Parallel Bible results for "judges 15"

Judges 15

Common English Bible CEB

1 Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing along a young goat. He said, "Let me go into my wife's bedroom." But her father wouldn't allow him to go in.

2 Her father said, "I was so sure that you had completely rejected her that I gave her in marriage to one of your companions. Don't you think her younger sister is even better? Let her be your wife instead."

3 Samson replied, "No one can blame me now for being ready to bring down trouble on the Philistines!"

4 Then Samson went and caught three hundred foxes. He took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails.

5 He lit the torches and released the foxes into the Philistines' grain fields. So he burned the stacked grain, standing grain, vineyards, and olive orchards.

6 The Philistines inquired, "Who did this?" So it was reported, "Samson the Timnite's son-in-law did it, because his father-in-law gave his wife in marriage to one of his companions." So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.

7 Samson then responded to them, "If this is how you act, then I won't stop until I get revenge on you!"

8 He struck them hard, taking their legs right out from under them. Then he traveled down and stayed in a cave in the rock at Etam.

9 The Philistines marched up, made camp in Judah, and released their forces on Lehi.

10 The people of Judah asked, "Why have you marched up against us?" "We've marched up to take Samson prisoner," they replied, "and to do to him just what he did to us."

11 So three thousand people from Judah traveled down to the cave in the rock at Etam and said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?" But he told them, "I did to them just what they did to me."

12 Then the people of Judah said to him, "We've come down to take you prisoner so we can turn you over to the Philistines." Samson responded to them, "Just promise that you won't attack me yourselves."

13 "We won't," they said to him. "We'll only take you prisoner so we can turn you over to them. We won't kill you." Then they tied him up with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.

14 When Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines met him and came out shouting. The LORD's spirit rushed over him, the ropes on his arms became like burned-up linen, and the ties melted right off his hands.

15 He found a donkey's fresh jawbone, picked it up, and used it to attack one thousand men.

16 Samson said, "With a donkey's jawbone, stacks on stacks! With a donkey's jawbone, I've killed one thousand men."

17 When he finished speaking, he tossed away the jawbone. So that place became known as Ramath-lehi.

18 Now Samson was very thirsty, so he called out to the LORD, "You are the one who allowed this great victory to be accomplished by your servant's hands. Am I now going to die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"

19 So God split open the hollow rock in Lehi, and water flowed out of it. When Samson drank, his energy returned and he was recharged. Thus that place is still called by the name En-hakkore in Lehi today.

20 Samson led Israel for twenty years during the time of the Philistines.

The Message Bible MSG

1 Later on - it was during the wheat harvest - Samson visited his bride, bringing a young goat. He said, "Let me see my wife - show me her bedroom."

2 He said, "I concluded that by now you hated her with a passion, so I gave her to your best man. But her little sister is even more beautiful. Why not take her instead?"

3 Samson said, "That does it. This time when I wreak havoc on the Philistines, I'm blameless."

4 Samson then went out and caught three hundred jackals. He lashed the jackals' tails together in pairs and tied a torch between each pair of tails.

5 He then set fire to the torches and let them loose in the Philistine fields of ripe grain. Everything burned, both stacked and standing grain, vineyards and olive orchards - everything.

6 The Philistines said, "Who did this?" They were told, "Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite who took his bride and gave her to his best man." The Philistines went up and burned both her and her father to death.

7 Samson then said, "If this is the way you're going to act, I swear I'll get even with you. And I'm not quitting till the job's done!"

8 With that he tore into them, ripping them limb from limb - a huge slaughter. Then he went down and stayed in a cave at Etam Rock.

9 The Philistines set out and made camp in Judah, preparing to attack Lehi (Jawbone).

10 When the men of Judah asked, "Why have you come up against us?" they said, "We're out to get Samson. We're going after Samson to do to him what he did to us."

11 Three companies of men from Judah went down to the cave at Etam Rock and said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines already bully and lord it over us? So what's going on with you, making things even worse?" He said, "It was tit for tat. I only did to them what they did to me."

12 They said, "Well, we've come down here to tie you up and turn you over to the Philistines." Samson said, "Just promise not to hurt me."

13 "We promise," they said. "We will tie you up and surrender you to them but, believe us, we won't kill you." They proceeded to tie him with new ropes and led him up from the Rock.

14 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him, shouting in triumph. And then the Spirit of God came on him with great power. The ropes on his arms fell apart like flax on fire; the thongs slipped off his hands.

15 He spotted a fresh donkey jawbone, reached down and grabbed it, and with it killed the whole company.

16 And Samson said, With a donkey's jawbone I made heaps of donkeys of them. With a donkey's jawbone I killed an entire company.

17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone. He named that place Ramath Lehi (Jawbone Hill).

18 Now he was suddenly very thirsty. He called out to God, "You have given your servant this great victory. Are you going to abandon me to die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"

19 So God split open the rock basin in Lehi; water gushed out and Samson drank. His spirit revived - he was alive again! That's why it's called En Hakkore (Caller's Spring). It's still there at Lehi today.

20 Samson judged Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.