^16:7Samson said to her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh¹⁴ bowstrings¹⁵ that have not been dried, I will become weak and be just like any other man.” ^16:8So the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings which had not been dried and they tied him up with them. ^16:9They hid¹⁶ in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here,¹⁷ Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire.¹⁸ The secret of his strength was not discovered.¹⁹

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Footnotes

14 Or “moist.”
15 The word refers to a bowstring, probably made from animal tendons. See Ps 11:2; Job 30:11.
16 Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting for her.” The grammatically singular form וְהָאֹרֵב (véha’orev) is collective here, referring to the rulers as a group (so also in v. 16).
17 Heb “are upon you.”
18 Heb “when it smells fire.”
19 Heb “His strength was not known.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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.

NLTNew Living Translation

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.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

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.

KJV 1900King James Version

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.

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