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Judges
Chapter 13
1. 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.
Chapter 14
1. And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath
of the daughters of the Philistines.
2. And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and
said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the
Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
3. Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never
a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my
people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised
Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for
me; for she pleaseth me well.
4. But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the
LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines:
for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
5. Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to
Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold,
a young lion roared against him.
6. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he
rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in
his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he
had done.
7. And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased
Samson well.
8. And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned
aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was
a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.
9. And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and
came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they
did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey
out of the carcase of the lion.
10. So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made
there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
11. And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought
thirty companions to be with him.
12. And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle
unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven
days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you
thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
13. But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty
sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto
him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.
14. And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and
out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not
in three days expound the riddle.
15. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto
Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto
us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with
fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so?
16. And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but
hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle
unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And
he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor
my mother, and shall I tell it thee?
17. And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast
lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told
her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle
to the children of her people.
18. And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day
before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? And
what is stronger than a lion? and he said unto them, If ye
had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my
riddle.
19. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down
to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their
spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded
the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his
father's house.
20. But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had
used as his friend.
Chapter 15
1. 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.
Chapter 16
1. 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.