Judges 5:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel?

NIV: God chose new leaders when war came to the city gates, but not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

NASB: New gods were chosen; Then war was in the gates. Not a shield or a spear was seen Among forty thousand in Israel.

CSB: Israel chose new gods, then there was war in the city gates. Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

NLT: When Israel chose new gods, war erupted at the city gates. Yet not a shield or spear could be seen among forty thousand warriors in Israel!

KJV: They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?

NKJV: They chose new gods; Then there was war in the gates; Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

In this passage, Deborah's song (Judges 5:1) mourns for the troubling period under the oppression of Sisera and the Canaanites (Judges 4:1–3). These are the days out of which God called her to be His spokesperson to Israel (Judges 4:4–5; 5:6–7).

This subjugation did not happen at random, or for no reason. Israel's suffering happened when they chose to abandon the Lord God and serve new, false gods. Deborah describes Israel's rejection of the Lord and worship of idols like Baal. That evil provoked God to subject His people to the Canaanites (Judges 2:12–15).

The inevitable consequence of Israel's unfaithfulness was victory by the enemy: war, leading to defeat and enslavement of the people. In poetic language—likely exaggerated for effect—Deborah's song says that for twenty years, there wasn't a single implement of war to be found among 40,000 Israelites. The Canaanites had completely disarmed them and left the Lord's people at their mercy.

Judges 5:1–11 begins a song composed by Deborah, the prophetess and judge of Israel (Judges 4:4–5). This segment introduces the troubles experienced by God's chosen people leading up to their battle against Canaan. Though Israel had been blessed by God and His miracles when they came out of Egypt, the nation had fallen under oppression. As explained in the prior chapter (Judges 4:1–10), the people responded to Deborah's call for action. What follows is a celebration of Israel's victory against Sisera, Jabin, and the Canaanite army (Judges 4:12–16).

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 5/8/2024 4:40:30 PM