1
After Ehud died, the people of Israel sinned against the LORD again.
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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.
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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.
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Now Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet, and she was serving as a judge for the Israelites at that time.
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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.
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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.
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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.' "
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Then Barak replied, "I will go if you go with me, but if you don't go with me, I won't go either."
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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.
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Barak called the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and ten thousand men followed him. Deborah went with him.
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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.
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When Sisera learned that Barak had gone up to Mount Tabor,
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he called out his nine hundred iron chariots and all his men, and sent them from Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles to the Kishon River.
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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.
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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.
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Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles, and Sisera's whole army was killed. Not a man was left.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Then he told her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks you if anyone is here, say no."
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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.
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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.
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That day God gave the Israelites victory over Jabin, the Canaanite king.
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They pressed harder and harder against him until they destroyed him.
1
On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
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Praise the LORD! The Israelites were determined to fight; the people gladly volunteered.
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Listen, you kings! Pay attention, you rulers! I will sing and play music to Israel's God, the LORD.
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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.
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The mountains quaked before the LORD of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel.
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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.
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The towns of Israel stood abandoned, Deborah; they stood empty until you came, came like a mother for Israel.
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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?
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My heart is with the commanders of Israel, with the people who gladly volunteered. Praise the LORD!
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Tell of it, you that ride on white donkeys, sitting on saddles, and you that must walk wherever you go.
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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.
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Lead on, Deborah, lead on! Lead on! Sing a song! Lead on! Forward, Barak son of Abinoam, lead your captives away!
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Then the faithful ones came down to their leaders; the LORD's people came to him ready to fight.
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They came from Ephraim into the valley, behind the tribe of Benjamin and its people. The commanders came down from Machir, the officers down from Zebulun.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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But the people of Zebulun and Naphtali risked their lives on the battlefield.
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At Taanach, by the stream of Megiddo, the kings came and fought; the kings of Canaan fought, but they took no silver away.
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The stars fought from the sky; as they moved across the sky, they fought against Sisera.
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A flood in the Kishon swept them away--- the onrushing Kishon River. I shall march, march on, with strength!
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Then the horses came galloping on, stamping the ground with their hoofs.
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"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."
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The most fortunate of women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite--- the most fortunate of women who live in tents.
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Sisera asked for water, but she gave him milk; she brought him cream in a beautiful bowl.
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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.
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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.
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Sisera's mother looked out of the window; she gazed from behind the lattice. "Why is his chariot so late in coming?" she asked. "Why are his horses so slow to return?"
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Her wisest friends answered her, and she told herself over and over,
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"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."
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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.
1
I said, "I will be careful about what I do and will not let my tongue make me sin; I will not say anything while evil people are near."
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I kept quiet, not saying a word, not even about anything good! But my suffering only grew worse,
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and I was overcome with anxiety. The more I thought, the more troubled I became; I could not keep from asking:
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" LORD, how long will I live? When will I die? Tell me how soon my life will end."
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How short you have made my life! In your sight my lifetime seems nothing. Indeed every living being is no more than a puff of wind,
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no more than a shadow. All we do is for nothing; we gather wealth, but don't know who will get it.
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What, then, can I hope for, Lord? I put my hope in you.
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Save me from all my sins, and don't let fools make fun of me.
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I will keep quiet, I will not say a word, for you are the one who made me suffer like this.
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Don't punish me any more! I am about to die from your blows.
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You punish our sins by your rebukes, and like a moth you destroy what we love. Indeed we are no more than a puff of wind!
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Hear my prayer, LORD, and listen to my cry; come to my aid when I weep. Like all my ancestors I am only your guest for a little while.
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Leave me alone so that I may have some happiness before I go away and am no more.
1
I waited patiently for the LORD's help; then he listened to me and heard my cry.
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He pulled me out of a dangerous pit, out of the deadly quicksand. He set me safely on a rock and made me secure.
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He taught me to sing a new song, a song of praise to our God. Many who see this will take warning and will put their trust in the LORD.
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Happy are those who trust the LORD, who do not turn to idols or join those who worship false gods.
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You have done many things for us, O LORD our God; there is no one like you! You have made many wonderful plans for us. I could never speak of them all--- their number is so great!
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You do not want sacrifices and offerings; you do not ask for animals burned whole on the altar or for sacrifices to take away sins. Instead, you have given me ears to hear you,
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and so I answered, "Here I am; your instructions for me are in the book of the Law.
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How I love to do your will, my God! I keep your teaching in my heart."
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In the assembly of all your people, LORD, I told the good news that you save us. You know that I will never stop telling it.
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I have not kept the news of salvation to myself; I have always spoken of your faithfulness and help. In the assembly of all your people I have not been silent about your loyalty and constant love.
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LORD, I know you will never stop being merciful to me. Your love and loyalty will always keep me safe.
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I am surrounded by many troubles--- too many to count! My sins have caught up with me, and I can no longer see; they are more than the hairs of my head, and I have lost my courage.
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Save me, LORD! Help me now!
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May those who try to kill me be completely defeated and confused. May those who are happy because of my troubles be turned back and disgraced.
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May those who make fun of me be dismayed by their defeat.
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May all who come to you be glad and joyful. May all who are thankful for your salvation always say, "How great is the LORD!"
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I am weak and poor, O Lord, but you have not forgotten me. You are my savior and my God--- hurry to my aid!
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Happy are those who are concerned for the poor; the LORD will help them when they are in trouble.
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The LORD will protect them and preserve their lives; he will make them happy in the land; he will not abandon them to the power of their enemies.
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The LORD will help them when they are sick and will restore them to health.
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I said, "I have sinned against you, LORD; be merciful to me and heal me."
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My enemies say cruel things about me. They want me to die and be forgotten.
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Those who come to see me are not sincere; they gather bad news about me and then go out and tell it everywhere.
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All who hate me whisper to each other about me, they imagine the worst about me.
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They say, "He is fatally ill; he will never leave his bed again."
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Even my best friend, the one I trusted most, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.
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Be merciful to me, LORD, and restore my health, and I will pay my enemies back.
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They will not triumph over me, and I will know that you are pleased with me.
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You will help me, because I do what is right; you will keep me in your presence forever.
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Praise the LORD, the God of Israel! Praise him now and forever! Amen! Amen!
1
I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell.
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I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains---but if I have no love, I am nothing.
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I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burned ---but if I have no love, this does me no good.
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Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud;
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love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs;
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love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth.
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Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.
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Love is eternal. There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they will cease; there is knowledge, but it will pass.
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For our gifts of knowledge and of inspired messages are only partial;
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but when what is perfect comes, then what is partial will disappear.
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When I was a child, my speech, feelings, and thinking were all those of a child; now that I am an adult, I have no more use for childish ways.
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What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete---as complete as God's knowledge of me.
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Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.
