Judges 5:21
in Judges 5The River Kishon swept them away, the ancient river, the River Kishon. March on, O my soul, in strength!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The river Kishon swept them away, That ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength.
KJV
The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
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This verse in Judges 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The word translated ancient occurs only here. The phrase probably means that Kishon was celebrated from ancient times on account of the battles fought on its banks.
This site's exposition
the stars in their courses fought
on Judges 5:20-21
Chapter 4 says only that the Lord discomfited Sisera at 4:15, and it never mentions a river. The song supplies what the prose left out, that they fought from heaven and that the Kishon swept the army away. Readings of the line are old and are held by serious men, that a storm broke over the plain as the hailstones fell at Joshua 10:11, that the host of heaven is meant as at 2 Kings 6:17, or that the stars name the powers ranged behind the battle. Taken together the two chapters account for what became of nine hundred chariots of iron in flat country that suited them, because a river in flood takes wheels out of the reckoning.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Judges 5:21) The River Kishon swept away their corpses. For there is the place of their downfall; and it is as if one were to ask, where? and the answer is: In the River Kishon, that is, in the Red Sea. Hence it follows: The river Kishon, the river of Kishon. It calls the River Kishon the Red Sea. For Kishon means of old, because ancient miracles were performed there, when the children of Israel passed over and the Egyptians perished.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Ordinarily, it was but a shallow river, and, being in their own country, we may suppose they well knew its fords and safest passages, and yet now, probably by the great rain that fell, it was so swollen, and the stream so deep and strong, that those who attempted to pass it were drowned, being feeble and faint, and unable to make their way through it.
Ancient river - So called, either, first, in opposition to those rivers which are of a later date, being made by the hand and art of man. Or, secondly, because it was a river anciently famous for remarkable exploits, for which it was celebrated by the ancient poets or writers, though not here mentioned.
The river of Kishon swept them away,....
Also by her prayers; as Moses conquered Amalek by lifting up his hand, so Deborah vanquished Sisera by lifting up her heart. And when the soul is employed in holy exercises, and heart-work is made of them, through the grace of God the strength of our spiritual enemies will be trodden down and will fall before us.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
describes the scene of battle and the issue. It would seem (Jud 5:19) that Jabin was reinforced by the troops of other Canaanite princes. The battlefield was near Taanach (now Ta'annuk), on a tell or mound in the level plain of Megiddo (now Leijun), on its southwestern extremity, by the left bank of the Kishon. they took no gain of money--They obtained no plunder.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the river of Kishon swept them away--The enemy was defeated near "the waters of Megiddo"--the sources and side streams of the Kishon: they that fled had to cross the deep and marshy bed of the torrent, but the Lord had sent a heavy rain--the waters suddenly rose--the warriors fell into the quicksands, and sinking deep into them, were drowned or washed into the sea [VAN DE VELDE].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The river of Kishon swept them away - This gives plausibility to the above conjecture, that there was a storm at this time which produced an inundation in the river Kishon, which the routed Canaanites attempting to ford were swept away.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נַ֤חַל | nachal | [the] wadi of | H5158 → | 141 times |
| קִישׁוֹן֙ | kishon | Kishon | H7028 → | 6 times |
| גְּרָפָ֔ם | gerafam | it swept away them | H1640 → | |
| נַ֥חַל | nachal | a wadi of | H5158 → | 141 times |
| קְדוּמִ֖ים | kedumim | ancient times | H6917 → | |
| נַ֣חַל | nachal | [the] wadi of | H5158 → | 141 times |
| קִישׁ֑וֹן | kishon | Kishon | H7028 → | 6 times |
| תִּדְרְכִ֥י | tidrekhi | you will march | H1869 → | 62 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֖י | nafshi | O self my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| עֹֽז׃ | ʾoz | strength | H5797 → |
נַ֤חַל[the] wadi of
nachalH5158 →141 times
קִישׁוֹן֙Kishon
kishonH7028 →6 times
גְּרָפָ֔םit swept away them
gerafamH1640 →
נַ֥חַלa wadi of
nachalH5158 →141 times
קְדוּמִ֖יםancient times
kedumimH6917 →
נַ֣חַל[the] wadi of
nachalH5158 →141 times
קִישׁ֑וֹןKishon
kishonH7028 →6 times
תִּדְרְכִ֥יyou will march
tidrekhiH1869 →62 times
נַפְשִׁ֖יO self my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
עֹֽז׃strength
ʾozH5797 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 44:5Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies.
it leads to
- Psalms 108:13
With God we will perform with valor, and He will trample our enemies.
- Psalms 60:12
With God we will perform with valor, and He will trample our enemies.
- Psalms 118:10–13
All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Deuteronomy 33:17
His majesty is like a firstborn bull, and his horns are like those of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even to the ends of the earth. Such are the…
- Psalms 108:13
Through
Micah 7:10Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame—she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like…
it leads to
- Psalms 42:10
Like the crushing of my bones, my enemies taunt me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- Jeremiah 50:33–34
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “The sons of Israel are oppressed, and the sons of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to release them.
- Zechariah 10:5
They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.
- Psalms 42:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on the Song of Deborah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.