Judg 15 | NASB1995 | STEP | But after a while , in the time of wheat harvest , Samson visited his wife with a young goat , and said , “ I will go in to my wife in her room .” But her father did not let him enter .

Judges 15

Samson Burns Philistine Crops

1 But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife ^awith a young goat, and said, “I will go in to my wife in her room.” But her father did not let him enter. 2 Her father said, “I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I ^bgave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister ^{▼▼ Lit better}more beautiful than she? Please let her be yours ^{▼▼ Lit instead of her}instead.” 3 Samson then said to them, “This time I shall be blameless in regard to the Philistines when I do them harm.” 4 Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned the foxes tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between two tails. 5 When he had set fire to the torches, he released ^{▼▼ Lit them}the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines, thus burning up both the shocks and the standing grain, along with the vineyards and groves. 6 Then the Philistines said, “Who did this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because ^{▼▼ I.e. the Timnite}he took his wife and gave her to his companion.” So the Philistines came up and ^gburned her and her father with fire. 7 Samson said to them, “Since you act like this, I will surely take revenge on you, but after that I will quit.” 8 He struck them ^{▼▼ Lit leg on thigh}ruthlessly with a great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

9 Then the Philistines went up and camped in Judah, and spread out in Lehi. 10 The men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” And they said, “We have come up to bind Samson in order to do to him as he did to us.” 11 Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know ⁱthat the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.” 12 They said to him, “We have come down to bind you so that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not ^{▼▼ Lit fall upon me yourselves}kill me.” 13 So they said to ^{▼▼ Lit him, saying}him, “No, but we will bind you fast and give you into their hands; yet surely we will not kill you.” Then they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And ^lthe Spirit of the Lord ^{▼▼ Lit rushed upon}came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds ^{▼▼ Lit were melted}dropped from his hands. 15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he ^{▼▼ Lit stretched out his hand}reached out and took it and ^{▼▼ Lit smote}killed ^qa thousand men with it. 16 Then Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey,
^{▼▼ Lit Heap, two heaps; Heb is same root as donkey}Heaps upon heaps,
With the jawbone of a donkey
I have ^{▼▼ Lit smitten}killed a thousand men.”

17 When he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place ^{▼▼ I.e. the high place of the jawbone}Ramath-lehi. 18 Then he became very thirsty, and he ^ucalled to the Lord and said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant, and now ^{▼▼ Or I shall...uncircumcised}shall I die of thirst ^{▼▼ Or or}and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi so that water came out of it. When he drank, ^xhis ^{▼▼ Lit spirit}strength returned and he revived. Therefore he named it ^{▼▼ I.e. the spring of him who called}En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. 20 So ^aahe judged Israel twenty years in ^abthe days of the Philistines.