The Song of Miriam

THE SONG OF MIRIAM
(from Exodus 15)

15:01b
I will sing to YHWH, for He is exalted gloriously;

both horse and chariot rider He has cast into the sea!

15:02

[doxology: late textual insertion]

Yah is my fierce might and my song of praise,

He has become my salvation;

such is my God, and I will honor Him,

the God of my fathers, and I will raise him up.

--==(O)==--
15:03
YHWH is a warrior;
YHWH is His name.

15:04
Pharaoh's chariots and his whole army He hurled into the sea;
his elite team officers sank in the Yam Sup.

15:05
The depths covered them;
they sank into the depths like a stone.

--==(O)==--
15:06
Your right hand, O YHWH, is magnificent in power,
Your right hand, O YHWH, shatters the enemy.

15:07
In the greatness of Your majestic triumph You smashed Your adversaries;
You sent forth Your burning anger, it consumed them like straw.

15:08
By the angry blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up,
the currents stood up in a heap;
the ocean depths churned in the heart of the sea.

--==(O)==--
15:09
The enemy said, "I will pursue, I will overtake.
I will divide the plunder, my blood lust shall be satisfied,
I will bare my sword, my hand will dispossess them."

15:10
You blew with your wind, the sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the dreadful waters.

--==(O)==--
15:11
Who is like You, among the divine ones, O YHWH?
Who is like You, majestic among the holy ones,
awesome in praiseworthy deeds, working wonders?

15:12
You stretched out Your right hand,
earth's depths swallowed them.

--==(O)==--
15:13
You guided in Your steadfast love the people whom You redeemed.
and led them by Your might to Your holy encampment.

15:14
The peoples heard, they trembled in worry,
anguish seized Philistia's settlers.

15:15
Now Edom's chieftains are terrified;
Moab's nobles, trembling has seized them;
all of Canaan's inhabitants have melted in weakness.

15:16a
Terror and dread You brought upon them;
by Your arm's greatness, they are struck dumb as stone,

--==(O)==--
15:16b
till Your people pass by, O YHWH,
till the people You have fashioned pass by.

15:17
Then You will bring them, and You will plant them on the mountain of Your heritage,
the place, O YHWH, which You prepared for Your enthroned presence,
the holy sanctuary, O Lord, made firm by Your hands.

15:18
YHWH reigns for ever -- eternally.

--==(O)==--
15:19
[narrative: late insertion]
For when Pharaoh's horses with chariots and riders went into the sea, YHWH turned back the sea's waters upon them; but the Israelites walked on dry land through the midst of the sea.

15:20-21
[originally at beginning of the song]

15:20

Then Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dancing.

15:21a And Miriam sang to them:

15:21b
"Sing to YHWH, for he is exalted gloriously;
both horse and chariot rider He has cast into the sea!"

--==(O)==--

Translation from the MT by Dale R. Broadhurst, 1979 (updated 1997)

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last updated: Nov. 15, 2005