2

And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose 3 name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art 4 barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any 5 unclean thing: for, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very 7 terrible but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: but he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

8

Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the 9 child that shall be born. And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah 10 her husband was not with her. And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto 11 me, that came unto me the other day. And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest 12 unto the woman? And he said, I am. And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and 23 how shall we do unto him? 13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the 14 woman let her beware. She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain 16 thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. And the angel of the

LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For 17 Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD. And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass 18 we may do thee honour? And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why 19 askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is 5 secret? So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel 20 did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on 21 it, and fell on their faces to the ground. But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an 22 angel of the LORD. And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, 23 because we have seen God. But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.

24

And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, 25 and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

14 AND Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up, and told his father and his 2 mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the 3 Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for 4 7 she pleaseth me well. But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines; for at that time 5 the Philistines had dominion over Israel. Then went Samson down, and his 3 Heb. what shall be his work? 6 Heb. Mahanch-dan, as ch. 4 Heb. before thee.

1 Heb. What shall be the
manner of the child?

2 Or, what shall he do?

5 Or, wonderful.

xviii. 12. 7 Heb. she is right in mine cycs.

father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, 6 behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. 7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. 8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the 9 carcase of the lion. And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did cat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.

10

So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast ; 11 for so used the young men to do. And it came to pass, when they saw him, 12 that they brought thirty companions to be with him. And Samson said unto

them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty 13 sheets and thirty change of garments: but if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said 14 unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat,

And out of the strong came forth sweetness.

15 And they could not in three days expound the riddle. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with 16 fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so? And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, 17 and shall I tell it thee? And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people. 18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down,

What is sweeter than honey?

And what is stronger than a lion?

And he said unto them, If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, ye had not 19 found out my riddle. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their 5 spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle.

20

15

And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house. But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the 2 chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in. And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion is not her younger sister fairer than she? 6 take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

3

And Samson said concerning them, 7 Now shall I be more blameless than the 4 Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took 8 firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a 5 firebrand in the midst between two tails. And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both 6 the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives. Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire. And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged 8 of you, and after that I will cease. And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

7

1 Heb. in meeting him.

2 Or, shirts.

3 Heb. to possess us, or, to
impoverish us.

4 Or, the rest of the seven
days, &c.

5 Or, apparel.

6 Heb. let her be thine.

7 Or, Now shall I be blame

less from the Philistines, though, &c.

8 Or, torches.

9

Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in 10 Lehi. And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done 11 to us. Then three thousand men of Judah I went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did 12 unto me, so have I done unto them. And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me your13 selves. And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands 2 loosed from off his 15 hands. And he found a 3 new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and 16 took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. And Samson said,

With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps,

With the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.

17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place 5 Ramath-lehi.

18

And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for 19 thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof 7 En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

20 8 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

16

Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there 9 an harlot, and went in unto her. And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they com2 passed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were 10-quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. 3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, 11 bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.

4

And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman 12 in the valley of Sorek, 5 whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to 13 afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

6

And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength 7 lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven 14 15 green withs that were never dried, then 8 shall I be weak, and be as 16 another man. Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound 9 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 17 toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

10

And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me 11 lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes 18 that never were occupied, then 12 shall I be weak, and be as another man. Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.

1 Heb. went down.

2 Heb. were melted.

3 Heb. moist.

4 Heb. an heap, two heaps.
5 Heb. That is, the lifting
up of the jaw bone, or, the
casting away of the jaw-
bonc.

6 Or, Lehi.

7 That is, the well of him
that called, or, cried.

8 He seems to have judged
South-west Israel during
twenty years of their ser-
vitude of the Philistines.
9 Heb. a woman an harlot.
10 Heb. silent.

11 Heb. with the bar.

12 Or, by the brook.
13 Or, humble.

14 Or, new cords.
15 Heb. moist.
16 Heb. one.

17 Heb. smelleth.

18 Heb. wherewith work hath not been done.

13

And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.

And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If 14 thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.

15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me 16 wherein thy great strength lieth. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; 17 that he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

18

And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath showed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and 19 brought money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his 20 head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he 21 wist not that the LORD was departed from him. But the Philistines took him,

and 2 put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. 23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered 24 Samson our enemy into our hand. And when the people saw him, they praised their god for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and 25 the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he 26 made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars 27 whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld 28 while Samson made sport. And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and 6 on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other 30 with his left. And Samson said, Let 7 me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. 31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

17 AND there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah. And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from 2 thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son. 3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore

1 Ileb. shortened.

2 Heb. bored out.

3 Or, as when he was shaven.

4 Heb. and who multiplied our 6 Or, he leaned on them.

slain.

5 Heb. before them.

7 Heb. my soul.

4 it unto thee. Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a 5 graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah. And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and 6 consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

7

And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah of the family of Judah, 8 who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. And the man departed out of the city from Beth-lehem-judah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to 9 mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, 2 as he journeyed. And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Beth10 lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place. And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and 94a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. 11 So the Levite went in. And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and 12 the young man was unto him as one of his sons. And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

18 In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their 2 inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel. And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, "men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the 3 house of Micah, they lodged there. When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this 4 place? and what hast thou here? And he said unto them, Thus and thus deal5 eth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest. And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our 6 way which we go shall be prosperous. And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go.

7 Then the five men departed, and came to 6 Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no 7 magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business 8 with any man. And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and 9 their brethren said unto them, What say ye? And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: 10 and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land. When

11

ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth.

And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and 12 out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war. 8 And they went up, and pitched in Kirjath-jearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that 13 place Mahaneh-dan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjath-jearim. And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micab. 14 Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider 15 what ye have to do. And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and 9 saluted him. 16 And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the 17 children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate. And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons

1 Heb. filled the hand.
2 Heb. in making his way.
3 Or, a double suit, &c.

4 Heb. an order of garments.
5 Heb. sons.

6 Josh. xix. 47, called Leshem.

7 Heb. possessor, or, heir of restraint. 8 Heb. girded.

9 Heb. asked him of peace.