Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people: the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty.

The remnants of the people are saved, the Lord hath fought among the valiant ones.

Then down marched the remnant of the noble; the people of the LORD marched down for him against the mighty.

Then him who is left of the honourable ones He caused to rule the people of Jehovah, He caused me to rule among the mighty.

Then he made him that remains have dominion over the nobles among the people: the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty.

Then the chiefs went down to the doors; the Lord's people went down among the strong ones.

Then made He a remnant to have dominion over the nobles and the people; The LORD made me have dominion over the mighty.

Then a remnant of the nobles came down. The people of the LORD marched down to me against the mighty.

The remnants of the people were saved. The Lord contended with the strong.

This verse is otherwise rendered: "then a remnant of the nobles came down; the people of the Lord came down for me against the mighty." The following verses mention in detail who this "remnant" were.

Make him that remaineth - This appears to be spoken of Barak, who is represented as being only a remnant of the people.

Then he made him that remaineth,.... The people of Israel that remained, who had been under the yoke of Jabin king of Canaan, under which many of the Israelites very probably died; but now the few mean and miserable that remained were raised to an high estate, and made to
have dominion over the nobles among the people; that is, over the Canaanitish nobility, that were among the people under Jabin; but he being conquered by the Israelites, his people and even his nobles became subject to them; and this was the Lord's doing, as the following words show:
the Lord made me have dominion over the mighty; that is, Deborah, to whom God gave dominion either over the mighty ones of Israel, being raised up to be their judge; or over the mighty Canaanites, she having a concern in the conquest of them and triumph over them, through her direction, advice, command, and presence, though a woman.

13 Then came down a remnant of nobles of the nation;
Jehovah came down to me among the heroes.
14 Of Ephraim, whose root in Amalek;
Behind thee Benjamin among thy peoples.
From Machir came down leaders,
And from Zebulun marchers with the staff of the conductor.
15a And princes in Issachar with Deborah,
And Issachar as well as Barak,
Driven into the valley through his feet.
Looking back to the commencement of the battle, the poetess describes the streaming of the brave men of the nation down from the mountains, to fight the enemy with Barak and Deborah in the valley of Jezreel; though the whole nation did not raise as one man against its oppressors, but only a remnant of the noble and brave in the nation, with whom Jehovah went into the battle. In Judges 5:13 the Masoretic pointing of ירד is connected with the rabbinical idea of the word as the fut. apoc. of רדה: "then (now) will the remnant rule over the glorious," i.e., the remnant left in Israel over the stately foe; "Jehovah rules for me (or through me) over the heroes in Sisera's army," which Luther has also adopted. But, as Schnurr. has maintained, this view is decidedly erroneous, inasmuch as it is altogether irreconcilable with the description which follows of the marching of the tribes of Israel into the battle. ירד is to be understood in the same sense as ירדוּ in Judges 5:14, and to be pointed as a perfect ירד.
(Note: The Cod. Al. of the lxx contains the correct rendering, τότε κατέβη κατάλειμμα. In the Targum also ירד is correctly translated נתת, descendit, although the germs of the rabbinical interpretation are contained in the paraphrase of the whole verse: tunc descendit unus ex exercitu Israel et fregit fortitudinem fortium gentium. Ecce non ex fortitudine manus eorum fuit hoc; sed Dominus fregit ante populum suum fortitudinem virorum osorum eorum.)
"There came down," sc., from the mountains of the land into the plain of Jezreel, a remnant of nobles. לאדּירים is used instead of a closer subordination through the construct state, to bring out the idea of שׂריד into greater prominence (see Ewald, 292). עם is in apposition to לאדּירים, and not to be connected with the following word יהוה, as it is by some, in opposition to the accents. The thought is rather this: with the nobles or among the brave Jehovah himself went against the foe. לי is a dat. commodi, equivalent to "for my joy."

He made him, &c. - Thus God did not only preserve the poor and despised remnant of his people, from the fury of the oppressor, and from the destruction which Sisera designed, but also gave them the victory, and thereby the dominion over the nobles of Canaan, who were combined against them. Me - Tho' but a weak woman.