Judges 5:11

the voices of the singers at the watering places. There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, the righteous deeds of His villagers in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went down to the gates:

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator addresses the Israelite tribes gathered after the military victory, calling them to observe the public celebration following the battle.

The words — מְחַֽצְצִ֗ים (me.cha.Tzim) means archers, and מַשְׁאַבִּ֔ים (mash.'a.Bim) denotes places for drawing water, locating the gathering at communal wells. יְתַנּוּ֙ (ye.ta.Nu) translates as they will recount, paired with צִדְק֣וֹת (tzid.Kot) meaning righteousness(es), describing the formal reporting of divine and communal deliverance.

The thread — The call to publicly declare God’s interventions appears in 1 Samuel 12:7, where Samuel summons the people to witness Yahweh’s righteous acts on their behalf. Historical remembrance of covenant trials and divine response is also structured in Micah 6:5.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to recognize that communal identity is forged through the deliberate, public recounting of specific historical interventions rather than abstract theology. It demands that future generations locate their faith in documented events of deliverance.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

מִקּ֣וֹלmi./Kolfrom/ [the] sound of מְחַֽצְצִ֗יםme.cha.Tzimarchers בֵּ֚יןbeinbetween מַשְׁאַבִּ֔יםmash.'a.Bim[the] places for drawing water שָׁ֤םshamthere יְתַנּוּ֙ye.ta.Nuthey will recount צִדְק֣וֹתtzid.Kot[the] righteousness<es> of יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahweh צִדְקֹ֥תtzid.Kot[the] righteousness<es> of פִּרְזֹנ֖וֹpir.zo.N/orural people/ his בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑לbe./Yis.ra.'Elin/ Israel אָ֛ז'azthen יָרְד֥וּya.re.Duthey went down לַשְּׁעָרִ֖יםla./she.'a.Rimto the/ gates עַם־'am-[the] people of יְהוָֽה׃Yah.wehYahweh

King James Version

They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates.

Cross-references

Micah 6:5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”
Judges 5:8 When they chose new gods, then war came to their gates. Not a shield or spear was found among forty thousand in Israel.
1 Samuel 12:7 Now present yourselves, so that I may confront you before the LORD with all the righteous acts He has done for you and your fathers.
Deuteronomy 22:24 you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. So you must purge the evil from among you.
Jeremiah 7:2 “Stand in the gate of the house of the LORD and proclaim this message: Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the LORD.
Lamentations 5:4 We must buy the water we drink; our wood comes at a price.
Lamentations 5:9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the wilderness.
Isaiah 12:3 With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation,
Isaiah 28:6 a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and a strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.
Genesis 26:20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him.