(NIV)
The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the
Lord blessed him,
And the
woman bore a
son and
called his
name Samson.
And the
young man grew, and the
Lord blessed him.
(NIV)
Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman.
Samson went down to
Timnah, and at
Timnah he
saw one of the
daughters of the
Philistines.
(NIV)
His father and mother replied, ‘Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?’
But Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.’
But his
father and
mother said to him, “Is there
not a
woman among the
daughters of your
relatives, or among
all our
people, that
you must
go to
take a
wife from the
uncircumcised Philistines?” But
Samson said to his
father, “
Get her for me, for
she is
right in
my eyes.”
(NIV)
Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring towards him.
Then
Samson went down with his
father and
mother to
Timnah, and they
came to the
vineyards of
Timnah. And behold, a
young lion came toward him roaring.
(NIV)
Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her.
Then he
went down and
talked with the
woman, and she was
right in
Samson’s eyes.
(NIV)
Now his father went down to see the woman. And there Samson held a feast, as was customary for young men.
His
father went down to the
woman, and
Samson prepared a
feast there, for so the
young men used to
do.
(NIV)
‘Let me tell you a riddle,’ Samson said to them. ‘If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.
And
Samson said to them, “Let me now
put a
riddle to you. If you
can tell me what it is, within the
seven days of the
feast, and
find it out, then I will
give you
thirty linen garments and
thirty changes of
clothes,
(NIV)
On the fourth day, they said to Samson’s wife, ‘Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to steal our property?’
On the
fourth day they
said to
Samson’s wife,
“
Entice your
husband to
tell us what the
riddle is, lest we
burn you and your
father’s house with
fire. Have you
invited us here to
impoverish us?”
(NIV)
Then Samson’s wife threw herself on him, sobbing, ‘You hate me! You don’t really love me. 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?’
And
Samson’s wife wept over him and
said,
“You only
hate me; you do
not love me. You have
put a
riddle to my
people, and you have
not told me what it is.” And he
said to her, “Behold, I have
not told my
father nor my
mother, and shall I
tell you?”
(NIV)
And Samson’s wife was given to one of his companions who had attended him at the feast.
And
Samson’s wife was given to
his companion,
who had been his
best man.
(NIV)
Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, ‘I’m going to my wife’s room.’ But her father would not let him go in.
After some
days, at the
time of
wheat harvest,
Samson went to
visit his
wife with a
young goat. And he
said, “I will
go in to my
wife in the
chamber.” But her
father would
not allow him to
go in.
(NIV)
Samson said to them, ‘This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.’
And
Samson said to them, “This
time I shall be
innocent in
regard to the
Philistines, when I
do them
harm.”
(NIV)
So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails,
So
Samson went and
caught 300 foxes and
took torches. And he
turned them
tail to tail and
put a torch between each pair of
tails.
(NIV)
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.’
So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.
Then the
Philistines said, “
Who has
done this?” And they
said, “
Samson, the
son-in-law of the
Timnite, because he has
taken his
wife and
given her to his
companion.” And the
Philistines came up and
burned her and her
father with
fire.
(NIV)
Samson said to them, ‘Since you’ve acted like this, I swear that I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.’
And
Samson said to them, “
If this is what you
do, I swear I will be
avenged on you, and
after that I will
quit.”
(NIV)
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.’
And the
men of
Judah said, “
Why have you
come up against us?” They
said, “We have
come up to
bind Samson, to
do to him as he
did to
us.”
(NIV)
Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, ‘Don’t you realise that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?’
He answered, ‘I merely did to them what they did to me.’
Then
3,000 men of
Judah went down to the
cleft of the
rock of
Etam, and
said to
Samson, “Do you
not know that 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 have I
done to
them.”
(NIV)
They said to him, ‘We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.’
Samson said, ‘Swear to me that you won’t kill me yourselves.’
And they
said to him, “We have
come down to
bind you, that we may
give you into the
hands of the
Philistines.” And
Samson said to them, “
Swear to me that you will not
attack me yourselves.”
(NIV)
Then Samson said,
‘With a donkey’s jawbone
I have made donkeys of them.
With a donkey’s jawbone
I have killed a thousand men.’
And
Samson said,
“
With the
jawbone of a
donkey,
heaps upon heaps,
with the
jawbone of a
donkeyhave I
struck down a
thousand men.”
(NIV)
One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her.
Samson went to
Gaza, and there he
saw a
prostitute, and he
went in to her.
(NIV)
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. They made no move during the night, saying, ‘At dawn we’ll kill him.’
The
Gazites were
told, “
Samson has
come here.” And they
surrounded the place and
set an ambush for him all
night at the
gate of the
city. They
kept quiet all night,
saying, “Let us wait
till the
light of the
morning; then we will
kill him.”
(NIV)
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.
But
Samson lay till midnight, and at
midnight he
arose and
took hold of the
doors of the
gate of the
city and the
two posts, and pulled them
up,
bar and all, and
put them
on his
shoulders and
carried them
to the
top of the
hill that is in
front of
Hebron.
(NIV)
So Delilah said to Samson, ‘Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.’
So
Delilah said to Samson, “
Please tell me where your
great strength lies, and how you might be
bound, that one
could subdue
you.”
(NIV)
Samson answered her, ‘If anyone ties me with seven fresh bow-strings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.’
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.”
(NIV)
With men hidden in the room, she called to him, ‘Samson, the Philistines are upon you!’ But he snapped the bow-strings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
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.
(NIV)
Then Delilah said to Samson, ‘You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.’
Then
Delilah said to Samson, “
Behold, you have
mocked me and
told me
lies.
Please tell me
how you might be
bound.”
(NIV)
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!’ But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.
So
Delilah took new ropes and
bound him with them and
said to him, “The
Philistines are
upon you,
Samson!” And the
men lying in
ambush were in an inner
chamber. But he
snapped the ropes off his
arms like a
thread.
(NIV)
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
Then
Delilah said to Samson, “
Until now you have
mocked me and
told me
lies.
Tell me how you might be
bound.” And he
said to her, “
If you
weave the
seven locks of
my head with the
web and
fasten it tight
with the
pin^, then I shall
become weak and be
like any other
man.”
(NIV)
and tightened it with the pin.
Again she called to him, ‘Samson, the Philistines are upon you!’ He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.
So while
he slept, Delilah took the
seven locks of
his head and
wove them
into the
web. And she made them
tight with the
pin and
said to him, “The
Philistines are
upon you,
Samson!” But he
awoke from his
sleep and
pulled away the
pin, the
loom, and the
web.
(NIV)
Then she called, ‘Samson, the Philistines are upon you!’
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.
And she
said, “The
Philistines are
upon you,
Samson!” And he
awoke from his
sleep and
said, “I will
go out as at other
times and
shake myself free.” But he did
not know that the
Lord had
left him.
(NIV)
Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, ‘Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.’
Now the
lords of the
Philistines gathered to
offer a
great sacrifice to
Dagon their
god and to
rejoice, and they
said, “Our
god has
given Samson our enemy into our
hand.”
(NIV)
While they were in high spirits, 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,
And when their
hearts were merry, they
said, “
Call Samson, that he may
entertain us.” So they
called Samson out of the
prison, and he
entertained them. They made him
stand between the
pillars.
(NIV)
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.’
And
Samson said to the
young man who
held him by the
hand, “
Let me
feel the
pillars on
which the
house rests, that I may
lean against them.”
(NIV)
Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.
Now the
house was
full of
men and
women.
All the
lords of the
Philistines were
there, and
on the
roof there were about
3,000 men and
women, who
looked on while
Samson entertained.
(NIV)
Then Samson prayed to the
Lord, ‘Sovereign
Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.’
Then
Samson called to the
Lord and
said, “O
Lord God,
please remember me and
please strengthen me
only this once, O
God, that I may be
avenged on the
Philistines for my
two eyes.”
(NIV)
Then Samson reached towards 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,
And
Samson grasped the
two middle pillars on
which the
house rested, and he leaned his
weight against them, his
right hand on the
one and
his left hand on the
other.
(NIV)
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.
And
Samson said, “Let
me die with the
Philistines.” Then he
bowed with all his
strength, and the
house fell upon the
lords and
upon all the
people who
were in it. So the
dead whom he
killed at his
death were
more than those whom he had
killed during
his life.
(NIV)
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets,
And what more shall I
say?
For time would
fail me to
tell of Gideon,
Barak,
Samson,
Jephthah, of
David and Samuel and the
prophets—
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