Judges 16:14

14 and fastenest (in)to the earth a nail bound about with these hairs, I shall be (made) feeble. And when Delilah had done this, she said to him, Samson, the Philistines be upon thee! And he rose from sleep, and he drew out the nail, with the hairs and a strong bond tied thereto. (and tightenest the hair, bound in the loom, with a peg, I shall be made as feeble as other men. And when Delilah had done this, she said to him, Samson, the Philistines be upon thee! And he arose from sleep, and he drew out the peg, with his hair tightly tied to it, in a strong bond.)

Judges 16:14 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 16:14

And she fastened it with the pin
That is, after she had interwoven the locks of his hair into the warp, she fastened the beam on which it was with the pin, that it might not roll back; or else her machine or loom to the ground, that it might stand more firmly; or the web into which the hair was woven, with the hair itself; which of them is right, it is difficult to say: but if the addition of the Septuagint version can be admitted as genuine, which supplies some things which seem to be wanting, and which best agrees with what follows, the whole will be plain and easy, and which after the preceding verse runs thus;

``and fastenest "them" with a pin to the wall, then shall I be weak as another man; and it came to pass when he slept, and Delilah took seven locks of his head, and wove "them" in the web, and fastened them with a pin to the wall;''

and then it follows as here:

and said unto him, the Philistines be upon thee, Samson;
as she had twice before:

and he awaked out of his sleep;
in which he was during her weaving his locks into the web; and this makes it probable that he was in the same circumstances when she bound him both with withs and ropes, though it is not expressed:

and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web;
carried off not the pin of the beam only, but the beam itself, and the warp on it, and the whole web into which his hair was woven. The Septuagint version is, he took the pin of the web out of the wall; and the Vulgate Latin, the pin with the hairs and web.

Judges 16:14 In-Context

12 With the which Delilah bound him again, and she cried, Samson, the Philistines be upon thee! the while ambushments were made ready in a closet (while the ambushers were waiting in the closet). And Samson brake his bonds as (if they were the) threads of (spider) webs.

13 And Delilah said again to him, How long shalt thou deceive me, and speak false(ly)? Show thou to me, with what thing thou shalt be bound. To whom Samson answered, he said, If thou pleatest (the) seven gobbets of (the) hair of mine head with a strong bond (To whom Samson answered, and said, If thou pleatest the seven locks of the hair of my head into thy loom),

14 and fastenest (in)to the earth a nail bound about with these hairs, I shall be (made) feeble. And when Delilah had done this, she said to him, Samson, the Philistines be upon thee! And he rose from sleep, and he drew out the nail, with the hairs and a strong bond tied thereto. (and tightenest the hair, bound in the loom, with a peg, I shall be made as feeble as other men. And when Delilah had done this, she said to him, Samson, the Philistines be upon thee! And he arose from sleep, and he drew out the peg, with his hair tightly tied to it, in a strong bond.)

15 And Delilah said to him, How sayest thou, that thou lovest me, since thine inward affection is not with me? By three times thou hast lied to me, and wouldest not say to me, wherein is thy most strength (where thy great strength lieth).

16 And when she was dis-easeful to him, and cleaved to him continually by many days, and to him gave no space to rest, his life failed, and was made weary unto the death. (And when she had made his life miserable, and continually cleaved to him for many days, and gave him no time for any rest, his strength, or his resolve, failed, and he was made weary unto the death.)