Judges 16
Complete Jewish Bible
16 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.
Shofetim 16
Orthodox Jewish Bible
16 Then went Shimshon to Azah (Gaza), and saw there a zonah, and went in unto her.
2 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 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 And it came to pass afterward, that he fell in love with an isha in the Sorek Valley, whose shem was Delilah.
5 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 And Delilah said to Shimshon, Tell me, now, wherein thy koach gadol lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to subdue thee.
7 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Howbeit after he was shaven, the hair of his head began l’tzameach [to spring up; Tzemach is Moshiach] again.
23 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 praised eloheihem; for they said, eloheinu hath delivered into our hands oyveinu, and the destroyer of our country, which slaughtered many of us.
25 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
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