The Meaning of Judges 5:31 Explained

Judges 5:31

KJV: So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

YLT: So do all Thine enemies perish, O Jehovah, And those loving Him are As the going out of the sun in its might!' and the land resteth forty years.

Darby: "So perish all thine enemies, O LORD! But thy friends be like the sun as he rises in his might." And the land had rest for forty years.

ASV: So let all thine enemies perish, O Jehovah: But let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So let all thine enemies  perish,  O LORD:  but [let] them that love  him [be] as the sun  when he goeth forth  in his might.  And the land  had rest  forty  years. 

What does Judges 5:31 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The song concludes with a reminder that those who oppose Yahweh will perish. Those who love Him will prosper, as Israel did in this battle through His intervention for her. [1] This verse invites the reader to consider how we too may join God in His work of crushing oppressors, His enemies, and so take our place among His friends. [2]
Following this victory and the battles that followed ( Judges 4:24), the land saw no major wars for40 years ( Judges 5:31). One writer pointed out several features of the ministry of Deborah that reveal Israel"s inverted life during the era of the judges. [3] Perhaps the most obvious is the fact that a woman rather than a man led Israel at this particular time.
The emphases in this song are that God"s people should honor Him for His salvation, the importance of cooperation in God"s work, and the heroism of people such as Jael. The greatest argument for the propriety of Jael"s action is God"s honoring of her in this song ( Judges 5:24-27). The whole song of Deborah celebrates the establishment of God"s justice and righteousness (cf. Judges 5:11).

Context Summary

Judges 5:24-31 - At The Mercy Of Midian
What a contrast our reading suggests between those that love the Lord and go from strength to strength in the undimming luster and influence of their life, and the evil that once more brought the tyrant's yoke upon this neck of Israel! Yet these alternations have too often befallen us. At one moment Sisera and his hosts are chased before us as sheep before the dog; then a reaction sets in and the hand of Midian prevails against us. Why are we not always glad, strong, and victorious? Is it not because we look to our moods, we relax our close walk with God, and we set up the images of Baal in our hearts? We are then reduced to the plight described here and in Haggai 1:6. Why are there not more conversions in the Church? Why is there so little difference between the Church and the world? Why is so much of our Sunday-school teaching ineffective? Ah, the Midianite is in our midst and we acquiesce! The urgent, primal need of the present day is for the Church to realize her true condition, and cry mightily unto God for help. Note Judges 6:6 and Joel 1:14, etc. [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 5

1  The Song of Deborah and Barak

What do the individual words in Judges 5:31 mean?

thus let perish all Your enemies Yahweh! but [let] those who love Him [be] like when it comes out the sun in full strength So had rest the land forty for years -
כֵּ֠ן יֹאבְד֤וּ כָל־ אוֹיְבֶ֙יךָ֙ יְהוָ֔ה וְאֹ֣הֲבָ֔יו כְּצֵ֥את הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ בִּגְבֻרָת֑וֹ וַתִּשְׁקֹ֥ט הָאָ֖רֶץ אַרְבָּעִ֥ים שָׁנָֽה פ

כֵּ֠ן  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֵּן 
Sense: so, therefore, thus.
יֹאבְד֤וּ  let  perish 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָבַד  
Sense: perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed.
אוֹיְבֶ֙יךָ֙  Your  enemies 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֹיֵב  
Sense: (Qal) enemy.
יְהוָ֔ה  Yahweh! 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
וְאֹ֣הֲבָ֔יו  but  [let]  those  who  love  Him  [be]  like 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָהַב  
Sense: to love.
כְּצֵ֥את  when  it  comes  out 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ  the  sun 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: שֶׁמֶשׁ  
Sense: sun.
בִּגְבֻרָת֑וֹ  in  full  strength 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: גְּבוּרָה  
Sense: strength, might.
וַתִּשְׁקֹ֥ט  So  had  rest 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׁקַט  
Sense: to be quiet, be tranquil, be at peace, be quiet, rest, lie still, be undisturbed.
הָאָ֖רֶץ  the  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
אַרְבָּעִ֥ים  forty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: אַרְבָּעִים  
Sense: forty.
שָׁנָֽה  for  years 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation