Kishon River and swept away the enemy. She describes in detail the death of Sisera at the hands of a woman and even shows his mother crying for his return. Her song emphasizes that credit for success goes to the Lord.

Judges 5 follows the narrative-style account of the battle between Sisera and Barak, as instigated by the prophetess Deborah in chapter 4. This chapter is a song, poetically depicting the same series of events. Deborah describes Sisera's defeat in battle, Jael's bold killing of the cruel general Sisera, and the tears of his mother as she waits for him at home. The following chapter shows that Israel—once again—responds to this hard-won peace with another cycle of idolatry, sin, and oppression (Judges 6:1).

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).

Accessed 11/23/2024 11:55:02 PM