Judges 15:1-8

Expanded Bible

Samson Troubles the Philistines

15 At the time of the wheat harvest [^Clate May or early June], Samson went to visit his wife, taking a young goat with him [^Cas a gift]. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room,” but her father would not let him go in.

² He said to Samson, “I thought you really hated your wife, so I gave her to your ·best man [companion; 14:20]. ·Her younger sister is [^LIs not her younger sister…?] more beautiful. Take her instead.”

³ But Samson said to them, “This time ·no one will blame me [I am justified/blameless/innocent] for hurting you Philistines!” ⁴ So Samson went out and caught three hundred ·foxes [or jackals]. He took two at a time, tied their tails together, and then tied a torch to the tails of each pair of ·foxes [or jackals]. ⁵ After he lit the torches, he let the ·foxes [or jackals] loose in the grainfields of the Philistines so that he burned up their standing grain, the ·piles [heaps; shocks] of grain, their vineyards, and their olive trees.

⁶ The Philistines asked, “Who did this?”

Someone told them, “Samson, the son-in-law of the ·man from Timnah [^LTimnite], did because his father-in-law gave his wife to his ·best man [companion].”

So the Philistines burned Samson’s wife and her father to death. ⁷ Then Samson said to the Philistines, “Since you did this, I won’t stop until I ·pay you back [get revenge on you]!” ⁸ Samson ·attacked the Philistines and killed many of them [^Lstruck them down calf on thigh with a great slaughter]. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.