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Judges 16

The Complete Jewish Bible CJB

1 Shimshon went to 'Azah, where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her.

2 The people in 'Azah were told that Shimshon had come, so they surrounded the place where he was and also set an ambush for him all night at the city gate. Their plan was to do nothing at night, but to wait until morning and then kill him.

3 However, Shimshon stayed in bed until midnight; then he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts as well, pulled them up, bar and all, hoisted them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the hill overlooking Hevron.

4 After this, he fell in love with a woman who lived in the Sorek Valley, whose name was D'lilah.

5 The chiefs of the P'lishtim went up to her and said, "Coax him into telling you where his great strength comes from and how we can overcome him, so that we can tie him up and subdue him. If you do, each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver."

6 D'lilah said to Shimshon, "Please tell me what it is that makes you so strong, and how someone could tie you up and subdue you."

7 Shimshon replied, "If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have never been dried, I will become as weak as any other man."

8 The chiefs of the P'lishtim brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings which had not been dried, and she tied him up with them.

9 Now she had people lying in wait in the inside room. So she said to him, "Shimshon! The P'lishtim have come for you!" But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of straw breaks when it touches fire, and the source of his strength remained unknown.

10 D'lilah said to Shimshon, "You're making fun of me, telling me lies. Now, come on, tell me what it takes to tie you up."

11 "All it takes," he answered, "is to tie me up with new ropes that haven't been used. Then I'll become weak and be like anyone else."

12 So D'lilah took new ropes, tied him up, and said to him, "Shimshon! The P'lishtim have come for you!" (The people lying in wait were in the inside room.) But he broke the ropes from off his arms like a thread.

13 D'lilah said to Shimshon, "Till now you've been making fun of me and telling me lies. Tell me what it takes to tie you up." He said, "If you weave the seven locks of my hair across thread on a loom."

14 So she fastened her cloth work in the loom with a pin and wove his hair in, then said to him, "Shimshon! The P'lishtim have come for you!" He awoke from his sleep and pulled away the loom pin and the interwoven cloth.

15 She said to him, "How can you say you love me when your heart isn't with me? Three times you've made fun of me, and you haven't told me the source of your great strength."

16 Every day she kept nagging at him and pressing at him, till it bothered him to death,

17 so that he finally told her everything. He said to her, "No razor has ever touched my head, because I have been a nazir of God since I was born. If someone shaves me, then my strength will leave me; and I will be like any other man."

18 When D'lilah saw that he had really confided in her, she sent and summoned the chiefs of the P'lishtim with the message, "Come up this one last time, because he has finally told me the truth." The chiefs of the P'lishtim went up to her and brought the money with them.

19 She had him go to sleep in her lap and called for a man to shave off his seven locks of hair. Then she began tormenting him, but his strength had gone away.

20 She said, "Shimshon! The P'lishtim have come for you!" He awoke from his sleep and said, "I'll get out this time, just as I shook myself loose before." But he didn't know that ADONAI had left him.

21 So the P'lishtim seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to 'Azah. There they bound him with two bronze chains and put him to work grinding grain at the mill in the prison.

22 However, after the hair on his head had been cut off, it began growing back again.

23 The chiefs of the P'lishtim assembled to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. As they celebrated they sang, "Our god has handed over to us our enemy Shimshon."

24 Upon seeing him, the people praised their god: "Our god has handed over to us our enemy, who destroyed our land and killed so many of us."

25 When they were in high spirits they said, "Summon Shimshon to amuse us." So they called Shimshon out of the prison, and he amused them. When they put him between the columns,

26 Shimshon said to the boy holding him by the hand, "Let me feel the columns supporting the building, so that I can lean on them."

27 The building was full of men and women; and all the chiefs of the P'lishtim were there; in addition to them, there were about three thousand men and women on the roof, watching, as Shimshon performed.

28 Shimshon called to ADONAI, "Adonai ELOHIM, just this once, please, think of me, and please, give me strength, so that I can take revenge on the P'lishtim for at least one of my two eyes."

29 Shimshon got a good hold on the two middle columns supporting the building and leaned on them, on one with his right hand and on the other with his left.

30 Then, crying, "Let me die with the P'lishtim!" he pushed with all his might; and the building collapsed on the chiefs and on all the people inside. So he killed more at his death than he had killed during his life.

31 His brothers and all his father's family came down, took him, brought him up and buried him between Tzor'ah and Eshta'ol, in the tomb of his father Manoach. He had judged Isra'el twenty years.

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

1 Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and slept with her.

2 The people of Gaza were told, "Samson's here!" So they surrounded the place and waited all night at the city gate to ambush him. They were quiet all night. They thought, "We'll kill him at dawn."

3 But Samson was in bed [with the prostitute] only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors, door posts, and bar of the city gate and pulled them out. He carried them on his shoulders to the top of the hill facing Hebron.

4 After [leaving Gaza], he fell in love with a woman in the Sorek Valley. Her name was Delilah.

5 The Philistine rulers came to her and said, "Trick him, and find out what makes him so strong. Find out how we can overpower him. We want to tie him up in order to torture him. Each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver."

6 So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me what makes you so strong. How can you be tied up so that someone could torture you?"

7 Samson told her, "If someone ties me up with seven new bowstrings that are not dried out, I will be like any other man."

8 The Philistine rulers brought her seven new bowstrings that were not dried out. She tied Samson up with them.

9 Some men were hiding in the bedroom waiting for her [to tie him up]. Then she said to him, "Samson, the Philistines are attacking!" Samson snapped the bowstrings as a thread snaps when it touches fire. So no one found out why he was so strong.

10 Delilah told Samson, "Look, you're making fun of me by telling me lies. Now, tell me how you can be tied up."

11 Samson told her, "If someone ties me up tightly with new ropes that have never been used, I will be like any other man."

12 So Delilah took some new ropes and tied him up with them. Then she said to him, "Samson, the Philistines are attacking!" Some men were in her bedroom waiting to ambush him. But Samson tore the ropes off his arms as though they were strings.

13 Delilah told Samson, "You're still making fun of me by telling me lies. Tell me how you can be tied up." Samson replied, "Just weave the seven braids of my hair with the other threads in the loom."

14 So Delilah tied his braids to the loom shuttle. Then she said to him, "Samson, the Philistines are attacking!" But Samson woke up and tore his braids and the threads out of the loom shuttle.

15 Delilah said to Samson, "How can you say that you love me when your heart isn't mine? You've made fun of me three times now, but you still haven't told me what makes you so strong."

16 Every day she made his life miserable with her questions. She pestered him until he wished he were dead.

17 Finally, he told her the truth. He told her, "Because I'm a Nazirite, no one has ever cut the hair on my head. I was dedicated to God before I was born. If my hair is ever shaved off, my strength will leave me. Then I'll be like any other man."

18 When Delilah realized that he had told her everything, she sent a message to the Philistine rulers, "Come here once more." (She did this because Samson had told her everything.) So the Philistine rulers arrived with the money in their hands.

19 Delilah put Samson to sleep on her lap. She called for a man to shave off his seven braids. Then she began to torture him because his strength had left him.

20 She said, "Samson, the Philistines are attacking!" Samson woke up. He thought, "I'll get out of this as usual and shake myself free." (He didn't realize that the LORD had left him.)

21 The Philistines grabbed him. They poked out his eyes and took him to the prison in Gaza. They tied him up with double chains and made him grind grain in the mill there.

22 But his hair started to grow back as soon as it was shaved off.

23 Now, the Philistine rulers gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon and to celebrate. They said, "Our god handed Samson, our enemy, over to us."

24 When the people saw him, they praised their god. They said, "Our god gave our enemy, destroyer of our land and killer of so many, into our very hand!"

25 When all the Philistines were enjoying themselves, they said, "Call Samson in to entertain us." Samson was called from the prison, and he made them laugh. They made him stand between two columns.

26 Samson told the young man who was leading him by the hand, "Let me rest. Let me touch the columns on which the building stands so that I can lean against them."

27 The building was filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there. On the roof there were about three thousand men and women who watched Samson entertain them.

28 Then Samson called to the LORD, "Almighty LORD, please remember me! God, give me strength just one more time! Let me get even with the Philistines for at least one of my two eyes."

29 Samson felt the two middle columns on which the building stood. With his right hand on one column and his left on the other, he pushed hard against them.

30 "Let me die with the Philistines," he said. With that, he pushed with all his might, and the building fell on the rulers and everyone in it. So he killed more Philistines when he died than he had when he was alive.

31 Then his relatives and his father's whole family went to Gaza. They took Samson and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. Samson had judged Israel for 20 years.