Now there was a certain man from (A)Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. And the (B)Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now therefore, please be careful (C)not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no (D)razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be (E)a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall (F)begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

So the woman came and told her husband, saying, (G)“A Man of God came to me, and His (H)countenance[a] was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I (I)did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”

Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.”

And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!”

11 So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?”

And He said, “I am.

12 Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?”

13 So the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14 She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, (J)nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.”

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 13:6 appearance

A certain man of Zorah,(A) named Manoah,(B) from the clan of the Danites,(C) had a wife who was childless,(D) unable to give birth. The angel of the Lord(E) appeared to her(F) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.(G) Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink(H) and that you do not eat anything unclean.(I) You will become pregnant and have a son(J) whose head is never to be touched by a razor(K) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,(L) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead(M) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God(N) came to me. He looked like an angel of God,(O) very awesome.(P) I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine(Q) or other fermented drink(R) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.(S)’”

Then Manoah(T) prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God(U) you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”

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(V) 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(W) nor eat anything unclean.(X) She must do everything I have commanded her.”

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