參孫向非利士人報仇

15 過了些日子,在割麥的時候,參孫帶著一隻山羊羔去探望他妻子。他說:「我要進內室見我妻子。」他岳父卻不讓他進去, 並對他說:「我以為你非常恨她,所以我把她改嫁給你的伴郎了。她妹子不是比她更美麗嗎?你可以娶來代替她。」

參孫說:「這次我要加害非利士人,可不能怪我了。」

於是,他出去捉了三百隻狐狸,把牠們的尾巴一對一對綁起來,將火把綁在兩條尾巴中間, 然後點燃火把,把狐狸放進非利士人的麥田裡,將割好的麥捆和未割的麥子、葡萄園和橄欖園都燒毀了。 非利士人問:「這是誰幹的?」有人回答說:「是亭拿人的女婿參孫幹的,因為他岳父把他的妻子嫁給了他的伴郎。」非利士人就去放火燒死了參孫的妻子和岳父。 參孫說:「你們既然這樣做,我不向你們報仇誓不甘休。」 參孫大肆擊殺他們,殺死了很多人。事後,他下到以坦,住在那裡的岩洞裡。

非利士人進犯猶大,在利希一帶紮營。 10 猶大人問他們:「你們為什麼來攻打我們?」非利士人回答說:「我們來捉拿參孫,向他以報還報。」 11 於是,有三千猶大人去以坦的岩洞找參孫,對他說:「難道你不知道非利士人是我們的統治者嗎?你為什麼連累我們?」參孫回答說:「我只是以牙還牙。」 12 猶大人說:「我們來是要捉拿你,把你交給非利士人。」參孫說:「你們要保證你們不會親手殺我。」 13 他們說:「我們不會殺你,只將你綁起來交給非利士人。」於是,他們用兩根新繩子把參孫捆綁起來帶出岩洞。

14 非利士人看見參孫來到利希,就呐喊著迎了上去。耶和華的靈降在參孫身上,綁在他手臂上的繩子就像被火燒的麻線一樣脫落下來。 15 他看到一塊還沒有乾的驢腮骨,就撿起來用它殺了一千個非利士人。 16 參孫說:

「用這驢腮骨,我殺人成堆;
用這驢腮骨,我殺戮千人。」

17 說完,他扔掉了手中的驢腮骨。因此,那地方叫拉末·利希[a]

18 參孫覺得非常口渴,便向耶和華呼求說:「你既然藉著僕人的手大敗敵人,難道你會讓我渴死、落在這些未受割禮的人手中嗎?」 19 於是,上帝使利希的一處窪地裂開,湧出水來。參孫喝後恢復了精神。因此,那水泉叫隱哈·歌利[b]。那水泉今天還在利希。 20 在非利士人統治期間,參孫做以色列的士師二十年。

Footnotes

  1. 15·17 拉末·利希」意思是「腮骨崗」。
  2. 15·19 隱哈·歌利」意思是「呼求者的泉」。

Chapter 15

Samson’s Revenge on the Philistines. Later on, during the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife, bringing her a kid goat. He said, “I am going in to my wife’s room,” but her father would not let him go in. The father said, “I was so sure that you hated her that I gave her to your friend. Her younger sister is prettier than she is. Please, take her instead.” But Samson said to them, “It is no longer my fault if I harm the Philistines.”

Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes. He tied them together, tail to tail. He then fastened a torch between each pair of tails. He set the torches on fire and let them go into the Philistine’s standing grain. It burned up both the standing grain and the stacks of grain, as well as the vineyards and the olive orchards.

When the Philistines asked, “Who did this,” they were told, “It was Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite. He did it because they took his wife and gave her to his friend.” The Philistines therefore went and burned her and her father to death. Samson said to them, “Because you have done this, I will never stop getting my vengeance on you.” He struck them ruthlessly, slaughtering many of them. He then went down and dwelt in a fissure of the rock of Etam.

The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. 10 The Judahites asked, “Why have you come to fight against us?” They answered, “To take Samson prisoner so that we can do to him what he did to us.” 11 Three thousand men from Judah went down to the fissure of the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Did you not know that the Philistines are ruling over us? What have you done to us?” He answered, “I just did to them what they did to me.” 12 They said to him, “We have come to take you prisoner and to deliver you over to the Philistines.” He said to them, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.” 13 They said, “No, but we will tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes and led him away from the rock.

14 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him. The ropes that were around his arms became like charred flax, and the binding fell off of his hands.

15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and he reached out and took it in his hand. He then killed one thousand men with it. 16 Samson said,

“With the jawbone of a donkey,
    I have piled them up;
with the jawbone of a donkey,
    I have killed a thousand men.”

17 When he finished speaking, he dropped the jawbone from out of his hand. The name of that place is Ramath-lehi.

18 Now he was very thirsty, so he called out to the Lord, “You have given this great victory through the hand of your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”[a] 19 God split open a hollow place in Lehi, and water came out. When he drank it, his strength returned and his spirit was revived. The spring is called En-hakkore, and it is still in Lehi today. 20 Samson was a judge over Israel for forty years during the days of the Philistines.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 15:18 Samson acknowledges that the Lord is the source of his strength, and the victory belongs to God.

15 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.

Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.

10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.

17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.

18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?

19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

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