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Judges
Chapter 16
1
Then went Samson to Gaza,
and
saw there an harlot,
and
went in unto her.
2
And it was told the Gazites, saying,
"Samson
has come here."
And
they compassed him in,
and
laid wait for him all night
in
the gate of the city,
and
were quiet all the night, saying,
'In
the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.'
3
And Samson lay till midnight,
and
arose at midnight,
and
took the doors of the gate of the city,
and
the two posts,
and
went away with them,
bar
and all,
and
put them upon his shoulders,
and
carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.
4
And it came to pass afterward,
that
he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek,
whose
name was Delilah.
5
And rulers/lords of the Philistines came up unto her,
and
said unto her,
"Entice
him, and see wherein his great strength lies
and
by what means we may prevail against him,
that
we may bind him to afflict him.
And
we will give you all every one of us
eleven
hundred pieces of silver."
6
And Delilah said to Samson,
"Tell
me, Please/I pray you, wherein your great strength lies,
and
wherewith you might be bound to afflict you."
7
And Samson said unto her,
"If
they bind me with seven green cords
that
were never dried,
then
shall I be weak,
and
be as another man."
8
Then the rulers/lords of the Philistines
brought
up to her seven green cords
which
had not been dried,
and
she bound him with them.
9
Now there were men lying in wait,
abiding
with her in the chamber.
And
she said unto him,
"The
Philistines be upon you, Samson."
And
he broke the cords,
as
a thread of tow is broken when it touches the fire.
So his strength was not known.
10
And Delilah said unto Samson,
"Behold,
you have mocked me,
and
told me lies.
Now tell me, Please/I pray you, wherewith you might be bound."
11
And he said unto her,
"If
they bind me fast with new ropes
that
never were occupied,
then
shall I be weak,
and
be as another man."
12
Delilah therefore took new ropes,
and
bound him therewith, and said unto him,
"The
Philistines be upon you, Samson."
And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber.
And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.
13
And Delilah said unto Samson,
"Hitherto
you have mocked me,
and
told me lies.
Tell me wherewith you might be bound."
And
he said unto her,
"If
you weave the seven locks of my head with the web."
{the unfinished material on a loom}
14
And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him,
"The
Philistines be upon you, Samson."
And
he awaked out of his sleep,
and
went away with the pin of the beam,
and
with the web.
15
And she said unto him,
"How
can you say, I love you,
when
your heart is not with me?
You
have mocked me these three times,
and
have not told me wherein your great strength lies."
16
And it came to pass,
when
she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him,
so
that his soul was vexed unto death . . . 17
that
he told her all his heart, and said unto her,
"There
has not come a razor upon my head . . .
for
I have been a Nazarite unto 'Elohiym/Godhead
from
my mother's womb.
If
I be shaven, then my strength will go from me,
and
I shall become weak, and be like any other man."
18
And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart,
she
sent and called for rulers/lords of the Philistines, saying,
"Come
up this once,
for
he has showed me all his heart."
Then
the rulers/lords of the Philistines came up unto her,
and
brought money in their hand.
19
And she made him sleep upon her knees
and
she called for a man,
and
she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.
And she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
20 And she said, "The Philistines be upon you, Samson."
And
he awoke out of his sleep, and said,
"I
will go out as at other times before, and shake myself."
And he understood not that Jehovah/God was departed from him.
21
But the Philistines took him,
and
put out his eyes,
and
brought him down to Gaza,
and
bound him with fetters of brass
and
he did grind in the prison house.
{Note: They blinded Samson and used his as an oxen to grind grain.}
22
However the hair of his head began to grow again
after
he was shaven.
23
Then the rulers/lords of the Philistines
gathered
them together
for
to offer a great sacrifice
unto
Dagon their 'elohiym/gods,
and
to rejoice . . .
for
they said, "Our 'elohiym/gods
has
delivered Samson our enemy into our hand."
24
And when the people saw him,
they
praised their 'elohiym/gods . . .
for
they said, "Our 'elohiym/gods
has
delivered into our hands our enemy,
and
the destroyer of our country,
which
slew many of us."
25
And it came to pass,
when
their hearts were merry,
that
they said,
"Call
for Samson, that he may make us sport."
And
they called for Samson out of the prison house;
and
he made them sport.
And they set him between the pillars.
26
And Samson said unto the lad
who
held him by the hand,
"Suffer
me that I may feel the pillars
whereupon
the house stands,
that
I may lean upon them."
27
Now the house was full of men and women
and
all rulers/lords of the Philistines were there
and
there were upon the roof
about
three thousand men and women
who
beheld while Samson made sport.
28``
And Samson called unto Lord/'Adonay, and said,
O
Lord/'Adonay Jehovah/God,
remember
me, Please/I pray you, and strengthen me,
I
pray you, only this once,
O
'Elohiym/Godhead,
that
I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes."
29
And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars
upon
which the house stood,
and
on which it was borne up,
of
the one with his right hand,
and
of the other with his left.
30
And Samson said,
"Let
me die with the Philistines."
And
he bowed himself with all his might;
and
the house fell upon the rulers/lords,
and
upon all the people who were therein.
So
the dead which he slew at his death
were
more than they which he slew in his life.
31
Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down,
and
took him, and brought him up,
and
buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol
in
the burying place of Manoah his father.
And he 'ruled over'/judged Israel twenty years.
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