Holman Christian Standard Bible CSB
English Standard Version ESV
1 Later on, during the wheat harvest, Samson [took] a young goat [as a gift] and visited his wife. "I want to go to my wife in her room," he said. But her father would not let him enter.
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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.
2 "I was sure you hated her," her father said, "so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Isn't her younger sister more beautiful than she is? Why not take her instead?"
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And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead. ”
3 Samson said to them, "This time I won't be responsible when I harm the Philistines."
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And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm. ”
4 So he went out and caught 300 foxes. He took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails.
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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.
5 Then he ignited the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the piles of grain and the standing grain as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
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And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards.
6 Then the Philistines asked, "Who did this?" They were told, "[It was] Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, because he has taken Samson's wife and given her to another man." So the Philistines went to her and her father and burned [them] to death.
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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.
7 Then Samson told them, "Because you did this, I swear that I won't rest until I have taken vengeance on you."
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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. ”
8 He tore them limb from limb with a great slaughter, and he went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
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And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
9 The Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and raided Lehi.
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Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a raid on Lehi.
10 So the men of Judah said, "Why have you attacked us?" They replied, "We have come to arrest Samson and pay him back for what he did to us."
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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. ”
11 Then 3,000 men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?" "I have done to them what they did to me," he answered.
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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. ”
12 They said to him, "We've come to arrest you and hand you over to the Philistines." Then Samson told them, "Swear to me that you yourselves won't kill me."
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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. ”
13 "No," they said, "we won't kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them." So they tied him up with two new ropes and led him away from the rock.
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They said to him, “No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you. ” So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord took control of him, and the ropes that were on his arms became like burnt flax and his bonds fell off his wrists.
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When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands.
15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand, took it, and killed 1,000 men with it.
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And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men.
16 Then Samson said: With the jawbone of a donkey I have piled them in a heap. With the jawbone of a donkey I have killed 1,000 men.
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And Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men. ”
17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone and named that place Ramath-lehi.
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As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place was called Ramath-lehi.
18 He became very thirsty and called out to the Lord: "You have accomplished this great victory through Your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"
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And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised? ”
19 So God split a hollow place [in the ground] at Lehi, and water came out of it. After Samson drank, his strength returned, and he revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.
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And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore; it is at Lehi to this day.
20 And he judged Israel 20 years in the days of the Philistines.
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And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025