Judges 13-16

Legacy Standard Bible

The Birth of Samson

13 Then the sons of Israel ^(A)again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, so that Yahweh gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

² And there was a certain man of ^(B)Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children. ^3 (C)Then the angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you ^[a]shall be with child and give birth to a son. ⁴ So now, be careful ^(D)not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. ^5 (E)For behold, you ^[b]shall be with child and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a ^(F)Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁶ Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “^(G)A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. ⁷ And he said to me, ‘Behold, you ^[c]shall be with child and give birth to a son, so now you shall not drink wine or strong drink, and you shall not eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”

⁸ Then Manoah entreated Yahweh and said, “O Lord, please let ^(H)the man of God whom You have sent come to us again that he may instruct us what to do for the boy who is to be born.” ⁹ And God listened to the voice of Manoah; and ^(I)the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her. ¹⁰ So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, and she said to him, “Behold, ^(J)the man who came the other day to me has appeared to me.” ¹¹ Then Manoah arose and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he said to him, “Are you ^(K)the man who spoke to the woman?” And he said, “I am.” ¹² So Manoah said, “Now your words will come to pass. What shall be the judgment governing the boy and his work?” ¹³ So ^(L)the angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, “^(M)Let the woman be careful in all that I said. ¹⁴ She should not eat anything that comes from the ^(N)vine, nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; let her keep all that I commanded.”

¹⁵ Then Manoah said to ^(O)the angel of Yahweh, “Please let us delay you so that we may prepare a young goat for you.” ¹⁶ And the angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, “Though you delay me, ^(P)I will not eat your ^[d]food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to Yahweh.” For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of Yahweh. ¹⁷ Then Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, “^(Q)What is your name, so that when your words come to pass, we may honor you?” ¹⁸ But the angel of Yahweh said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is ^[e](R)wonderful?” ¹⁹ So ^(S)Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to Yahweh, and He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on. ²⁰ Indeed, it happened when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of Yahweh went up in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife saw this, so they ^(T)fell on their faces to the ground.

²¹ Now the angel of Yahweh did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. ^(U)Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Yahweh. ²² So Manoah said to his wife, “^(V)We will surely die, for we have seen God.” ²³ But his wife said to him, “If Yahweh had desired to put us to death, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have ^(W)shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time.”

²⁴ Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the ^(X)child grew up, and Yahweh blessed him. ²⁵ And ^(Y)the Spirit of Yahweh began to stir him in ^[f](Z)Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson Takes a Philistine as His Wife

14 Then Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. ² So he came back up and told his father and ^[g]mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; so now, take her for me as a wife.” ³ But his father and his mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your ^[h](AA)relatives, or among all ^[i]our people, that you go to ^(AB)take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Take her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” ⁴ However, his father and mother did not know that ^(AC)it was of Yahweh, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.

⁵ Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and they came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion came roaring toward him. ^6 (AD)And the Spirit of Yahweh ^[j]came upon him mightily, so that ^(AE)he tore it as one tears a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. ⁷ So he went down and spoke to the woman; and she was right in the eyes of Samson. ⁸ Then he returned later to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion. ⁹ So he scraped ^[k]the honey into his ^[l]hands and went on, eating as he went. Then he went to his father and mother, and he gave some to them, and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey out of the body of the lion.

¹⁰ Then his father went down to the woman; and Samson made a feast there, for the young men customarily did this. ¹¹ Now it happened that when they saw him, they took thirty companions to be with him. ¹² Then Samson said to them, “Let me now ^(AF)propound a riddle to you; if you will indeed tell it to me within the seven days of the feast and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen wraps and thirty ^(AG)changes of clothes. ¹³ But if you are unable to tell me, then you shall give me thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Propound your riddle, that we may hear it.” ¹⁴ So he said to them,

But they could not tell the riddle in three days.

¹⁵ Then it happened on the ^[m]fourth day that they said to Samson’s wife, “^(AH)Entice your husband, so that he will tell us the riddle, ^(AI)or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us to impoverish us? Is this not so?” ¹⁶ So Samson’s wife wept before him and said, “^(AJ)You only hate me, and you do not love me; you have propounded a riddle to the sons of my people and have not told it to me.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told it to my father or mother; so should I tell you?” ¹⁷ However she wept before him seven days while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day he told her because she pressed him so hard. She then told the riddle to the sons of her people. ¹⁸ So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,

And he said to them,

¹⁹ Then ^(AK)the Spirit of Yahweh ^[n]came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty of them and took their spoil and gave the changes of clothes to those who told the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house. ²⁰ But Samson’s wife was ^(AL)given to his companion who had been his ^[o]friend.

Samson Strikes Down the Philistines

15 Now it happened that after a while, in the time of the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife ^(AM)with a young goat and said, “I will go in to my wife in her room.” But her father did not let him enter. ² And her father said, “I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I ^(AN)gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please let her be yours ^[p]instead.” ³ Samson then said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines when I do them harm.” ⁴ So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches and turned the foxes tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between two tails. ⁵ Then he set fire to the torches and sent ^[q]the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines. So he caused both the shocks and the standing grain, along with the vineyards and groves, to burn. ⁶ Then the Philistines said, “Who did this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because ^[r]he took his wife and gave her to his companion.” So the Philistines came up and ^(AO)burned her and her father with fire. ⁷ Then Samson said to them, “If you act like this, then I will surely take revenge on you, but after that I will cease.” ⁸ And he struck them ^[s]ruthlessly with a great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

⁹ Then the Philistines went up and camped in Judah and spread out in Lehi. ¹⁰ So the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” And they said, “We have come up to bind Samson in order to do to him as he did to us.” ¹¹ Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know ^(AP)that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.” ¹² And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you so that we may give you into the hand of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you yourselves will not ^[t]kill me.” ¹³ So they said to ^[u]him, “No, but we will bind you fast and give you into their hands; yet surely we will not put you to death.” Then they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

¹⁴ When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And ^(AQ)the Spirit of Yahweh ^[v]came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds ^[w]dropped from his hands. ¹⁵ And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he sent forth his hand and took it and struck down ^(AR)1,000 men with it. ¹⁶ Then Samson said,

¹⁷ Now it happened that when he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place ^[y]Ramath-lehi. ¹⁸ Then he became very thirsty, and he ^(AS)called to Yahweh and said, “You have given this great salvation by the hand of Your slave, but now ^[z]shall I die of thirst ^[aa]and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” ¹⁹ So God split the hollow place that is in Lehi and water came out of it. Then he drank, ^(AT)and his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he named it ^[ab]En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. ²⁰ And ^(AU)he judged Israel twenty years in ^(AV)the days of the Philistines.

Samson and Delilah

16 Then Samson went to ^(AW)Gaza and saw a harlot there and went in to her. ² And it was told to the Gazites, saying, “Samson has come here,” so they ^(AX)surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. And they kept silent all night, saying, “Let us wait until the morning light; then we will kill him.” ³ But Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and seized the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and brought them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron.

⁴ Now it happened afterwards that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, and her name was Delilah. ⁵ And the ^(AY)lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “^(AZ)Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and ^[ac]how we may overpower him that we may bind him to afflict him. Then we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” ⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength is and ^[ad]how you may be bound to afflict you.” ⁷ Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” ⁸ Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. ⁹ Now she had men lying in wait, sitting in an inner room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the cords as a string of tinder snaps when it ^[ae]touches fire. So his strength was still not known.

¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have deceived me and told me lies; now please tell me ^[af]how you may be bound.” ¹¹ And he said to her, “If they bind me tightly with new ropes ^[ag]which have not been used for work, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” ¹² So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” Now the men lying in wait were sitting in the inner room. But he snapped ^[ah]the ropes from his arms like a thread.

¹³ Then Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies; tell me ^[ai]how you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web ^[aj][and fasten it with a pin, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” ¹⁴ So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his ^[ak]hair and wove them into the web]. And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web.

¹⁵ Then she said to him, “^(BA)How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is.” ¹⁶ Now it happened when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was ^[al]annoyed to death. ¹⁷ So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, “A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a ^(BB)Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like every other man.”

¹⁸ And Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, so she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought up the silver in their hands. ¹⁹ Then she made him sleep on her knees and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him. ²⁰ And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that ^(BC)Yahweh had left him. ²¹ Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison. ²² However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.

²³ Now the lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to ^(BD)Dagon their god and to be glad; and they said,

²⁴ Then the people saw him and ^(BE)praised their god, for they said,

²⁵ So it happened when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may amuse us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he ^[am]entertained them. And they made him stand between the pillars. ²⁶ Then Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, that I may lean against them.” ²⁷ Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there. And about 3,000 men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was amusing them.

Samson’s Revenge

^28 (BF)Then Samson called to Yahweh and said, “O Lord Yahweh, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once ^(BG)be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” ²⁹ Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house was established and supported himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. ³⁰ And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he bent with his strength so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he put to death by his death were more than those whom he put to death in his life. ³¹ Then his brothers and all his father’s household came down, carried him, brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the tomb of Manoah his father. ^(BH)Thus he had judged Israel twenty years.