Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites^(A)

1 After the death^(B) of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first^(C) to fight against the Canaanites?^(D)”

² The Lord answered, “Judah^(E) shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.^(F)”

³ The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites^(G) went with them.

⁴ When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites^(H) into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.^{(I) 5} It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek^(J) and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. ⁶ Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

⁷ Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back^(K) for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem,^(L) and he died there.

⁸ The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem^(M) also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.

⁹ After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country,^(N) the Negev^(O) and the western foothills. ¹⁰ They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron^(P) (formerly called Kiriath Arba^(Q)) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.^{(R) 11} From there they advanced against the people living in Debir^(S) (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).

¹² And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” ¹³ Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

¹⁴ One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him^[a] to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”

¹⁵ She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.^(T)

¹⁶ The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law,^(U) the Kenite,^(V) went up from the City of Palms^[b](W) with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.^(X)

¹⁷ Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites^(Y) their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed^[c] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah.^{[d](Z) 18} Judah also took^[e] Gaza,^(AA) Ashkelon^(AB) and Ekron—each city with its territory.

¹⁹ The Lord was with^(AC) the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country,^(AD) but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron.^{(AE) 20} As Moses had promised, Hebron^(AF) was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak.^{(AG) 21} The Benjamites, however, did not drive out^(AH) the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem;^(AI) to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.

²² Now the tribes of Joseph^(AJ) attacked Bethel,^(AK) and the Lord was with them. ²³ When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz),^{(AL) 24} the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.^(AM)” ²⁵ So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword but spared^(AN) the man and his whole family. ²⁶ He then went to the land of the Hittites,^(AO) where he built a city and called it Luz,^(AP) which is its name to this day.

²⁷ But Manasseh did not^(AQ) drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor^(AR) or Ibleam^(AS) or Megiddo^(AT) and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites^(AU) were determined to live in that land. ²⁸ When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.^{(AV) 29} Nor did Ephraim^(AW) drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer,^(AX) but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.^{(AY) 30} Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor. ³¹ Nor did Asher^(AZ) drive out those living in Akko or Sidon^(BA) or Ahlab or Akzib^(BB) or Helbah or Aphek^(BC) or Rehob.^{(BD) 32} The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out. ³³ Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh^(BE) or Beth Anath^(BF); but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. ³⁴ The Amorites^(BG) confined the Danites^(BH) to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain.^{(BI) 35} And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres,^(BJ) Aijalon^(BK) and Shaalbim,^(BL) but when the power of the tribes of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. ³⁶ The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass^(BM) to Sela^(BN) and beyond.^(BO)

The Angel of the Lord at Bokim

2 The angel of the Lord^(BP) went up from Gilgal^(BQ) to Bokim^(BR) and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt^(BS) and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors.^(BT) I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,^{(BU) 2} and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land,^(BV) but you shall break down their altars.^(BW)’ Yet you have disobeyed^(BX) me. Why have you done this? ³ And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you;^(BY) they will become traps^(BZ) for you, and their gods will become snares^(CA) to you.’”

⁴ When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud,^{(CB) 5} and they called that place Bokim.^[f](CC) There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

Disobedience and Defeat^(CD)

⁶ After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. ⁷ The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.^(CE)

⁸ Joshua son of Nun,^(CF) the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. ⁹ And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres^[g](CG) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

¹⁰ After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.^{(CH) 11} Then the Israelites did evil^(CI) in the eyes of the Lord^(CJ) and served the Baals.^{(CK) 12} They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods^(CL) of the peoples around them.^(CM) They aroused^(CN) the Lord’s anger^{(CO) 13} because they forsook^(CP) him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.^{(CQ) 14} In his anger^(CR) against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands^(CS) of raiders who plundered^(CT) them. He sold them^(CU) into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.^{(CV) 15} Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them^(CW) to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.^(CX)

¹⁶ Then the Lord raised up judges,^[h](CY) who saved^(CZ) them out of the hands of these raiders. ¹⁷ Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted^(DA) themselves to other gods^(DB) and worshiped them.^(DC) They quickly turned^(DD) from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.^{(DE) 18} Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved^(DF) them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented^(DG) because of their groaning^(DH) under those who oppressed and afflicted^(DI) them. ¹⁹ But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt^(DJ) than those of their ancestors,^(DK) following other gods and serving and worshiping them.^(DL) They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn^(DM) ways.

²⁰ Therefore the Lord was very angry^(DN) with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant^(DO) I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, ²¹ I will no longer drive out^(DP) before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. ²² I will use them to test^(DQ) Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” ²³ The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.^(DR)

3 These are the nations the Lord left to test^(DS) all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan ² (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): ³ the five^(DT) rulers of the Philistines,^(DU) all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites^(DV) living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon^(DW) to Lebo Hamath.^{(DX) 4} They were left to test^(DY) the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.

⁵ The Israelites lived^(DZ) among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,^(EA) Hivites and Jebusites.^{(EB) 6} They took their daughters^(EC) in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.^(ED)

Othniel

⁷ The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord^(EE) their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.^{(EF) 8} The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold^(EG) them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim^(EH) king of Aram Naharaim,^[i](EI) to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. ⁹ But when they cried out^(EJ) to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer,^(EK) Othniel^(EL) son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord came on him,^(EM) so that he became Israel’s judge^[j] and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim^(EN) king of Aram^(EO) into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. ¹¹ So the land had peace^(EP) for forty years,^(EQ) until Othniel son of Kenaz^(ER) died.

Ehud

¹² Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,^(ES) and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab^(ET) power over Israel. ¹³ Getting the Ammonites^(EU) and Amalekites^(EV) to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms.^{[k](EW) 14} The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab^(EX) for eighteen years.

¹⁵ Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer^(EY)—Ehud^(EZ), a left-handed^(FA) man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute^(FB) to Eglon king of Moab. ¹⁶ Now Ehud^(FC) had made a double-edged sword about a cubit^[l] long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. ¹⁷ He presented the tribute^(FD) to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man.^{(FE) 18} After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it. ¹⁹ But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”

The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left.

²⁰ Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace^[m](FF) and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose^(FG) from his seat, ²¹ Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword^(FH) from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. ²² Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. ²³ Then Ehud went out to the porch^[n]; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

²⁴ After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself^(FI) in the inner room of the palace.” ²⁵ They waited to the point of embarrassment,^(FJ) but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.

²⁶ While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the stone images and escaped to Seirah. ²⁷ When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet^(FK) in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.

²⁸ “Follow me,” he ordered, “for the Lord has given Moab,^(FL) your enemy, into your hands.^(FM)” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan^(FN) that led to Moab; they allowed no one to cross over. ²⁹ At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped. ³⁰ That day Moab^(FO) was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace^(FP) for eighty years.

Shamgar

³¹ After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath,^(FQ) who struck down six hundred^(FR) Philistines^(FS) with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.

Deborah

4 Again the Israelites did evil^(FT) in the eyes of the Lord,^(FU) now that Ehud^(FV) was dead. ² So the Lord sold them^(FW) into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.^(FX) Sisera,^(FY) the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. ³ Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron^(FZ) and had cruelly oppressed^(GA) the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.

⁴ Now Deborah,^(GB) a prophet,^(GC) the wife of Lappidoth, was leading^[o] Israel at that time. ⁵ She held court^(GD) under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah^(GE) and Bethel^(GF) in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. ⁶ She sent for Barak son of Abinoam^(GG) from Kedesh^(GH) in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali^(GI) and Zebulun^(GJ) and lead them up to Mount Tabor.^{(GK) 7} I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s^(GL) army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River^(GM) and give him into your hands.^(GN)’”

⁸ Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

⁹ “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.^{(GO) 10} There Barak summoned^(GP) Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him.

¹¹ Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites,^(GQ) the descendants of Hobab,^(GR) Moses’ brother-in-law,^[p] and pitched his tent by the great tree^(GS) in Zaanannim^(GT) near Kedesh.

¹² When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,^{(GU) 13} Sisera summoned from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River^(GV) all his men and his nine hundred chariots fitted with iron.^(GW)

¹⁴ Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands.^(GX) Has not the Lord gone ahead^(GY) of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. ¹⁵ At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed^(GZ) Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.

¹⁶ Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left.^{(HA) 17} Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael,^(HB) the wife of Heber the Kenite,^(HC) because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor^(HD) and the family of Heber the Kenite.

¹⁸ Jael^(HE) went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

¹⁹ “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk,^(HF) gave him a drink, and covered him up.

²⁰ “Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’”

²¹ But Jael,^(HG) Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep,^(HH) exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.^(HI)

²² Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael^(HJ) went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead.^(HK)

²³ On that day God subdued^(HL) Jabin^(HM) king of Canaan before the Israelites. ²⁴ And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.^(HN)

The Birth of Samson

13 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines^(A) for forty years.^(B)

² A certain man of Zorah,^(C) named Manoah,^(D) from the clan of the Danites,^(E) had a wife who was childless,^(F) unable to give birth. ³ The angel of the Lord^(G) appeared to her^(H) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.^{(I) 4} Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink^(J) and that you do not eat anything unclean.^{(K) 5} You will become pregnant and have a son^(L) whose head is never to be touched by a razor^(M) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,^(N) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead^(O) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

⁶ Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God^(P) came to me. He looked like an angel of God,^(Q) very awesome.^(R) I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. ⁷ But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine^(S) or other fermented drink^(T) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.^(U)’”

⁸ Then Manoah^(V) prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God^(W) you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”

⁹ 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^(X) 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^(Y) nor eat anything unclean.^(Z) She must do everything I have commanded her.”

¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat^(AA) for you.”

¹⁶ The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering,^(AB) offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize^(AC) that it was the angel of the Lord.)

¹⁷ Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name,^(AD) so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”

¹⁸ He replied, “Why do you ask my name?^(AE) It is beyond understanding.^[a]” ¹⁹ Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock^(AF) to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: ²⁰ As the flame^(AG) blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.^{(AH) 21} When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized^(AI) that it was the angel of the Lord.

²² “We are doomed^(AJ) to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen^(AK) God!”

²³ But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”^(AL)

²⁴ The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.^(AM) He grew^(AN) and the Lord blessed him,^{(AO) 25} and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir^(AP) him while he was in Mahaneh Dan,^(AQ) between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson’s Marriage

14 Samson^(AR) went down to Timnah^(AS) and saw there a young Philistine woman. ² When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.”^(AT)

³ His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people?^(AU) Must you go to the uncircumcised^(AV) Philistines to get a wife?^(AW)”

But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” ⁴ (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord,^(AX) who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines;^(AY) for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)^(AZ)

⁵ Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. ⁶ The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him^(BA) so that he tore the lion apart^(BB) with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. ⁷ Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her.

⁸ Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. ⁹ He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.

¹⁰ Now his father went down to see the woman. And there Samson held a feast,^(BC) as was customary for young men. ¹¹ When the people saw him, they chose thirty men to be his companions.

¹² “Let me tell you a riddle,^(BD)” Samson said to them. “If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast,^(BE) I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.^{(BF) 13} If you can’t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.”

“Tell us your riddle,” they said. “Let’s hear it.”

¹⁴ He replied,

For three days they could not give the answer.

¹⁵ On the fourth^[b] day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax^(BH) your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death.^(BI) Did you invite us here to steal our property?”

¹⁶ Then Samson’s wife threw herself on him, sobbing, “You hate me! You don’t really love me.^(BJ) You’ve given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.”

“I haven’t even explained it to my father or mother,” he replied, “so why should I explain it to you?” ¹⁷ She cried the whole seven days^(BK) of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people.

¹⁸ Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said to him,

Samson said to them,

¹⁹ Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.^(BM) He went down to Ashkelon,^(BN) struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger,^(BO) he returned to his father’s home. ²⁰ And Samson’s wife was given to one of his companions^(BP) who had attended him at the feast.

Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines

15 Later on, at the time of wheat harvest,^(BQ) Samson^(BR) took a young goat^(BS) and went to visit his wife. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room.”^(BT) But her father would not let him go in.

² “I was so sure you hated her,” he said, “that I gave her to your companion.^(BU) Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.”

³ Samson said to them, “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.” ⁴ So he went out and caught three hundred foxes^(BV) and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch^(BW) to every pair of tails, ⁵ lit the torches^(BX) and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks^(BY) and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.

⁶ When the Philistines asked, “Who did this?” they were told, “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his companion.^(BZ)”

So the Philistines went up and burned her^(CA) and her father to death.^{(CB) 7} Samson said to them, “Since you’ve acted like this, I swear that I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.” ⁸ He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock^(CC) of Etam.^(CD)

⁹ The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi.^{(CE) 10} The people of Judah asked, “Why have you come to fight us?”

“We have come to take Samson prisoner,” they answered, “to do to him as he did to us.”

¹¹ Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us?^(CF) What have you done to us?”

He answered, “I merely did to them what they did to me.”

¹² They said to him, “We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”

Samson said, “Swear to me^(CG) that you won’t kill me yourselves.”

¹³ “Agreed,” they answered. “We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes^(CH) and led him up from the rock. ¹⁴ As he approached Lehi,^(CI) the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.^(CJ) The ropes on his arms became like charred flax,^(CK) and the bindings dropped from his hands. ¹⁵ Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.^(CL)

¹⁶ Then Samson said,

¹⁷ When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.^[d](CN)

¹⁸ Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord,^(CO) “You have given your servant this great victory.^(CP) Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” ¹⁹ Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived.^(CQ) So the spring^(CR) was called En Hakkore,^[e] and it is still there in Lehi.

²⁰ Samson led^[f] Israel for twenty years^(CS) in the days of the Philistines.

Samson and Delilah

16 One day Samson^(CT) went to Gaza,^(CU) where he saw a prostitute.^(CV) He went in to spend the night with her. ² The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate.^(CW) They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn^(CX) we’ll kill him.”

³ But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.^(CY)

⁴ Some time later, he fell in love^(CZ) with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.^{(DA) 5} The rulers of the Philistines^(DB) went to her and said, “See if you can lure^(DC) him into showing you the secret of his great strength^(DD) and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels^[g] of silver.”^(DE)

⁶ So Delilah^(DF) said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”

⁷ 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.”

⁸ Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. ⁹ With men hidden in the room,^(DG) she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”^(DH) 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.

¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me;^(DI) you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.”

¹¹ He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes^(DJ) that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

¹² So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”^(DK) But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.

¹³ Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.”

He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric ¹⁴ and^[h] tightened it with the pin.

Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”^(DL) He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.

¹⁵ Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’^(DM) when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time^(DN) you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.^(DO)” ¹⁶ With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.

¹⁷ So he told her everything.^(DP) “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite^(DQ) dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”

¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines^(DR), “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands.^{(DS) 19} After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.^[i] And his strength left him.^(DT)

²⁰ Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”^(DU)

He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.^(DV)

²¹ Then the Philistines^(DW) seized him, gouged out his eyes^(DX) and took him down to Gaza.^(DY) Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain^(DZ) in the prison. ²² But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

The Death of Samson

²³ Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon^(EA) their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”

²⁴ When the people saw him, they praised their god,^(EB) saying,

²⁵ While they were in high spirits,^(ED) they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.

When they stood him among the pillars, ²⁶ Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” ²⁷ Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof^(EE) were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. ²⁸ Then Samson prayed to the Lord,^(EF) “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge^(EG) on the Philistines for my two eyes.” ²⁹ Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, ³⁰ Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.

³¹ Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah^(EH) his father. He had led^[j](EI) Israel twenty years.^(EJ)