The Song of Deborah and Barak (Iudges. 5)

Sing praises Isr'el to the LORD,
that thee auenged so:
When to the fight with free accord,
The people forth did go.
You Kings giue care;
you Princes heare,
while to the LORD I raise
my voice aloud,
and sing to GOD,
(the LORD of Isr'el) praise.

When thou departedst, LORD, from Seir,
When thou leftst Edom field,
Earth shooke, the heauens dropped there,
The clouds did water yeeld.
LORD, at thy sight
A trembling fright
Upon the Mountaines fell:
Eu'n at thy looke
Mount-Sinai shooke,
LORD GOD of Israel.

Not long agoe in Shamghar's dayes,
Old Anath's valiant Sonne;
And late, in Iael's time; the wayes
Frequented were of none:
The passengers
Were wanderers
In crooked paths vnknowne:
And none durst dwell
Through Israel,
But in a walled Towne.

Untill I Deborah arose
(Who rose a mother there)
In Isr'el when new Gods they chose,
That fild their gates with warre.
And they had there
Nor shield nor speare
In their possession, then;
To armes for fight)
One Israelite,
Mong forty thousand men.

To those that Isr'els Captaines are
My heart doth much incline;
To those, I meane, that willing were:
Oh LORD the prayse be thine.
Sing ye for this,
Whose vse it is
To ride on Asses gray;
All ye that yet
In Middin sit,
Or trauell by the way.

The place where they their water drew,
From Archers now is cleare.
The LORDS vprightnesse they shall shew,
And his iust dealing there.
The Hamlets all,
Through Isr'el shall
His righteousnesse record:
And downe vnto
The Gates shall goe
Th People of the LORD.

Arise oh Deborah arise:
Rise, rise, and sing a Song.
Abinoam's sonne, oh Barak rise:
Thy Captiues lead along.
Their Prince all,
By him made thrall
To the Suruiuor be.
To triumph on
The Mighty one,
The LORD vouchsafed me.

A root, from out of Ephraim
Gain'st Amalek arose:
And (of the people) next to him
The Beniamites were those.
From Machir (where
Good Leaders are)
Came well experienc't men:
And they came downe
From Zabulon
That handle well the Pen.

Along with Deborah did goe
The Lords of Isachar;
With Isachar, eu'n Barak too,
Was one among them there.
He foorth was sent,
And marching went
On foot the lower-way.
For Reuben (where
Diuisions were)
Right thought-full hearts had they.

The bleating of the flockes to heare.
Oh wherefore didst thou stay r
For Reuben (where diuisions were)
Right thought-full hearts had they.
But, why did they
Of Gilead stay
On Iordans other side?
And wherefore than,
Didst thou oh Dan,
Within thy Tents abide?

Among his harbours, lurking by
The seaside, Asher lay.
But, Zabulun and Nephthali
Kept not themselues away.
They people are,
Who fearelesse dare
Their liues to death expose;
And did not yeeld
The hilly-field,
Though Kings did them oppose.

With them the Cananitish Kings
At Tana'ch fought that day,
Close by Megiddo's water-springs;
Yet bore no Prize away.
For loe, the Starres
Fought in their Spheares:
Gainst Sisera fought they.
And some (by force)
The water-course
Of Kishon, swept away.

Eu'n Kishon Riuer, which was long
A famous Torrent knowne.
Oh thou my soule! oh thou, the strong,
Hast brauely trodden downe.
Their Horse (whose pace
So lofty was)
Their hoofes with prancing wound;
Those of the Strong,
That kickt and flung,
And fiercely beat the ground.

A heauy curse on Meroz lay:
Curst be her dwellers all.
The Angell of the LORD doth say,
That Citie curse you shall.
And, therefore, this
Accursing is:
They came not to the fight,
To helpe the LORD,
(To helpe the LORD)
Against the Men of Might.

But, blest be Iael, Heber's spouse
The Kenite; blest be she,
More then all women are, of those
That vse in Tents to be.
To him did she
Giue milke, when he
Did water onely wish;
And butter set
For him to eat,
Upon a lordly dish.

She, in her left hand tooke a naile.
And rais'd vp in the Right
A workemans hammer; wherewithall
She Sisera did smite.
His head she tooke
When she had strooke
His pierced Temples through.
He fell withall:
And in the fall,
He at her feet did bow.

He at her feet did bow his head;
Fell downe, and life forlooke.
Meane while his longing Mother did
From out her window looke:
Thus, crying at
The Lattice grate,
Why stayes his Chariot so
From hasting home?
Oh! wherefore come
His Chariot wheeles so slow?

As thus she spake, her Ladies wise
To her an answere gaue.
Yea, to herselfe, her selfe replies;
Sure, sped (saith she) they haue:
And all this while
They part the spoyle;
A Damsell, one or twaie,
Each homeward beares,
And Sisera shares
A party-colour'd Pray.

Of needle-worke, both sides of it
In diuers colours, are:
Eu'n such as doth his necke befit
That vseth Spoyles to weare.
So LORD still so,
Thy foes or'e throwe:
But, who in thee delight,
Oh! let them be
Sunne-like, when he
Ascendeth in his might.