Judges 5:3

Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(3) Hear, O ye kings.—There were no kings or princes in Israel, but the appeal is to the “kings of the earth,” as in Psalm 2:10; for which reason the LXX. render “princes” by satraps. The Chaldee refers it to the kings allied with Jabin.

Benson Commentary

Jdg 5:3. Hear, O ye kings, &c. — The prophetess begins her song with summoning the attention of the neighbouring kings and princes, that they might understand and lay to heart what God had done for Israel, and learn from thence not to oppress them, lest the same vengeance which had fallen upon Jabin and his people should be inflicted on them. I, even I, will sing unto the Lord — She declares that Jehovah should be the object of her praise, who, she would have the world to know, was superior to all in power, and would defend his people while they depended on him alone.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

5:1-5. No time should be lost in returning thanks to the Lord for his mercies; for our praises are most acceptable, pleasant, and profitable, when they flow from a full heart. By this, love and gratitude would be more excited and more deeply fixed in the hearts of believers; the events would be more known and longer remembered. Whatever Deborah, Barak, or the army had done, the Lord must have all the praise. The will, the power, and the success were all from Him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Render "For the leading of the leaders in Israel (the princes), for the willingness of the people (to follow them) bless ye the Lord." See Deuteronomy 32:42 note, and compare Judges 5:9 and Judges 5:13, where the nobles and the people are again contrasted.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2, 3. The meaning is obscurely seen in our version; it has been better rendered thus, "Praise ye Jehovah; for the free are freed in Israel—the people have willingly offered themselves" [Robinson].

Matthew Poole's Commentary

You especially that live near to Israel, and have evil minds and designs against Israel, know this for your instruction, and caution, and terror too, if you shall presume to molest them.

To the Lord God of Israel, who, as you see by this plain instance, is both able and resolved to defend them from all their enemies.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes,.... Not only the neighbouring ones, but all the kings and princes of the earth, far and near, then and in succeeding ages; Deborah desires and wishes that all potentates might hear of the wonderful works of God done for his people, that they might learn to know there is one that is higher than they, to whom all the amazing things done in the world are to be ascribed; and be cautious how they oppressed the people of God, since sooner or later he would avenge them on them. The Targum restrains this to the kings that came with Sisera and the governors with Jabin; but if there were any such, as it is not improbable there were, see Judges 5:19; yet it is most likely that they were slain with them: there are some, as Kimchi observes, who think this respects the people of Israel, who were all the sons of kings; but the first sense is best:

I, even I, will sing unto the Lord, I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel: which are the words of Deborah particularly, and the repetitions serve to express how cordial, earnest, and vehement she was in her praise and thankfulness to God; thereby setting an example to others, encouraging them to the same practice, and directing persons of every rank and quality to give praise only to Jehovah, the self-existing, everlasting, and unchangeable Being; to him who is the Lord and God of Israel in a peculiar manner, and not to any of the gods of the Gentiles.

Geneva Study Bible

Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

3. The great ones of the earth are called upon to attend the praises of the victorious God of Israel. Hear … give ear a frequent parallelism, e.g. Genesis 4:23; kings … princes again in Habakkuk 1:10; Psalm 2:2; Proverbs 8:15; Proverbs 31:4. The word for princes thus occurs chiefly in the later literature, but it may have belonged to the elevated style in ancient poetry. I, unto Yahweh I will sing; there is a ring about the words in the original, and a strong emphasis on the pronoun. I will make melody, with voice and instruments, a word specially frequent in the Psalter.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 3. - Her song was worthy to be listened to by kings and princes. She calls their attention to the tale she had to tell of the great acts of the Lord. Judges 5:3

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

3 Hear, ye kings; give ear, ye princes!

I, to the Lord will Ising,

Will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.

4 Lord, when Thou wentest out from Seir,

When Thou marchedst out of the fields of Edom,

The earth trembled, and the heavens also dropped;

The clouds also dropped water.

5 The mountains shook before the Lord,

Sinai there before the Lord, the God of Israel.

The "kings and princes" are not the rulers in Israel, for Israel had no kings at that time, but the kings and princes of the heathen nations, as in Psalm 2:2. These were to discern the mighty acts of Jehovah in Israel, and learn to fear Jehovah as the almighty God. For the song to be sung applies to Him, the God of Israel. זמּר, ψάλλειν, is the technical expression for singing with an instrumental accompaniment (see at Exodus 15:2).