参孙向非利士人报仇

15 过了些日子,在割麦的时候,参孙带着一只山羊羔去探望他妻子。他说:“我要进内室见我妻子。”他岳父却不让他进去, 并对他说:“我以为你非常恨她,所以我把她改嫁给你的伴郎了。她妹子不是比她更美丽吗?你可以娶来代替她。”

参孙说:“这次我要加害非利士人,可不能怪我了。”

于是,他出去捉了三百只狐狸,把它们的尾巴一对一对绑起来,将火把绑在两条尾巴中间, 然后点燃火把,把狐狸放进非利士人的麦田里,将割好的麦捆和未割的麦子、葡萄园和橄榄园都烧毁了。 非利士人问:“这是谁干的?”有人回答说:“是亭拿人的女婿参孙干的,因为他岳父把他的妻子嫁给了他的伴郎。”非利士人就去放火烧死了参孙的妻子和岳父。 参孙说:“你们既然这样做,我不向你们报仇誓不罢休。” 参孙大肆击杀他们,杀死了很多人。事后,他下到以坦,住在那里的岩洞里。

非利士人进犯犹大,在利希一带扎营。 10 犹大人问他们:“你们为什么来攻打我们?”非利士人回答说:“我们来捉拿参孙,向他以报还报。” 11 于是,有三千犹大人去以坦的岩洞找参孙,对他说:“难道你不知道非利士人是我们的统治者吗?你为什么连累我们?”参孙回答说:“我只是以牙还牙。” 12 犹大人说:“我们来是要捉拿你,把你交给非利士人。”参孙说:“你们要保证你们不会亲手杀我。” 13 他们说:“我们不会杀你,只将你绑起来交给非利士人。”于是,他们用两根新绳子把参孙捆绑起来带出岩洞。

14 非利士人看见参孙来到利希,就呐喊着迎了上去。耶和华的灵降在参孙身上,绑在他手臂上的绳子就像被火烧的麻线一样脱落下来。 15 他看到一块还没有干的驴腮骨,就捡起来用它杀了一千个非利士人。 16 参孙说:

“用这驴腮骨,我杀人成堆;
用这驴腮骨,我杀戮千人。”

17 说完,他扔掉了手中的驴腮骨。因此,那地方叫拉末·利希[a]

18 参孙觉得非常口渴,便向耶和华呼求说:“你既然借着仆人的手大败敌人,难道你会让我渴死、落在这些未受割礼的人手中吗?” 19 于是,上帝使利希的一处洼地裂开,涌出水来。参孙喝后恢复了精神。因此,那水泉叫隐哈·歌利[b]。那水泉今天还在利希。 20 在非利士人统治期间,参孙做以色列的士师二十年。

Footnotes

  1. 15:17 拉末·利希”意思是“腮骨岗”。
  2. 15:19 隐哈·歌利”意思是“呼求者的泉”。

Samson Makes Trouble for the Philistines

15 At the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife. He took a young goat with him as a gift. He said, “I am going to my wife’s room.”

But her father would not let Samson go in. He said, “I thought you hated her, so I let her marry the best man at the wedding. Her younger sister is more beautiful. Take her younger sister.”

But Samson said to him, “Now I have a good reason to hurt you Philistines. No one will blame me now.”

So Samson went out and caught 300 foxes. He took two foxes at a time and tied their tails together to make pairs. Then he tied a torch between the tails of each pair of foxes. He lit the torches that were between the foxes’ tails and let them run through the grain fields of the Philistines. In this way he burned up the plants growing in their fields and the stacks of grain they had cut. He also burned up their vineyards and their olive trees.

The Philistines asked, “Who did this?”

Someone told them, “Samson, the son-in-law of the man from Timnah, did this. He did this because his father-in-law gave Samson’s wife to the best man at his wedding.” So the Philistines burned Samson’s wife and her father to death.

Then Samson said to the Philistines, “You did this bad thing to me, so now I will do bad things to you. Then I will be finished with you!”

Samson attacked the Philistines and killed many of them. Then he went and stayed in a cave in a place named the Rock of Etam.

The Philistines went to the land of Judah and stopped near a place named Lehi. Their army camped there. 10 The men of the tribe of Judah asked them, “Why have you Philistines come here to fight us?”

They answered, “We have come to get Samson. We want to make him our prisoner. We want to punish him for what he has done to our people.”

11 Then 3000 men from the tribe of Judah went to the cave near the Rock of Etam and said to Samson, “What have you done to us? Don’t you know that the Philistines rule over us?”

Samson answered, “I only punished them for what they did to me.”

12 Then they said to Samson, “We have come to tie you up. We will give you to the Philistines.”

Samson said to the men from Judah, “Promise me that you yourselves will not hurt me.”

13 The men from Judah said, “We agree. We will just tie you up and give you to the Philistines. We promise that we will not kill you.” So they tied Samson with two new ropes and led him up from the cave in the rock.

14 When Samson came to the place called Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him. They were shouting with joy. Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Samson with great power. Samson broke the ropes—they were like burned strings falling from his arms and the ropes on his hands seemed to melt away. 15 Samson found a jawbone of a dead donkey and killed 1000 Philistine men with it.

16 Then Samson said,

“With a donkey’s jawbone,
    I killed 1000 men!
With a donkey’s jawbone,
    I piled[a] them into a tall pile.”

17 When Samson finished speaking, he threw the jawbone down. So that place was named Ramath Lehi.[b]

18 Samson was very thirsty. So he cried to the Lord. He said, “I am your servant. You gave me this great victory. Please don’t let me die from thirst now. Please don’t let me be captured by men who are not even circumcised.”

19 There is a hole in the ground at Lehi. God made that hole crack open, and water came out. Samson drank the water and felt better. He felt strong again. So he named that water spring En Hakkore.[c] It is still there in the city of Lehi today.

20 Samson was a judge for the Israelites for 20 years during the time of the Philistines.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 15:16 piled In Hebrew, the word “pile” is like the word “donkey.”
  2. Judges 15:17 Ramath Lehi This name means “Jawbone Heights.”
  3. Judges 15:19 En Hakkore This name means “The spring of the one who calls.”

15 Some time later Samson went to visit his wife during the wheat harvest and took her a young goat. He told her father, “I want to go to my wife's room.”

But he wouldn't let him go in. He told Samson, “I really thought that you hated her, so I gave her to your friend. But her younger sister is prettier, anyway. You can have her, instead.”

Samson said, “This time I'm not going to be responsible for what I do to the Philistines!” So he went and caught three hundred foxes. Two at a time, he tied their tails together and put torches in the knots. Then he set fire to the torches and turned the foxes loose in the Philistine wheat fields. In this way he burned up not only the wheat that had been harvested but also the wheat that was still in the fields. The olive orchards were also burned. When the Philistines asked who had done this, they learned that Samson had done it because his father-in-law, a man from Timnah, had given Samson's wife to a friend of Samson's. So the Philistines went and burned the woman to death and burned down her father's house.[a]

Samson told them, “So this is how you act! I swear that I won't stop until I pay you back!” He attacked them fiercely and killed many of them. Then he went and stayed in the cave in the cliff at Etam.

Samson Defeats the Philistines

The Philistines came and camped in Judah, and attacked the town of Lehi. 10 The men of Judah asked them, “Why are you attacking us?”

They answered, “We came to take Samson prisoner and to treat him as he treated us.” 11 So these three thousand men of Judah went to the cave in the cliff at Etam and said to Samson, “Don't you know that the Philistines are our rulers? What have you done to us?”

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

12 They told him, “We have come here to tie you up, so we can hand you over to them.”

Samson said, “Give me your word that you won't kill me yourselves.”

13 “All right,” they said, “we are only going to tie you up and hand you over to them. We won't kill you.” So they tied him up with two new ropes and brought him back from the cliff.

14 When he got to Lehi, the Philistines came running toward him, shouting at him. Suddenly the power of the Lord made him strong, and he broke the ropes around his arms and hands as if they were burnt thread. 15 Then he found a jawbone of a donkey that had recently died. He reached down and picked it up, and killed a thousand men with it. 16 So Samson sang,

“With the jawbone of a donkey I killed a thousand men;
With the jawbone of a donkey I piled them up in piles.”[b]

17 After that, he threw the jawbone away. The place where this happened was named Ramath Lehi.[c]

18 Then Samson became very thirsty, so he called to the Lord and said, “You gave me this great victory; am I now going to die of thirst and be captured by these heathen Philistines?” 19 Then God opened a hollow place in the ground there at Lehi, and water came out of it. Samson drank it and began to feel much better. So the spring was named Hakkore;[d] it is still there at Lehi.

20 Samson led Israel for twenty years while the Philistines ruled the land.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 15:6 burned the woman … house; or burned the woman and her family to death.
  2. Judges 15:16 This word sounds like the Hebrew for “donkey.”
  3. Judges 15:17 This name in Hebrew means “Jawbone Hill.”
  4. Judges 15:19 This name in Hebrew means “caller.”

Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines

15 Later on, at the time of wheat harvest,(A) Samson(B) took a young goat(C) and went to visit his wife. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room.”(D) 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.(E) 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(F) and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch(G) to every pair of tails, lit the torches(H) and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks(I) 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.(J)

So the Philistines went up and burned her(K) and her father to death.(L) 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(M) of Etam.(N)

The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi.(O) 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?(P) 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(Q) 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(R) and led him up from the rock. 14 As he approached Lehi,(S) the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.(T) The ropes on his arms became like charred flax,(U) and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.(V)

16 Then Samson said,

“With a donkey’s jawbone
    I have made donkeys of them.[a](W)
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.[b](X)

18 Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord,(Y) “You have given your servant this great victory.(Z) 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.(AA) So the spring(AB) was called En Hakkore,[c] and it is still there in Lehi.

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

Footnotes

  1. Judges 15:16 Or made a heap or two; the Hebrew for donkey sounds like the Hebrew for heap.
  2. Judges 15:17 Ramath Lehi means jawbone hill.
  3. Judges 15:19 En Hakkore means caller’s spring.
  4. Judges 15:20 Traditionally judged