Bible Strands
Judges 5:21
The River Kishon swept them away, the ancient river, the River Kishon. March on, O my soul, in strength!
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Deborah speaks during the Song of Moses and Deborah, recounting the battle where God delivered Israel from Sisera’s forces. She addresses her own spirit at the moment the natural forces of the Kishon valley execute divine judgment.
The words — נַחַל (Na.chal) literally means a seasonal wadi or riverbed, and תּדרכי (tid.re.Khi) means “you will march” or “press forward.” The text uses these terms to describe the Kishon as a historical watercourse that physically carried away the enemy.
The thread — The River Kishon functions as the appointed site of defeat in Judges 4:7, where God promises to draw out Sisera’s army. The motif of God repelling foes through decisive action aligns with the declaration in Psalms 44:5.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to acknowledge that military victory originates from divine intervention rather than human effort. It demands that personal resolve be grounded in the historical reality of God’s prior 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
King James Version
The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
Cross-references
- Judges 4:7 And I will draw out Sisera the commander of Jabin’s army, his chariots, and his troops to the River Kishon, and I will deliver him into your hand.’”
- Psalms 44:5 Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies.
- Micah 7:10 Then 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 mud in the streets.
- Genesis 49:18 I await Your salvation, O LORD.
- Judges 4:13 he summoned all nine hundred of his iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the River Kishon.
- 1 Kings 18:40 Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
- Psalms 83:9 Do to them as You did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,
- Isaiah 25:10 For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile.