Judges Chapter 16

Samson and Delilah

¹ Samson went to Gaza and saw a prostitute and slept with her. ² The Gazites heard he was there. They surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let’s wait till morning light, then kill him.” ³ But Samson lay till midnight, he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate and its two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that’s near Hebron.                                                                                  

Jud 16:1-3

            ⁴ Later he fell in love with a woman named Delilah in the Valley of Sorek. ⁵ The lords of the Philistines came and told her,

“Entice him to see where his great strength lies so we can overpower   him, tie him up, and subdue him. We’ll each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”

            ⁶ Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies and how you can be tied up.”

             ⁷ “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that haven’t been dried, I’ll become as weak as other men.”

⁸ The lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings, and she tied him up with them. ⁹ She had men lying in wait in an inner room. She said to him, “The Philistines are coming at you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings like a piece of string snaps when it touches the fire. So they didn’t find out the secret of his strength.                                                                Jud 16:4-9                   

            ¹⁰ Delilah said to Samson, “You’ve made fun of me and lied to me. Please tell me how you can be tied up.”

            ¹¹ “If they tie me up with brand new ropes, I’ll become as weak as other men.”

            ¹² So she tied him up with new ropes and said, “The Philistines are coming at you, Samson!” The men lying in wait were in an inner room. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.

            ¹³ She said to Samson, “You’ve making fun of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied up.”

            “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

¹⁴ So while he was asleep, she wove the seven locks of his hair into the web. She made them tight with the pin, and said, “The Philistines are coming at you, Samson!” But he woke up and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web. Jud 16:10-14

            ¹⁵ She said to him,

“How can you say you love me when you’re not honest with me? You’ve made fun of me three times, and haven’t told me where your great strength lies.”

                  ¹⁶When she pressed him hard day after day, it distressed him to death. ¹⁷ He told her honestly,

“A razor has never come on my head. I’ve been a Nazarite to God from birth. If I’m shaved, my strength will leave; I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he’d been straight with her, she called the lords of the Philistines, “Come up one more time. He’s told me his mind.” They came and brought her the money. ¹⁹ She had him sleep on her knees and called a man to shave off the seven locks on his head. ²⁰ She said, “The Philistines are coming at you, Samson!” He woke up and said, “I’ll go out as at other times and shake myself free.” He didn’t know the LORD had left him. ²¹ The Philistines grabbed him and gouged out his eyes. They took him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains. He ground at the mill in the prison, ²² but his hair began to grow again.                                                    Jud 16:15-22

The Death of Samson

            ²³ The lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a big sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate. “Our god has delivered our enemy to us.” ²⁴ When the people saw him, they praised their god; “Our god has delivered our enemy to us, the destroyer of our country who has killed many of us.” ²⁵ When they’d got half drunk, they said, “Call Samson so he can entertain us.” So they called him out of the prison to entertain them. They made him stand between the pillars. ²⁶ He told the boy that was holding him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars the temple rests on so I can lean on them.” ²⁷ The temple was filled with men and women, and the lords of the Philistines were there. There were about 3,000 men and women on the roof, watching while Samson entertained them.

            ²⁸ Samson called to the LORD, “Lord GOD, remember me this one time so I can be avenged on the Philistines for my eyes.” ²⁹ Samson took hold of the two middle pillars the temple rested on, and leaned his weight on them, his right hand on one, his left hand on the other. ³⁰ He said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He bowed with all his might, and the house fell on the lords and people in it. He killed more people in his death than in his life. ³¹ His brothers and family came down to get him. They took him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in Manoah’s tomb. He’d judged Israel 20 years.                                                                                                     Jud 16:23-31