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Judges 15-16
New English Translation

Samson Versus the Philistines

15 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest,[a] Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride.[b] He said to her father,[c] “I want to sleep with[d] my bride in her bedroom!”[e] But her father would not let him enter. 2 Her father said, “I really thought[f] you absolutely despised[g] her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!”[h] 3 Samson said to them,[i] “This time I am justified in doing the Philistines harm!”[j] 4 Samson went and captured 300 jackals[k] and got some torches. He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair.[l] 5 He lit the torches[m] and set the jackals loose in the Philistines’ standing grain. He burned up the grain heaps and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves. 6 The Philistines asked,[n] “Who did this?” They were told,[o] “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because the Timnite[p] took Samson’s[q] bride and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father.[r] 7 Samson said to them, “Because you did this,[s] I will get revenge against you before I quit fighting.”[t] 8 He struck them down and defeated them.[u] Then he went down and lived for a time in the cave in the cliff of Etam.

9 The Philistines went up and invaded[v] Judah. They arrayed themselves for battle[w] in Lehi. 10 The men of Judah said, “Why are you attacking[x] us?” The Philistines[y] said, “We have come up to take Samson prisoner so we can do to him what he has done to us.” 11 So 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?” He said to them, “I have only done to them what they have done to me.” 12 They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me[z] you will not kill[aa] me.” 13 They said to him, “We promise![ab] We will only take you prisoner and hand you over to them. We promise not to kill you.” They tied him up with two brand new ropes and led him up from the cliff. 14 When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s Spirit empowered[ac] him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in[ad] fire, and they[ae] melted away from his hands. 15 He happened to see[af] a solid[ag] jawbone of a donkey. He grabbed it[ah] and struck down[ai] 1,000 men. 16 Samson then said,

“With the jawbone of a donkey
I have left them in heaps;[aj]
with the jawbone of a donkey
I have struck down a thousand men!”

17 When he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone down[ak] and named that place Ramath Lehi.[al]

18 He was very thirsty, so he cried out to the Lord and said, “You have given your servant[am] this great victory. But now must I die of thirst and fall into the hands of these uncircumcised Philistines?”[an] 19 So God split open the basin[ao] at Lehi and water flowed out from it. When he took a drink, his strength[ap] was restored and he revived. For this reason he named the spring[aq] En Hakkore.[ar] It remains in Lehi to this very day. 20 Samson led[as] Israel for twenty years during the days of Philistine prominence.[at]

Samson’s Downfall

16 Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and slept with her.[au] 2 The Gazites were told,[av] “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town[aw] and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave.[ax] They relaxed[ay] all night, thinking,[az] “He will not leave[ba] until morning comes;[bb] then we will kill him!” 3 Samson spent half the night with the prostitute; then he got up in the middle of the night and left.[bc] He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all.[bd] He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron.[be]

4 After this Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her and said to her, “Trick him! Find out what makes him so strong and how we can subdue him and humiliate[bf] him. Each one of us will give you 1,100 silver pieces.”

6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me what makes you so strong and how you can be subdued and humiliated.”[bg] 7 Samson said to her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh[bh] bowstrings[bi] that have not been dried, I will become weak and be just like any other man.” 8 So the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them. 9 They hid[bj] in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here,[bk] Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire.[bl] The secret of his strength was not discovered.[bm]

10 Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you deceived[bn] me and told me lies! Now tell me how you can be subdued.” 11 He said to her, “If they tie me tightly with brand new ropes that have never been used,[bo] I will become weak and be just like any other man.” 12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are here,[bp] Samson!” (The Philistines were hiding in the bedroom.)[bq] But he tore the ropes[br] from his arms as if they were a piece of thread.

13 Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you can be subdued.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair[bs] into the fabric on the loom[bt] and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.” 14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom, fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are here,[bu] Samson!”[bv] He woke up[bw] and tore away the pin of the loom and the fabric.

15 She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you will not share your secret with me?[bx] Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.” 16 She nagged him[by] every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it.[bz] 17 Finally he told her his secret.[ca] He said to her, “My hair has never been cut,[cb] for I have been dedicated to God[cc] from the time I was conceived.[cd] If my head[ce] were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak and be just like all other men.” 18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret,[cf] she sent for[cg] the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me[ch] his secret.”[ci] So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands. 19 She made him go to sleep on her lap[cj] and then called a man in to shave off[ck] the seven braids of his hair.[cl] She made him vulnerable[cm] and his strength left him. 20 She said, “The Philistines are here,[cn] Samson!” He woke up[co] and thought,[cp] “I will do as I did before[cq] and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him. 21 The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison. 22 His hair[cr] began to grow back after it had been shaved off.

Samson’s Death and Burial

23 The rulers of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate. They said, “Our god has handed Samson, our enemy, over to us.” 24 When the people saw him,[cs] they praised their god, saying, “Our god has handed our enemy over to us, the one who ruined our land and killed so many of us!”[ct]

25 When they really started celebrating,[cu] they said, “Call for Samson so he can entertain us!” So they summoned Samson from the prison and he entertained them.[cv] They made him stand between two pillars. 26 Samson said to the young man who held his hand, “Position me so I can touch the pillars that support the temple.[cw] Then I can lean on them.” 27 Now the temple[cx] was filled with men and women, and all the rulers of the Philistines were there. There were 3,000 men and women on the roof watching Samson entertain. 28 Samson called to the Lord, “O Sovereign Lord,[cy] remember me! Strengthen me just one more time, O God, so I can get swift revenge[cz] against the Philistines for my two eyes!” 29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars that supported the temple[da] and he leaned against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other. 30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard,[db] and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life.[dc] 31 His brothers and all his family[dd] went down and brought him back.[de] They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led[df] Israel for twenty years.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 15:1 sn The wheat harvest took place during the month of May. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 37, 88.
  2. Judges 15:1 tn Heb “Samson visited his wife with a young goat.”
  3. Judges 15:1 tn The words “to her father” are supplied in the translation (see the end of the verse).
  4. Judges 15:1 tn Heb “I want to approach.” The verb בּוֹא (boʾ) with the preposition אֶל (ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
  5. Judges 15:1 tn Heb “I will go to my wife in the bedroom.” The Hebrew idiom בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel, “to go to”) often has sexual connotations. The cohortative form used by Samson can be translated as indicating resolve (“I want to go”) or request (“let me go”).
  6. Judges 15:2 tn Heb “saying, I said.” The first person form of אָמַר (ʾamar, “to say”) sometimes indicates self-reflection. The girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
  7. Judges 15:2 tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
  8. Judges 15:2 tn Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her [i.e., the younger sister] be yours instead of her [i.e., Samson’s ‘bride’]).”
  9. Judges 15:3 tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the singular “to him.”
  10. Judges 15:3 tn Heb “I am innocent this time from the Philistines when I do with them harm.”
  11. Judges 15:4 tn Traditionally, “foxes.”
  12. Judges 15:4 tn Heb “He turned tail to tail and placed one torch between the two tails in the middle.”
  13. Judges 15:5 tn Heb “He set fire to the torches.”
  14. Judges 15:6 tn Or “said.”
  15. Judges 15:6 tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.
  16. Judges 15:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  17. Judges 15:6 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  18. Judges 15:6 tn The Hebrew text expands the statement with the additional phrase “burned with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons. Some textual witnesses read “burned…her father’s house,” perhaps under the influence of 14:15. On the other hand, the shorter text may have lost this phrase due to haplography.
  19. Judges 15:7 tn The Niphal of נָקָם (naqam, “to avenge, to take vengeance”) followed by the preposition ב (bet) has the force “to get revenge against.” See 1 Sam 18:25; Jer 50:15; Ezek 25:12.
  20. Judges 15:7 tn Heb “and afterward I will stop.”
  21. Judges 15:8 tn Heb “He struck them, calf on thigh, [with] a great slaughter.” The precise meaning of the phrase “calf on thigh” is uncertain.
  22. Judges 15:9 tn Or “camped in.”
  23. Judges 15:9 tn Or “spread out.” The Niphal of נָטָשׁ (natash) has this same sense in 2 Sam 5:18, 22.
  24. Judges 15:10 tn Or “come up against.”
  25. Judges 15:10 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Philistines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  26. Judges 15:12 tn Or “swear to me.”
  27. Judges 15:12 tn Heb “meet [with hostility]”; “harm.” In light of v. 13, “kill” is an appropriate translation.
  28. Judges 15:13 tn Heb “No,” meaning that they will not harm him.
  29. Judges 15:14 tn Heb “rushed on.”
  30. Judges 15:14 tn Heb “burned with.”
  31. Judges 15:14 tn Heb “his bonds.”
  32. Judges 15:15 tn Heb “he found.”
  33. Judges 15:15 tn Heb “fresh,” i.e., not decayed and brittle.
  34. Judges 15:15 tn Heb “he reached out his hand and took it.”
  35. Judges 15:15 tn The Hebrew text adds “with it.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  36. Judges 15:16 tn The precise meaning of the second half of the line (חֲמוֹר חֲמֹרָתָיִם, khamor khamoratayim) is uncertain. The present translation assumes that the phrase means, “a heap, two heaps” and refers to the heaps of corpses littering the battlefield. Other options include: (a) “I have made donkeys of them” (cf. NIV; see C. F. Burney, Judges, 373, for a discussion of this view, which understands a denominative verb from the noun “donkey”); (b) “I have thoroughly skinned them” (see HALOT 330 s.v. IV cj. חמר, which appeals to an Arabic cognate for support); (c) “I have stormed mightily against them,” which assumes the verb חָמַר (khamar, “to ferment; to foam; to boil up”).
  37. Judges 15:17 tn Heb “from his hand.”
  38. Judges 15:17 sn The name Ramath Lehi means “Height of the Jawbone.”
  39. Judges 15:18 tn Heb “you have placed into the hand of your servant.”
  40. Judges 15:18 tn Heb “the hand of uncircumcised.” “Hand” often represents power or control. “The uncircumcised [ones]” is used as a pejorative and in the context refers to the Philistines.
  41. Judges 15:19 tn The word translated “basin” refers to a circular-shaped depression in the land’s surface.
  42. Judges 15:19 tn Heb “spirit.”
  43. Judges 15:19 tn Heb “named it”; the referent (the spring) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  44. Judges 15:19 sn The name En Hakkore means “Spring of the one who cries out.”
  45. Judges 15:20 tn Traditionally, “judged.”
  46. Judges 15:20 tn Heb “in the days of the Philistines.”
  47. Judges 16:1 tn Heb “approached her.” The idiom בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel, “to go to”) is a euphemism for sexual relations.
  48. Judges 16:2 tc Heb “To the Gazites, saying.” A verb is missing from the MT; some ancient Greek witnesses add “it was reported.”
  49. Judges 16:2 tn Heb “And they surrounded.” The rest of the verse suggests that “the town” is the object, not “the house.” Though the Gazites knew Samson was in the town, apparently they did not know exactly where he had gone. Otherwise, they could have just gone into or surrounded the house and would not have needed to post guards at the city gate.
  50. Judges 16:2 tn Heb “and they lay in wait for him all night in the city gate.”
  51. Judges 16:2 tn Heb “were silent.”
  52. Judges 16:2 tn Heb “saying.”
  53. Judges 16:2 tn The words “He will not leave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  54. Judges 16:2 tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”
  55. Judges 16:3 tn Heb “And Samson lay until the middle of the night and arose in the middle of the night.”
  56. Judges 16:3 tn Heb “with the bar.”
  57. Judges 16:3 tn Heb “which is upon the face of Hebron.”
  58. Judges 16:5 tn Heb “subdue him in order to humiliate him.”
  59. Judges 16:6 tn Heb “how you can be subdued in order to be humiliated.”
  60. Judges 16:7 tn Or “moist.”
  61. Judges 16:7 tn The word refers to a bowstring, probably made from animal tendons. See Ps 11:2; Job 30:11.
  62. Judges 16:9 tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting for her.” The grammatically singular form וְהָאֹרֵב (vehaʾorev) is collective here, referring to the rulers as a group (so also in v. 16).
  63. Judges 16:9 tn Heb “are upon you.”
  64. Judges 16:9 tn Heb “when it smells fire.”
  65. Judges 16:9 tn Heb “His strength was not known.”
  66. Judges 16:10 tn See Gen 31:7; Exod 8:29 [8:25 HT]; Job 13:9; Isa 44:20; Jer 9:4 for other uses of this Hebrew word (II תָּלַל, talal), which also occurs in v. 13.
  67. Judges 16:11 tn Heb “with which no work has been done.”
  68. Judges 16:12 tn Heb “are upon you.”
  69. Judges 16:12 tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting in the bedroom.”
  70. Judges 16:12 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the ropes) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  71. Judges 16:13 tn Heb “head” (also in the following verse). By metonymy the head is mentioned in the Hebrew text in place of the hair on it.
  72. Judges 16:13 tn Heb “with the web.” For a discussion of how Delilah did this, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 381, and G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 353-54.
  73. Judges 16:14 tn Heb “are upon you.”
  74. Judges 16:14 tc The MT of vv. 13b-14a reads simply, “He said to her, ‘If you weave the seven braids of my head with the web.’ And she fastened with the pin and said to him.” The additional words in the translation, “and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.’ 16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom,” which without doubt represent the original text, are supplied from the ancient Greek version. (In both vv. 13b and 14a the Greek version has “to the wall” after “with the pin,” but this is an interpretive addition that reflects a misunderstanding of ancient weaving equipment. See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 353-54.) The Hebrew textual tradition was accidentally shortened during the copying process. A scribe’s eye jumped from the first instance of “with the web” to the second, causing him to leave out inadvertently the intervening words.
  75. Judges 16:14 tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  76. Judges 16:15 tn Heb “when your heart is not with me.”
  77. Judges 16:16 tn Heb “forced him with her words.”
  78. Judges 16:16 tn Heb “and his spirit was short [i.e., impatient] to the point of death.”
  79. Judges 16:17 tn Heb “all his heart.”
  80. Judges 16:17 tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”
  81. Judges 16:17 tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).
  82. Judges 16:17 tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”
  83. Judges 16:17 tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).
  84. Judges 16:18 tn Heb “all his heart.”
  85. Judges 16:18 tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”
  86. Judges 16:18 tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).
  87. Judges 16:18 tn Heb “all his heart.”
  88. Judges 16:19 tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.
  89. Judges 16:19 tn Heb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See J. A. Soggin, Judges (OTL), 254.
  90. Judges 16:19 tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.
  91. Judges 16:19 tn Heb “She began to humiliate him.” Rather than referring to some specific insulting action on Delilah’s part after Samson’s hair was shaved off, this statement probably means that she, through the devious actions just described, began the process of Samson’s humiliation which culminates in the following verses.
  92. Judges 16:20 tn Heb “are upon you.”
  93. Judges 16:20 tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  94. Judges 16:20 tn Heb “and said.”
  95. Judges 16:20 tn Heb “I will go out as before.”
  96. Judges 16:22 tn Heb “the hair of his head.”
  97. Judges 16:24 tn Most interpret this as a reference to Samson, but this seems premature, since v. 25 suggests he was not yet standing before them. Consequently some prefer to see this statement as displaced and move it to v. 25 (see C. F. Burney, Judges, 387). It seems more likely that the pronoun refers to an image of Dagon.
  98. Judges 16:24 tn Heb “multiplied our dead.”
  99. Judges 16:25 tn Heb “When their heart was good.”
  100. Judges 16:25 tn Heb “before them.”
  101. Judges 16:26 tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house is founded.”
  102. Judges 16:27 tn Heb “house.”
  103. Judges 16:28 tn The Hebrew has אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה (ʾadonay yehovih, “Lord Yahweh”).
  104. Judges 16:28 tn Heb “so I can get revenge with one act of vengeance.”
  105. Judges 16:29 tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house was founded.”
  106. Judges 16:30 tn Heb “he stretched out with strength.”
  107. Judges 16:30 tn Heb “And the ones whom he killed in his death were many more than he killed in his life.”
  108. Judges 16:31 tn Heb “and all the house of his father.”
  109. Judges 16:31 tn Heb “and lifted him up and brought up.”
  110. Judges 16:31 tn Traditionally, “judged.”
Listen to Judges 15-16
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Judges 15-16
New International Version

Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines

15 Later on, at the time of wheat harvest,(A) Samson(B) took a young goat(C) and went to visit his wife. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room.”(D) But her father would not let him go in.

2 “I was so sure you hated her,” he said, “that I gave her to your companion.(E) Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.”

3 Samson said to them, “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.” 4 So he went out and caught three hundred foxes(F) and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch(G) to every pair of tails, 5 lit the torches(H) and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks(I) and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.

6 When the Philistines asked, “Who did this?” they were told, “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his companion.(J)”

So the Philistines went up and burned her(K) and her father to death.(L) 7 Samson said to them, “Since you’ve acted like this, I swear that I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.” 8 He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock(M) of Etam.(N)

9 The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi.(O) 10 The people of Judah asked, “Why have you come to fight us?”

“We have come to take Samson prisoner,” they answered, “to do to him as he did to us.”

11 Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us?(P) What have you done to us?”

He answered, “I merely did to them what they did to me.”

12 They said to him, “We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”

Samson said, “Swear to me(Q) that you won’t kill me yourselves.”

13 “Agreed,” they answered. “We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes(R) and led him up from the rock. 14 As he approached Lehi,(S) the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.(T) The ropes on his arms became like charred flax,(U) and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.(V)

16 Then Samson said,

“With a donkey’s jawbone
    I have made donkeys of them.[a](W)
With a donkey’s jawbone
    I have killed a thousand men.”

17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.[b](X)

18 Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord,(Y) “You have given your servant this great victory.(Z) Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived.(AA) So the spring(AB) was called En Hakkore,[c] and it is still there in Lehi.

20 Samson led[d] Israel for twenty years(AC) in the days of the Philistines.

Samson and Delilah

16 One day Samson(AD) went to Gaza,(AE) where he saw a prostitute.(AF) He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate.(AG) They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn(AH) we’ll kill him.”

3 But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.(AI)

4 Some time later, he fell in love(AJ) with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.(AK) 5 The rulers of the Philistines(AL) went to her and said, “See if you can lure(AM) him into showing you the secret of his great strength(AN) and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels[e] of silver.”(AO)

6 So Delilah(AP) said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”

7 Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men hidden in the room,(AQ) she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”(AR) But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.

10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me;(AS) you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.”

11 He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes(AT) that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”(AU) But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.

13 Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.”

He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric 14 and[f] tightened it with the pin.

Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”(AV) He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.

15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’(AW) when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time(AX) you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.(AY)” 16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.

17 So he told her everything.(AZ) “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite(BA) dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”

18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines(BB), “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands.(BC) 19 After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.[g] And his strength left him.(BD)

20 Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”(BE)

He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.(BF)

21 Then the Philistines(BG) seized him, gouged out his eyes(BH) and took him down to Gaza.(BI) Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain(BJ) in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

The Death of Samson

23 Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon(BK) their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”

24 When the people saw him, they praised their god,(BL) saying,

“Our god has delivered our enemy
    into our hands,(BM)
the one who laid waste our land
    and multiplied our slain.”

25 While they were in high spirits,(BN) they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.

When they stood him among the pillars, 26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” 27 Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof(BO) were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. 28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord,(BP) “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge(BQ) on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, 30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.

31 Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah(BR) his father. He had led[h](BS) Israel twenty years.(BT)

Footnotes

  1. Judges 15:16 Or made a heap or two; the Hebrew for donkey sounds like the Hebrew for heap.
  2. Judges 15:17 Ramath Lehi means jawbone hill.
  3. Judges 15:19 En Hakkore means caller’s spring.
  4. Judges 15:20 Traditionally judged
  5. Judges 16:5 That is, about 28 pounds or about 13 kilograms
  6. Judges 16:14 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew replied, “I can if you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom.” 14 So she
  7. Judges 16:19 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and he began to weaken
  8. Judges 16:31 Traditionally judged
Listen to Judges 15-16
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Judges 15-16
King James Version

15 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.

6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.

10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.

17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.

18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?

19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

16 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.

2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.

3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.

4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.

11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.

13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.

14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.

15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.

16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.

24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.

25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.

26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.

27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

28 And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

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