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Judges 13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Judges 13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 13
The Birth of Samson. 1 (A)The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, who therefore delivered them into the power of the Philistines for forty years.
2 There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites,[a] whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children.(B) 3 (C)An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her: Though you are barren and have had no children, you will conceive and bear a son. 4 (D)Now, then, be careful to drink no wine or beer and to eat nothing unclean, 5 for you will conceive and bear a son. No razor shall touch his head, for the boy is to be a nazirite for God[b] from the womb. It is he who will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.
6 The woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me; he had the appearance of an angel of God, fearsome indeed. I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You will conceive and bear a son. So drink no wine or beer, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy shall be a nazirite for God from the womb, until the day of his death.’” 8 Manoah then prayed to the Lord. “Please, my Lord,” he said, “may the man of God whom you sent return to us to teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born.”
9 God heard the prayer of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman ran quickly and told her husband. “The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me,” she said to him; 11 so Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he reached the man, he said to him, “Are you the one who spoke to my wife?” I am, he answered. 12 Then Manoah asked, “Now, when what you say comes true, what rules must the boy follow? What must he do?” 13 The angel of the Lord answered Manoah: Your wife must be careful about all the things of which I spoke to her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the vine, she must not drink wine or beer, and she must not eat anything unclean. Let her observe all that I have commanded her. 15 Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Permit us to detain you, so that we may prepare a young goat for you.” 16 But the angel of the Lord answered Manoah: Though you detained me, I would not eat your food. But if you want to prepare a burnt offering, then offer it up to the Lord. For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord. 17 [c]Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, that we may honor you when your words come true?” 18 (E)The angel of the Lord answered him: Why do you ask my name? It is wondrous. 19 (F)Then Manoah took a young goat with a grain offering and offered it on the rock to the Lord, who works wonders. While Manoah and his wife were looking on, 20 as the flame rose to the heavens from the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground; 21 but the angel of the Lord was seen no more by Manoah and his wife.(G) Then Manoah, realizing that it was the angel of the Lord, 22 said to his wife, “We will certainly die,[d] for we have seen God.” 23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands! Nor would he have let us see all this, or hear what we have heard.”
24 The woman bore a son and named him Samson, and when the boy grew up the Lord blessed him. 25 The spirit of the Lord came upon him for the first time(H) in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Footnotes
- 13:2 The clan of the Danites: before the migration described in chap. 18 the tribe of Dan occupied a small territory west of Benjamin, adjacent to the Philistine plain; see note on 3:3.
- 13:5 A nazirite for God: according to the rules for nazirites set forth in Nm 6:2–8, Samson’s vows would have obliged him to abstain from wine and other products of the vine and to keep his hair uncut. As the story that follows shows, the last requirement proved especially fateful in Samson’s life.
- 13:17–19 Manoah asks for a name so that he will know how to acknowledge the help of the visitor, but the angel will say only that his name is “wondrous,” i.e., beyond human comprehension. Manoah’s response is to dedicate his offering to “the Lord, who works wonders.”
- 13:22 We will certainly die: seeing God face to face was believed to be fatal, as explained in note on 6:22, where Gideon’s reaction is similar to that of Manoah here.
Judges 13
New International Version
Judges 13
New International Version
The Birth of Samson
13 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines(A) for forty years.(B)
2 A certain man of Zorah,(C) named Manoah,(D) from the clan of the Danites,(E) had a wife who was childless,(F) unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the Lord(G) appeared to her(H) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.(I) 4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink(J) and that you do not eat anything unclean.(K) 5 You will become pregnant and have a son(L) whose head is never to be touched by a razor(M) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,(N) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead(O) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
6 Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God(P) came to me. He looked like an angel of God,(Q) very awesome.(R) I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine(S) or other fermented drink(T) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.(U)’”
8 Then Manoah(V) prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God(W) you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”
9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me(X) the other day!”
11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”
“I am,” he said.
12 So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?”
13 The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink(Y) nor eat anything unclean.(Z) She must do everything I have commanded her.”
15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat(AA) for you.”
16 The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering,(AB) offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize(AC) that it was the angel of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name,(AD) so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”
18 He replied, “Why do you ask my name?(AE) It is beyond understanding.[a]” 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock(AF) to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20 As the flame(AG) blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.(AH) 21 When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized(AI) that it was the angel of the Lord.
22 “We are doomed(AJ) to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen(AK) God!”
23 But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”(AL)
24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.(AM) He grew(AN) and the Lord blessed him,(AO) 25 and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir(AP) him while he was in Mahaneh Dan,(AQ) between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Footnotes
- Judges 13:18 Or is wonderful
Judges 13
King James Version
Judges 13
King James Version
13 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
3 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
8 Then Manoah intreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.
10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.
11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.
12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
13 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.
16 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the Lord.
17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?
18 And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord: and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
21 But the angel of the Lord did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the Lord.
22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
23 But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.
24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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