Jephthah and Ephraim

12 The Ephraimite forces were called out, and they crossed over to Zaphon.(A) They said to Jephthah,(B) “Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you?(C) We’re going to burn down your house over your head.”

Jephthah answered, “I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn’t save me out of their hands. When I saw that you wouldn’t help, I took my life in my hands(D) and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave me the victory(E) over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?”

Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead(F) and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh.(G) The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan(H) leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he replied, “No,” they said, “All right, say ‘Shibboleth.’” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time.

Jephthah led[a] Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in a town in Gilead.

Ibzan, Elon and Abdon

After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem(I) led Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel seven years. 10 Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.

11 After him, Elon the Zebulunite led Israel ten years. 12 Then Elon died and was buried in Aijalon(J) in the land of Zebulun.

13 After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon,(K) led Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons,(L) who rode on seventy donkeys.(M) He led Israel eight years. 15 Then Abdon son of Hillel died and was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.(N)

The Birth of Samson

13 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines(O) for forty years.(P)

A certain man of Zorah,(Q) named Manoah,(R) from the clan of the Danites,(S) had a wife who was childless,(T) unable to give birth. The angel of the Lord(U) appeared to her(V) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.(W) Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink(X) and that you do not eat anything unclean.(Y) You will become pregnant and have a son(Z) whose head is never to be touched by a razor(AA) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,(AB) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead(AC) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God(AD) came to me. He looked like an angel of God,(AE) very awesome.(AF) I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine(AG) or other fermented drink(AH) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.(AI)’”

Then Manoah(AJ) prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God(AK) you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”

God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me(AL) the other day!”

11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”

“I am,” he said.

12 So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?”

13 The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink(AM) nor eat anything unclean.(AN) She must do everything I have commanded her.”

15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat(AO) for you.”

16 The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering,(AP) offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize(AQ) that it was the angel of the Lord.)

17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name,(AR) so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”

18 He replied, “Why do you ask my name?(AS) It is beyond understanding.[b] 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock(AT) to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20 As the flame(AU) blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.(AV) 21 When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized(AW) that it was the angel of the Lord.

22 “We are doomed(AX) to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen(AY) God!”

23 But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”(AZ)

24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.(BA) He grew(BB) and the Lord blessed him,(BC) 25 and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir(BD) him while he was in Mahaneh Dan,(BE) between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson’s Marriage

14 Samson(BF) went down to Timnah(BG) and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.”(BH)

His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people?(BI) Must you go to the uncircumcised(BJ) Philistines to get a wife?(BK)

But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord,(BL) who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines;(BM) for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)(BN)

Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him(BO) so that he tore the lion apart(BP) with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her.

Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.

10 Now his father went down to see the woman. And there Samson held a feast,(BQ) as was customary for young men. 11 When the people saw him, they chose thirty men to be his companions.

12 “Let me tell you a riddle,(BR)” Samson said to them. “If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast,(BS) I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.(BT) 13 If you can’t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.”

“Tell us your riddle,” they said. “Let’s hear it.”

14 He replied,

“Out of the eater, something to eat;
    out of the strong, something sweet.”(BU)

For three days they could not give the answer.

15 On the fourth[c] day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax(BV) your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death.(BW) Did you invite us here to steal our property?”

16 Then Samson’s wife threw herself on him, sobbing, “You hate me! You don’t really love me.(BX) You’ve given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.”

“I haven’t even explained it to my father or mother,” he replied, “so why should I explain it to you?” 17 She cried the whole seven days(BY) of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people.

18 Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said to him,

“What is sweeter than honey?
    What is stronger than a lion?”(BZ)

Samson said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer,
    you would not have solved my riddle.”

19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.(CA) He went down to Ashkelon,(CB) struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger,(CC) he returned to his father’s home. 20 And Samson’s wife was given to one of his companions(CD) who had attended him at the feast.

Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines

15 Later on, at the time of wheat harvest,(CE) Samson(CF) took a young goat(CG) and went to visit his wife. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room.”(CH) But her father would not let him go in.

“I was so sure you hated her,” he said, “that I gave her to your companion.(CI) Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.”

Samson said to them, “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.” So he went out and caught three hundred foxes(CJ) and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch(CK) to every pair of tails, lit the torches(CL) and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks(CM) and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.

When the Philistines asked, “Who did this?” they were told, “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his companion.(CN)

So the Philistines went up and burned her(CO) and her father to death.(CP) Samson said to them, “Since you’ve acted like this, I swear that I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.” He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock(CQ) of Etam.(CR)

The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi.(CS) 10 The people of Judah asked, “Why have you come to fight us?”

“We have come to take Samson prisoner,” they answered, “to do to him as he did to us.”

11 Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us?(CT) What have you done to us?”

He answered, “I merely did to them what they did to me.”

12 They said to him, “We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”

Samson said, “Swear to me(CU) that you won’t kill me yourselves.”

13 “Agreed,” they answered. “We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes(CV) and led him up from the rock. 14 As he approached Lehi,(CW) the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.(CX) The ropes on his arms became like charred flax,(CY) and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.(CZ)

16 Then Samson said,

“With a donkey’s jawbone
    I have made donkeys of them.[d](DA)
With a donkey’s jawbone
    I have killed a thousand men.”

17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.[e](DB)

18 Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord,(DC) “You have given your servant this great victory.(DD) Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived.(DE) So the spring(DF) was called En Hakkore,[f] and it is still there in Lehi.

20 Samson led[g] Israel for twenty years(DG) in the days of the Philistines.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 12:7 Traditionally judged; also in verses 8-14
  2. Judges 13:18 Or is wonderful
  3. Judges 14:15 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew seventh
  4. Judges 15:16 Or made a heap or two; the Hebrew for donkey sounds like the Hebrew for heap.
  5. Judges 15:17 Ramath Lehi means jawbone hill.
  6. Judges 15:19 En Hakkore means caller’s spring.
  7. Judges 15:20 Traditionally judged

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus(A) who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.(B) He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi,(C) we know(D) that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs(E) you are doing if God were not with him.”(F)

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a](G)

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.(H) Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit.(I) You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d](J)

“How can this be?”(K) Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,”(L) said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know,(M) and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.(N) 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven(O) except the one who came from heaven(P)—the Son of Man.[e](Q) 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,(R) so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[f](S) 15 that everyone who believes(T) may have eternal life in him.”[g](U)

16 For God so loved(V) the world that he gave(W) his one and only Son,(X) that whoever believes(Y) in him shall not perish but have eternal life.(Z) 17 For God did not send his Son into the world(AA) to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.(AB) 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned,(AC) but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.(AD) 19 This is the verdict: Light(AE) has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.(AF) 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.(AG) 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

John Testifies Again About Jesus

22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.(AH) 23 Now John(AI) also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.)(AJ) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.(AK) 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi,(AL) that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified(AM) about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’(AN) 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom.(AO) The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.(AP) 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[h]

31 The one who comes from above(AQ) is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth.(AR) The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard,(AS) but no one accepts his testimony.(AT) 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent(AU) speaks the words of God, for God[i] gives the Spirit(AV) without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.(AW) 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,(AX) but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Footnotes

  1. John 3:3 The Greek for again also means from above; also in verse 7.
  2. John 3:6 Or but spirit
  3. John 3:7 The Greek is plural.
  4. John 3:8 The Greek for Spirit is the same as that for wind.
  5. John 3:13 Some manuscripts Man, who is in heaven
  6. John 3:14 The Greek for lifted up also means exalted.
  7. John 3:15 Some interpreters end the quotation with verse 21.
  8. John 3:30 Some interpreters end the quotation with verse 36.
  9. John 3:34 Greek he

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