16. Why do you live between two borders, so that you hear the bleating of the flocks? Reuben was divided against himself. Contention was found among great souls.
17. Gilead rested beyond the Jordan, and Dan was occupied with ships. Asher was living on the shore of the sea, and dwelling in the ports.
18. Yet truly, Zebulun and Naphtali offered their lives to death in the region of Merom.
19. The kings came and fought; the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach, beside the waters of Megiddo. And yet they took no spoils.
20. The conflict against them was from heaven. The stars, remaining in their order and courses, fought against Sisera.
21. The torrent of Kishon dragged away their carcasses, the onrushing torrent, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, tread upon the stalwart!
22. The hoofs of the horses were broken, while the strongest of the enemies fled away with fury, and rushed on to ruin.
23. 'Cursed be the land of Meroz!' said the Angel of the Lord. 'Cursed be its inhabitants! For they did not come to the aid of the Lord, to the assistance of his most valiant men.'
24. Blessed among women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. And blessed is she in her tabernacle.
25. He begged her for water, and she gave him milk, and she offered him butter in a dish fit for princes.
26. She put her left hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workman's mallet. And she struck Sisera, seeking in his head a place for the wound, and strongly piercing his temples.
27. Between her feet, he was ruined. He fainted away and passed on. He curled up before her feet, and he lay there lifeless and miserable.
28. His mother gazed through a window and wailed. And she spoke from an upper room: 'Why does his chariot delay in returning? Why are the feet of his team of horses so slow?'
29. One who was wiser than the rest of his wives responded to her mother-in-law with this:
30. 'Perhaps he is now dividing the spoils, and the most beautiful among the women is being selected for him. Garments of diverse colors are being delivered to Sisera as spoils, and various goods are being collected for the adornment of necks.'