Judges 13:24–16:31

²⁴And the woman beareth a son, and calleth his name Samson, and the youth groweth, and Jehovah doth bless him, ²⁵and the Spirit of Jehovah beginneth to move him in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Chapter 14

¹And Samson goeth down to Timnath, and seeth a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines, ²and cometh up and declareth to his father, and to his mother, and saith, ‘A woman I have seen in Timnath, of the daughters of the Philistines; and now, take her for me for a wife.’ ³And his father saith to him—also his mother, ‘Is there not among the daughters of thy brethren, and among all my people, a woman, that thou art going to take a woman from the uncircumcised Philistines?’ and Samson saith unto his father, ‘Take her for me, for she is right in mine eyes.’ ⁴And his father and his mother have not known that from Jehovah it is, that a meeting he is seeking of the Philistines; and at that time the Philistines are ruling over Israel. ⁵And Samson goeth down—also his father and his mother, to Timnath, and they come unto the vineyards of Timnath, and lo, a lion’s whelp roareth at meeting him, ⁶and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and he rendeth it as the rending of a kid, and there is nothing in his hand, and he hath not declared to his father and to his mother that which he hath done. ⁷And he goeth down and speaketh to the woman, and she is right in the eyes of Samson; ⁸and he turneth back after some days to take her, and turneth aside to see the carcase of the lion, and lo, a company of bees are in the body of the lion—and honey. ⁹And he taketh it down on to his hands, and goeth on, going and eating; and he goeth unto his father, and unto his mother, and giveth to them, and they eat, and he hath not declared to them that from the body of the lion he took down the honey.

¹⁰And his father goeth down unto the woman, and Samson maketh there a banquet, for so the young men do; ¹¹and it cometh to pass when they see him, that they take thirty companions, and they are with him. ¹²And Samson saith to them, ‘Let me, I pray you, put forth to you a riddle; if ye certainly declare it to me in the seven days of the banquet, and have found it out, then I have given to you thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of garments; ¹³and if ye are not able to declare it to me, then ye have given to me thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of garments.’ And they say to him, ‘Put forth thy riddle, and we hear it!’ ¹⁴And he saith to them: ‘Out of the eater came forth meat, And out of the strong came forth sweetness;’ and they were not able to declare the riddle in three days. ¹⁵And it cometh to pass, on the seventh day, that they say to Samson’s wife, ‘Entice thy husband, that he declare to us the riddle, lest we burn thee and the house of thy father with fire; to possess us have ye called for us? is it not?’ ¹⁶And Samson’s wife weepeth for it, and saith, ‘Thou hast only hated me, and hast not loved me; the riddle thou hast put forth to the sons of my people—and to me thou hast not declared it;’ and he saith to her, ‘Lo, to my father and to my mother I have not declared it—and to thee I declare it!’ ¹⁷And she weepeth for it the seven days in which their banquet hath been, and it cometh to pass on the seventh day that he declareth it to her, for she hath distressed him; and she declareth the riddle to the sons of her people. ¹⁸And the men of the city say to him on the seventh day, before the sun goeth in:—‘What is sweeter than honey? And what stronger than a lion?’ And he saith to them: ‘Unless ye had ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle.’ ¹⁹And the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and he goeth down to Ashkelon, and smiteth of them thirty men, and taketh their armour, and giveth the changes to those declaring the riddle; and his anger burneth, and he goeth up to the house of his father; ²⁰and Samson’s wife becometh his companion’s, who is his friend.

Chapter 15

¹And it cometh to pass, after some days, in the days of wheat-harvest, that Samson looketh after his wife, with a kid of the goats, and saith, ‘I go in unto my wife, to the inner chamber;’ and her father hath not permitted him to go in, ²and her father saith, I certainly said, that thou didst certainly hate her, and I give her to thy companion; is not her sister—the young one—better than she? Let her be, I pray thee, to thee, instead of her.’ ³And Samson saith of them, ‘I am more innocent this time than the Philistines, though I am doing with them evil.’ ⁴And Samson goeth and catcheth three hundred foxes, and taketh torches, and turneth tail unto tail, and putteth a torch between the two tails, in the midst, ⁵and kindleth fire in the torches, and sendeth them out into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burneth it from heap even unto standing corn, even unto vineyard—olive-yard. ⁶And the Philistines say, ‘Who hath done this?’ And they say, ‘Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because he hath taken away his wife, and giveth her to his companion;’ and the Philistines go up, and burn her and her father with fire. ⁷And Samson saith to them, ‘Though ye do thus, nevertheless I am avenged on you, and afterwards I cease!’ ⁸And he smiteth them hip and thigh—a great smiting, and goeth down and dwelleth in the cleft of the rock Etam.

⁹And the Philistines go up, and encamp in Judah, and are spread out in Lehi, ¹⁰and the men of Judah say, ‘Why have ye come up against us?’ and they say, ‘To bind Samson we have come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.’ ¹¹And three thousand men of Judah go down unto the cleft of the rock Etam, and say to Samson, ‘Hast thou now known that the Philistines are rulers over us? and what is this thou hast done to us?’ And he saith to them, ‘As they did to me, so I did to them.’ ¹²And they say to him, ‘To bind thee we have come down—to give thee into the hand of the Philistines.’ And Samson saith to them, ‘Swear to me, lest ye fall upon me yourselves.’ ¹³And they speak to him, saying, No, but we certainly bind thee, and have given thee into their hand, and we certainly do not put thee to death;’ and they bind him with two thick bands, new ones, and bring him up from the rock. ¹⁴He hath come unto Lehi—and the Philistines have shouted at meeting him—and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and the thick bands which are on his arms are as flax which they burn with fire, and his bands are wasted from off his hands, ¹⁵and he findeth a fresh jaw-bone of an ass, and putteth forth his hand and taketh it, and smiteth with it—a thousand men. ¹⁶And Samson saith, ‘With a jaw-bone of the ass—an ass upon asses—with a jaw-bone of the ass I have smitten a thousand men.’ ¹⁷And it cometh to pass when he finisheth speaking, that he casteth away the jaw-bone out of his hand, and calleth that place Ramath-Lehi.

¹⁸And he thirsteth exceedingly, and calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, ‘Thou—Thou hast given by the hand of Thy servant this great salvation; and now, I die with thirst, and have fallen into the hand of the uncircumcised.’ ¹⁹And God cleaveth the hollow place which is in Lehi, and waters come out of it, and he drinketh, and his spirit cometh back, and he reviveth; therefore hath one called its name ‘The fountain of him who is calling,’ which is in Lehi unto this day. ²⁰And he judgeth Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

Chapter 16

¹And Samson goeth to Gaza, and seeth there a woman, a harlot, and goeth in unto her; ²it is told to the Gazathites, saying, ‘Samson hath come in hither;’ and they go round and lay wait for him all the night at the gate of the city, and keep themselves silent all the night, saying, ‘Till the light of the morning—then we have slain him.’ ³And Samson lieth down till the middle of the night, and riseth in the middle of the night, and layeth hold on the doors of the gate of the city, and on the two side posts, and removeth them with the bar, and putteth on his shoulders, and taketh them up unto the top of the hill, which is on the front of Hebron.

⁴And it cometh to pass afterwards that he loveth a woman in the valley of Sorek, and her name is Delilah, ⁵and the princes of the Philistines come up unto her, and say to her, ‘Entice him, and see wherein his great power is, and wherein we are able for him—and we have bound him to afflict him, and we—we give to thee, each one, eleven hundred silverlings.’ ⁶And Delilah saith unto Samson, ‘Declare, I pray thee, to me, wherein thy great power is, and wherewith thou art bound, to afflict thee.’ ⁷And Samson saith unto her, ‘If they bind me with seven green withs which have not been dried, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.’ ⁸And the princes of the Philistines bring up to her seven green withs which have not been dried, and she bindeth him with them. ⁹And the ambush is abiding with her in an inner chamber, and she saith unto him, ‘Philistines are upon thee, Samson;’ and he breaketh the withs as a thread of tow is broken in its smelling fire, and his power hath not been known. ¹⁰And Delilah saith unto Samson, ‘Lo, thou hast played upon me, and speakest unto me lies; now, declare, I pray thee, to me, wherewith thou art bound.’ ¹¹And he saith unto her, ‘If they certainly bind me with thick bands, new ones, by which work hath not been done, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.’ ¹²And Delilah taketh thick bands, new ones, and bindeth him with them, and saith unto him, ‘Philistines are upon thee, Samson;’ and the ambush is abiding in an inner chamber, and he breaketh them from off his arms as a thread. ¹³And Delilah saith unto Samson, ‘Hitherto thou hast played upon me, and dost speak unto me lies; declare to me wherewith thou art bound.’ And he saith unto her, ‘If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.’ ¹⁴And she fixeth it with the pin, and saith unto him, ‘Philistines are upon thee, Samson;’ and he awaketh out of his sleep, and journeyeth with the pin of the weaving machine, and with the…