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Judges 16:6–9

So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes your strength so great, and with what can you be tied up to subdue you?” Samson said to her, “If you tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that are not dried up, I will become weak like everyone else.” So the rulers of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that were not dried up, and she tied him up with them. The ambush was sitting in wait for her in an inner room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you Samson!” And he snapped the bowstrings just as flax fiber snaps when it comes close to fire. And the secret of his strength remained unknown.

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Judges 16:6–9 — The New International Version (NIV)

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

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.”

Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” 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.

Judges 16:6–9 — English Standard Version (ESV)

So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”

Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

Judges 16:6–9 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. 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. Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 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.

Judges 16:6–9 — New Living Translation (NLT)

So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong and what it would take to tie you up securely.”

Samson replied, “If I were tied up with seven new bowstrings that have not yet been dried, I would become as weak as anyone else.”

So the Philistine rulers brought Delilah seven new bowstrings, and she tied Samson up with them. She had hidden some men in one of the inner rooms of her house, and she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson snapped the bowstrings as a piece of string snaps when it is burned by a fire. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.

Judges 16:6–9 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.”

And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them. Now men were lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

Judges 16:6–9 — New Century Version (NCV)

So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me why you are so strong. How can someone tie you up and capture you?”

Samson answered, “Someone would have to tie me up with seven new bowstrings that have not been dried. Then I would be as weak as any other man.”

The Philistine rulers brought Delilah seven new bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied Samson with them. Some men were hiding in another room. Delilah said to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But Samson broke the bowstrings like pieces of burned string. So the Philistines did not find out the secret of Samson’s strength.

Judges 16:6–9 — American Standard Version (ASV)

And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withes that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man. Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withes which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withes, as a string of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

Judges 16:6–9 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

Then Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, in what is thy great strength, and with what thou mightest be bound to overpower thee. And Samson said to her, If they should bind me with seven fresh cords which have not been dried, then should I be weak, and be as another man. Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now she had liers in wait abiding in the chamber; and she said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he broke the cords, as a thread of tow is broken when it touches the fire; and his strength was not known.

Judges 16:6–9 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong. How can you be tied up so that someone could torture you?” 

Samson told her, “If someone ties me up with seven new bowstrings that are not dried out, I will be like any other man.” 

The Philistine rulers brought her seven new bowstrings that were not dried out. She tied Samson up with them. Some men were hiding in the bedroom waiting for her ⸤to tie him up⸥. Then she said to him, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!” Samson snapped the bowstrings as a thread snaps when it touches fire. So no one found out why he was so strong. 

Judges 16:6–9 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me, where does your great strength come from? How could someone tie you up and make you helpless?”

Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become weak and be like any other man.”

The Philistine leaders brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them. While the men in ambush were waiting in her room, she called out to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he snapped the bowstrings as a strand of yarn snaps when it touches fire. The secret of his strength remained unknown.

Judges 16:6–9 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes your strength so great, and how you could be bound, so that one could subdue you.” Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that are not dried out, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else.” Then the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not dried out, and she bound him with them. While men were lying in wait in an inner chamber, she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a strand of fiber snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

Judges 16:6–9 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

So Delilah spoke to Samson. She said, “Tell me the secret of why you are so strong. Tell me how you can be tied up and controlled.”

Samson answered her, “Let someone tie me up with seven new leather straps. They must be straps that aren’t completely dry. Then I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

So the Philistine rulers brought seven new leather straps to her. They weren’t completely dry. Delilah tied Samson up with them.

Men were hiding in the room. She called out to him. She said, “Samson! The Philistines are attacking you!” But he snapped the leather straps easily. They were like pieces of string that had come too close to a flame. So the secret of why he was so strong wasn’t discovered.

Judges 16:6–9 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you.”

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.”

Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

Now she had men lying in wait in an inner room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the cords as a string of tow snaps when it touches fire. So his strength was not discovered.


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