Parallel Bible results for "judges 13"

Judges 13

New Revised Standard NRS

1 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren, having borne no children.

3 And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son.

4 Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat anything unclean,

5 for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines."

6 Then the woman came and told her husband, "A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like that of an angel of God, most awe-inspiring; I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name;

7 but he said to me, "You shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.' "

8 Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, "O Lord, I pray, let the man of God whom you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do concerning the boy who will be born."

9 God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her.

10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, "The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me."

11 Manoah got up and followed his wife, and came to the man and said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to this woman?" And he said, "I am."

12 Then Manoah said, "Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy's rule of life; what is he to do?"

13 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "Let the woman give heed to all that I said to her.

14 She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine. She is not to drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. She is to observe everything that I commanded her."

15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "Allow us to detain you, and prepare a kid for you."

16 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "If you detain me, I will not eat your food; but if you want to prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord." (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.)

17 Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?"

18 But the angel of the Lord said to him, "Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful."

19 So Manoah took the kid with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to him who works wonders.

20 When the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground.

21 The angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord.

22 And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God."

23 But his wife said to him, "If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these."

24 The woman bore a son, and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him.

25 The spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

The Message Bible MSG

1 And then the People of Israel were back at it again, doing what was evil in God's sight. God put them under the domination of the Philistines for forty years.

2 At that time there was a man named Manoah from Zorah from the tribe of Dan. His wife was barren and childless.

3 The angel of God appeared to her and told her, "I know that you are barren and childless, but you're going to become pregnant and bear a son.

4 But take much care: Drink no wine or beer; eat nothing ritually unclean.

5 You are, in fact, pregnant right now, carrying a son. No razor will touch his head - the boy will be God's Nazirite from the moment of his birth. He will launch the deliverance from Philistine oppression."

6 The woman went to her husband and said, "A man of God came to me. He looked like the angel of God - terror laced with glory! I didn't ask him where he was from and he didn't tell me his name,

7 but he told me, 'You're pregnant. You're going to give birth to a son. Don't drink any wine or beer and eat nothing ritually unclean. The boy will be God's Nazirite from the moment of birth to the day of his death.'"

8 Manoah prayed to God: "Master, let the man of God you sent come to us again and teach us how to raise this boy who is to be born."

9 God listened to Manoah. God's angel came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field; her husband Manoah wasn't there with her.

10 She jumped to her feet and ran and told her husband: "He's back! The man who came to me that day!"

11 Manoah got up and, following his wife, came to the man. He said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to my wife?" He said, "I am."

12 Manoah said, "So. When what you say comes true, what do you have to tell us about this boy and his work?"

13 The angel of God said to Manoah,

14 "Keep in mind everything I told the woman. Eat nothing that comes from the vine: Drink no wine or beer; eat no ritually unclean foods. She's to observe everything I commanded her."

15 Manoah said to the angel of God, "Please, stay with us a little longer; we'll prepare a meal for you - a young goat."

16 God's angel said to Manoah, "Even if I stay, I won't eat your food. But if you want to prepare a Whole-Burnt-Offering for God, go ahead - offer it!" Manoah had no idea that he was talking to the angel of God.

17 Then Manoah asked the angel of God, "What's your name? When your words come true, we'd like to honor you."

18 The angel of God said, "What's this? You ask for my name? You wouldn't understand - it's sheer wonder."

19 So Manoah took the kid and the Grain-Offering and sacrificed them on a rock altar to God who works wonders.

20 As the flames leapt up from the altar to heaven, God's angel also ascended in the altar flames. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground.

21 Manoah and his wife never saw the angel of God again.

22 He said to his wife, "We're as good as dead! We've looked on God!"

23 But his wife said, "If God were planning to kill us, he wouldn't have accepted our Whole-Burnt-Offering and Grain-Offering, or revealed all these things to us - given us this birth announcement."

24 The woman gave birth to a son. They named him Samson. The boy grew and God blessed him.

25 The Spirit of God began working in him while he was staying at a Danite camp between Zorah and Eshtaol.