The Bible in Basic English BBE
Orthodox Jewish Bible OJB
1 Now Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a loose woman and went in to her.
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6 Then went Shimshon to Azah (Gaza), and saw there a zonah, and went in unto her.
2 And it was said to the Gazites, Samson is here. So they went round, watching for him all day at the doorway of the town, but at night they kept quiet, saying, When daylight comes we will put him to death.
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And it was told the Azah people, saying, Shimshon is come here. And they surrounded him, and laid wait for him kol halailah in the sha’ar HaIr, and were quiet kol halailah, saying, In the ohr haboker, we shall kill him.
3 And Samson was there till the middle of the night; then he got up, and took a grip on the doors of the town, pulling them up, together with their two supports and their locks, and put them on his back and took them up to the top of the hill in front of Hebron.
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And Shimshon lay till khatzot halailah, and arose at khatzot halailah, and took the daletot sha’ar HaIr, and the two mezuzot, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of a hill that is before Chevron.
4 Now after this, he was in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek, named Delilah.
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And it came to pass afterward, that he fell in love with an isha in the Sorek Valley, whose shem was Delilah.
5 And the chiefs of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Make use of your power over him and see what is the secret of his great strength, and how we may get the better of him, and put bands on him, so that we may make him feeble; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.
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And rulers of the Pelishtim came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, see wherein his ko’ach gadol lieth, by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of kesef.
6 So Delilah said to Samson, Make clear to me now what is the secret of your great strength, and how you may be put in bands and made feeble.
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And Delilah said to Shimshon, Tell me, now, wherein thy koach gadol lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to subdue thee.
7 And Samson said to her, If seven new bow-cords which have never been made dry are knotted round me, I will become feeble and will be like any other man.
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And Shimshon said unto her, If they bind me with shivah fresh bowstrings that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as any adam.
8 So the chiefs of the Philistines gave her seven new bow-cords which had never been made dry, and she had them tightly knotted round him.
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Then the rulers of the Pelishtim brought up to her shivah fresh bowstrings which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9 Now she had men waiting secretly in the inner room; and she said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. And the cords were broken by him as a twist of thread is broken when touched by a flame. So the secret of his strength did not come to light.
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Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the cheder. And she said unto him, The Pelishtim be upon thee, Shimshon. And he broke the bowstrings, as a piece of thread is broken when it toucheth the eish. So his ko’ach was not known.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, See, you have been making sport of me with false words; now, say truly how may you be put in bands?
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And Delilah said unto Shimshon, Hinei, thou hast mocked me, and told me kezavim (lies); tell me, now, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
11 And he said to her, If they only put round me new thick cords which have never been used, then I will become feeble and will be like any other man.
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And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with avotim chadashim that never were used, then shall I be weak, and be as any adam.
12 So Delilah took new thick cords, knotting them tightly round him, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. And men were waiting secretly in the inner room. And the cords were broken off his arms like threads.
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Delilah therefore took avotim chadashim, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Pelishtim be upon thee, Shimshon. For there were ambushers lying in wait abiding in the cheder. And he broke them from off his arms like thread.
13 Then Delilah said to Samson, Up to now you have made sport of me with false words; now say truly, how may you be put in bands? And he said to her, If you get the seven twists of my hair worked into the cloth you are making and fixed with the pin, I will become feeble and will be like any other man.
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And Delilah said unto Shimshon, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me kezavim; tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the sheva braids of my head with the web [fabric on the loom],
14 So while he was sleeping she got the seven twists of his hair worked into her cloth and fixed with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. Then awaking from his sleep, he got up quickly, pulling up cloth and machine together.
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And fasten it with the pin... Again she called to him, The Pelishtim be upon thee, Shimshon. And he awakened out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the loom, and with the web.
15 And she said to him, Why do you say you are my lover when your heart is not mine? Three times you have made sport of me, and have not made clear to me the secret of your great strength.
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And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine lev is not with me? Thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy ko’ach gadol lieth.
16 So day after day she gave him no peace, for ever questioning him till his soul was troubled to death.
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And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his nefesh was vexed unto death;
17 And opening all his heart to her, he said to her, My head has never been touched by a blade, for I have been separate to God from the day of my birth: if my hair is cut off, then my strength will go from me and I will become feeble, and will be like any other man.
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That he told her all his lev, and said unto her, There hath not come a morah (razor) upon mine head; for I have been a Nazir Elohim from my mother’s beten; if I be shaven, then my ko’ach will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other adam.
18 And when Delilah saw that he had let her see into his heart, she sent word to the chiefs of the Philistines saying, Come up this time, for he has let out all his heart to me. Then the chiefs of the Philistines came to her, with the money in their hands.
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And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his lev, she sent and called for the rulers of the Pelishtim, saying, Come up this once, for he hath showed me all his lev. Then the rulers of the Pelishtim came up unto her, and brought kesef in their yad.
19 And she made him go to sleep on her knees; and she sent for a man and had his seven twists of hair cut off; and while it was being done he became feeble and his strength went from him.
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And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for an ish, and she caused him to shave off the sheva braids of his head; and she began to torment him, and his ko’ach went from him.
20 Then she said, The Philistines are on you, Samson. And awaking from his sleep, he said, I will go out as at other times, shaking myself free. But he was not conscious that the Lord had gone from him.
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And she said, The Pelishtim be upon thee, Shimshon. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before and shake myself. And he knew not that Hashem was departed from him.
21 So the Philistines took him and put out his eyes; then they took him down to Gaza, and, chaining him with bands of brass, put him to work crushing grain in the prison-house.
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But the Pelishtim took him, and gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Azah (Gaza), and bound him with fetters of nechoshet; and he did grind in the prison house.
22 But the growth of his hair was starting again after it had been cut off.
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Howbeit after he was shaven, the hair of his head began l’tzameach [to spring up; Tzemach is Moshiach] again.
23 And the chiefs of the Philistines came together to make a great offering to Dagon their god, and to be glad; for they said, Our god has given into our hands Samson our hater.
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Then rulers of the Pelishtim gathered them together for to offer a zevach gadol unto Dagon eloheihem, and to rejoice; for they said, eloheinu hath delivered Shimshon oyveinu (our enemy) into our yad.
24 And when the people saw him, they gave praise to their god; for they said, Our god has given into our hands the one who was fighting against us, who made our country waste, and who put great numbers of us to death.
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And when the people saw him, they praised eloheihem; for they said, eloheinu hath delivered into our hands oyveinu, and the destroyer of our country, which slaughtered many of us.
25 Now when their hearts were full of joy, they said, Send for Samson to make sport for us. And they sent for Samson out of the prison-house, and he made sport before them; and they put him between the pillars.
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And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Shimshon, that he may entertain us. And they called for Shimshon out of the prison house; and he entertained them; and they set him between the ammudim.
26 And Samson said to the boy who took him by the hand, Let me put my hand on the pillars supporting the house, so that I may put my back against them.
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And Shimshon said unto the na’ar that held him by the yad, Put me where I may feel the ammudim whereupon the bais standeth, that I may lean upon them.
27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and about three thousand men and women were on the roof, looking on while Samson made sport.
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Now the bais (temple) was full of anashim and nashim; and all the rulers of the Pelishtim were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand ish and isha, that beheld while Shimshon entertained.
28 And Samson, crying out to the Lord, said, O Lord God, do have me now in mind, and do make me strong only this once, O God, so that I may take one last payment from the Philistines for my two eyes.
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And Shimshon called unto Hashem, and said, Adonoi Hashem, remember me, now, and strengthen me, now, only this once, O HaElohim that I may be at once avenged of the Pelishtim for my two eyes.
29 Then Samson put his arms round the two middle pillars supporting the house, putting his weight on them, on one with his right hand and on the other with his left.
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And Shimshon took hold of the two middle ammudim upon which the bais stood and he braced himself against them, one with his right yad, and the other with his left.
30 And Samson said, Let death overtake me with the Philistines. And he put out all his strength, and the house came down on the chiefs and on all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he sent to destruction by his death were more than all those on whom he had sent destruction in his life.
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And Shimshon said, Let me die with the Pelishtim. And he pushed himself with all his ko’ach; and the bais fell upon the rulers, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slaughtered at his death were more than they which he slaughtered in his life.
31 Then his brothers and his father's people came down and took him up and put his body to rest in the earth between Zorah and Eshtaol in the resting-place of Manoah his father. And he had been judge of Israel for twenty years.
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Then his brethren and all the bais of his av came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Tzorah and Eshtaol in the kever of Manoach his av. And he judged Yisroel esrim shanah.
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The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.