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1 Samuel 2:1-10
New English Translation

Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer

2 Hannah prayed,[a]

“My heart has rejoiced[b] in the Lord;
my horn[c] has been raised high because of the Lord.
I have loudly denounced[d] my enemies.
Indeed I rejoice in your deliverance.
2 No one is holy[e] like the Lord!
There is no one other than you!
There is no rock[f] like our God!
3 Don’t keep speaking[g] so arrogantly.[h]
Proud talk should not[i] come out of your mouth,
for the Lord is a God who knows;
he[j] evaluates what people do.
4 The bows of warriors are shattered,
but those who stumbled have taken on strength.[k]
5 The well fed hire themselves out to earn food,
but the hungry no longer lack.[l]
Even[m] the barren woman has given birth to seven,[n]
but the one with many children has declined.[o]
6 The Lord both kills and gives life;
he brings down to the grave[p] and raises up.[q]
7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy;
he humbles and he exalts.
8 He lifts the weak[r] from the dust;
he raises[s] the poor from the ash heap
to seat them with princes—
he bestows on them an honored position.[t]
The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord—
he placed the world on them.
9 He watches over[u] his holy ones,[v]
but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness,[w]
for it is not by one’s own[x] strength that one prevails.
10 The Lord shatters[y] his adversaries;[z]
he thunders against them from[aa] the heavens.
The Lord executes judgment to the ends of the earth.
He will strengthen[ab] his king
and exalt the power[ac] of his anointed one.”[ad]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 2:1 tn Heb “prayed and said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.
  2. 1 Samuel 2:1 tn The verb עָלַץ (ʿalats) is a fientive verb. (Some emotion verbs in Hebrew are stative and some are fientive.) The Qal perfect form of a fientive verb is past or perfective (past action with a result that continues into the present). The LXX renders “my heart was strengthened.”
  3. 1 Samuel 2:1 sn Horns of animals have always functioned as both offensive and defensive weapons for them. As a figure of speech the horn is therefore often used in the Bible as a symbol of human strength (see also in v. 10). The allusion in v. 1 to the horn being lifted high suggests a picture of an animal elevating its head in a display of strength or virility.
  4. 1 Samuel 2:1 tn Heb “my mouth has opened wide against.”
  5. 1 Samuel 2:2 sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.
  6. 1 Samuel 2:2 tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”
  7. 1 Samuel 2:3 tn Heb “Do not do a lot; do [not] speak.” The two verbs are understood together to refer to abundant speaking.
  8. 1 Samuel 2:3 tn Heb “proudly, proudly.” If MT is original, the repetition of the word is for emphasis, stressing the arrogance of those addressed. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts and some other textual witnesses do not reflect the repetition, suggesting that the Hebrew text may be dittographic.
  9. 1 Samuel 2:3 tn The negative element, “not,” is understood to reapply from the first sentence through the poetic technique of ellipsis and double duty.
  10. 1 Samuel 2:3 tc The translation assumes the reading of the Qere וְלוֹ (velo, “and by him”), which is supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, is correct, rather than the reading of the Kethib וְלוֹא (veloʾ, “and not”).tn HALOT cites three possibilities for the phrase. Reading the Niphal verb as passive to the Qal meaning (“to examine, check”) and reading the Qere וְלוֹ (velo, “and by him”): “actions [are] tested by him.” Taking the Niphal verb to mean “to measure up, be in order, be correct” (cf. Ezek 18:25, 29; 33:17, 20) and reading the Qere וְלוֹ (velo): “his [God’s] actions are in order.” Taking the verb as in the previous case but reading the Kethiv וְלֹא (veloʾ) and taking the noun עֲלִלוֹת (ʿalilot) as a pejorative: “[disgraceful] actions have no place.” (HALOT s.v. תכן). The translation agrees with the first option and translates the verb with active instead of passive voice.
  11. 1 Samuel 2:4 tn Heb “stumblers have put on strength.” Because of the contrast between the prior and current condition, the participle has been translated with past tense. The Hebrew metaphor is a picture of getting dressed with (“putting on”) strength like clothing.
  12. 1 Samuel 2:5 tn By implication these lines refer to those formerly well-fed and those formerly hungry.
  13. 1 Samuel 2:5 tc Against BHS but with the MT, the preposition (עַד, ʿad) should be taken with what follows rather than with what precedes. For this sense of the preposition see Job 25:5.
  14. 1 Samuel 2:5 sn The number seven is used here in an ideal sense. Elsewhere in the OT having seven children is evidence of fertility as a result of God’s blessing on the family. See, for example, Jer 15:9, Ruth 4:15.
  15. 1 Samuel 2:5 tn Or “languished.”
  16. 1 Samuel 2:6 tn Heb “Sheol”; NAB “the nether world”; CEV “the world of the dead.”
  17. 1 Samuel 2:6 tn The first three verbs are participles; the last is a preterite which is normally past consecutive. It is rare, even in poetry, for a preterite verb to follow a participle. The English translations all render the last verb as a participle. They either reason that the preterite continues the force of the participle or assume that it should be repointed as a simple vav plus imperfect (which can be habitual present). If the participles are understood as substantival, then the latter half might mean “the Lord…is one who brings down to [the point of] the grave and then raised up.”
  18. 1 Samuel 2:8 tn Or “lowly”; Heb “insignificant.”
  19. 1 Samuel 2:8 tn The imperfect verbal form, which is parallel to the participle in the preceding line, is best understood here as indicating what typically happens.
  20. 1 Samuel 2:8 tn Heb “he makes them inherit a seat of honor.”
  21. 1 Samuel 2:9 tn Heb “guards the feet of.” The expression means that God watches over and protects the godly in all of their activities and movements. The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.
  22. 1 Samuel 2:9 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading the plural (“his holy ones”) rather than the singular (“his holy one”) of the Kethib.
  23. 1 Samuel 2:9 tc The LXX begins the verse differently, “granting the prayer to the one who prays; he blessed the years of the righteous.”
  24. 1 Samuel 2:9 tn Heb “For not by strength a person prevails.” Since the Lord’s strength is apparent in the context, the translation adds “one’s own” for clarity.
  25. 1 Samuel 2:10 tn The imperfect verbal forms in this line and in the next two lines are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.
  26. 1 Samuel 2:10 tc The present translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate in reading the plural (“his adversaries,” similarly many other English versions) rather than the singular (“his adversary”) of the Kethib. The LXX adds material very similar to Jer 9:23-24. “the Lord is holy. Let not the wise boast in his wisdom, and let not let the strong boast in his strength, and let not let the rich boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this: to understand and know the Lord, and to practice justice and righteousness in the midst of the land.” The Greek text of Jeremiah uses different words for “wise” and “strong” and closes by referring to the Lord as one who performs justice, etc. and whose will is in these things.
  27. 1 Samuel 2:10 tn The Hebrew preposition here has the sense of “from within.”
  28. 1 Samuel 2:10 tn The imperfect verbal forms in this and the next line are understood as indicating what is anticipated and translated with the future tense, because at the time of Hannah’s prayer Israel did not yet have a king.
  29. 1 Samuel 2:10 tn Heb “the horn,” here a metaphor for power or strength. Cf. NCV “make his appointed king strong”; NLT “increases the might of his anointed one.”
  30. 1 Samuel 2:10 tc The LXX greatly expands v. 10 with an addition that seems to be taken from Jer 9:23-24.sn The anointed one is the anticipated king of Israel, as the preceding line makes clear.
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Psalm 113
New English Translation

Psalm 113[a]

113 Praise the Lord.
Praise, you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
2 May the Lord’s name be praised
now and forevermore.
3 From east to west[b]
the Lord’s name is deserving of praise.
4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations;
his splendor reaches beyond the sky.[c]
5 Who can compare to the Lord our God,
who sits on a high throne?[d]
6 He bends down to look[e]
at the sky and the earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dirt,
and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile,[f]
8 that he might seat him with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He makes the barren woman of the family[g]
a happy mother of children.[h]
Praise the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 113:1 sn Psalm 113. The psalmist praises God as the sovereign king of the world who reaches down to help the needy.
  2. Psalm 113:3 tn Heb “from the rising of the sun to its setting.” The extent is not temporal (“from sunrise to sunset”) but spatial (“from the place where the sun rises [the east] to the place where it sets [the west].” In the phenomenological language of OT cosmology, the sun was described as rising in the east and setting in the west.
  3. Psalm 113:4 tn Heb “above the sky [is] his splendor.”
  4. Psalm 113:5 tn Heb “the one who makes high to sit.”
  5. Psalm 113:6 tn Heb “the one who makes low to see.”
  6. Psalm 113:7 sn The language of v. 7 is almost identical to that of 1 Sam 2:8.
  7. Psalm 113:9 tn Heb “of the house.”
  8. Psalm 113:9 tn Heb “sons.”
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Psalm 112
Psalm 114
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1 Samuel 2:11-21
New English Translation

11 Then Elkanah went back home to Ramah.

Eli’s Sons Misuse Their Sacred Office

The boy[a] Samuel[b] was serving the Lord with the favor of[c] Eli the priest.[d] 12 But the sons of Eli were wicked men.[e] They did not acknowledge the Lord’s authority.[f] 13 This was the priests’ routine with the people. Whenever anyone was making a sacrifice,[g] the priest’s attendant would come with a three-pronged fork[h] in his hand, just as the meat was boiling. 14 He would jab it into the basin, kettle, cauldron, or pot. Everything that the fork would bring up the priest would take for himself. This is how they used to treat all the Israelites[i] who came there[j] to Shiloh.

15 Also, before they burned the fat the priest’s attendant would come and say to the person who was making the sacrifice, “Give some meat for the priest to roast! He[k] won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”[l] 16 If[m] the individual said to him, “They should certainly burn[n] the fat away first, then take for yourself[o] whatever you wish,”[p] then he would say, “No![q] Give it now! If not, I’ll take it by force!”[r] 17 The sin of these young men[s] was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they[t] treated the Lord’s offering with contempt.

18 Now[u] Samuel was ministering with the favor of the Lord.[v] The boy[w] was dressed in a linen ephod. 19 His mother used to make him a small robe and bring it to him from time to time when she would go up with her husband to make the annual sacrifice. 20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, “May the Lord establish[x] descendants[y] for you from this woman in place of the one that she dedicated[z] to the Lord.” Then they[aa] would go to their[ab] home. 21 And indeed the Lord attended to[ac] Hannah. She got pregnant and gave birth to[ad] three sons and two daughters. But the boy[ae] Samuel grew up before the Lord.[af]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 2:11 tn The term נַעַר (naʿar), here translated “boy,” often refers to a servant or apprentice in line for a position of authority.
  2. 1 Samuel 2:11 tn The name “Samuel” has been supplied here for clarity.
  3. 1 Samuel 2:11 tn Heb “with [or “before”] the face of.” Possibly “under the supervision of.” Cf. 1 Sam 2:18 and 1 Kgs 13:6 where the face represents favor.
  4. 1 Samuel 2:11 tc The transition between the end of the song and the next portion of the narrative varies in the ancient witnesses. At Qumran, vs 11 is entirely omitted from 4QSama. The MT refers to Elkanah returning to Ramah, then Samuel serving the Lord “with the face” of Eli. The LXX focuses initially on Hannah. According to Graeme Auld (I & II Samuel [Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011] 40 and 43) the first scribe of Codex B wrote “And she left him there facing Yahweh. And she went to Ramathaim. And the lad was serving in face of Yahweh, facing Eli the priest.” The Lucianic Greek text differs as to the beginning, “And they left him before Yahweh there, and did homage to Yahweh, and departed for Ramah for their home.” Thus the MT and the early Greek text focus on the different spouses, while the Lucianic tradition blends them together with a plural verb. The omission from Qumran and variation among the other texts suggests that this verse was either damaged in a very early copy or added to smooth out the transition between topics. If the MT is accepted, the principal question remaining is where to divide the paragraphs. Does Samuel’s service to the Lord function primarily as contrast to his parent’s return trip or as contrast to Eli’s dishonorable sons? The syntactic structure for both options is the same, vav plus noun first, and therefore not decisive. That the next section starts at 2:18 with nearly identical phrasing argues to begin a paragraph here with the statement about Samuel.
  5. 1 Samuel 2:12 tn Heb “sons of worthlessness.”
  6. 1 Samuel 2:12 tn Heb “they did not know the Lord.” The verb here has the semantic nuance “acknowledge [the authority of].” Eli’s sons obviously knew who the Lord was; they served in his sanctuary. But they did not acknowledge his moral authority.
  7. 1 Samuel 2:13 tc The LXX reads “As to the right of the priests from the people, [from] anyone sacrificing.”
  8. 1 Samuel 2:13 sn The Hebrew word occurs only twice in the OT, here and again in v. 14. Its exact meaning is not entirely clear, although from the context it appears to be a sacrificial tool used for retrieving things from boiling water.
  9. 1 Samuel 2:14 tn Heb “everyone of Israel.”
  10. 1 Samuel 2:14 tc The LXX reads “who came to sacrifice at Shiloh.”
  11. 1 Samuel 2:15 tc LXX “I.”
  12. 1 Samuel 2:15 tn Heb “living.”
  13. 1 Samuel 2:16 tn The Hebrew has a preterite verb, normally “and then he said.” In this case it gives the next event in a sequence that is modal and describes something typical in past time. Most English translations add “if” because this is a possible and common scenario rather than a specific incident only.
  14. 1 Samuel 2:16 tc The construction is a Piel infinitive absolute followed by a Hiphil imperfect, the only case of such syntax. Normally the infinitive absolute agrees with the verbal stem of the main verb, or sometimes is Qal when the main verb is not. The LXX renders in the passive voice, “the fat should be burned,” probably interpreting the consonants of these verbs as Pual forms.
  15. 1 Samuel 2:16 tc The LXX adds “from any.”
  16. 1 Samuel 2:16 tn Heb “whatever your soul desires.”
  17. 1 Samuel 2:16 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss (“no”) rather than the MT’s Kethib, which reads “to him.”
  18. 1 Samuel 2:16 tc The Qumran text, 4QSama, reads “you must give and I will take by force.” 4QSama continues with a text similar to vss 13-14, in which the priest’s servant describes stabbing the trident into the pot to take whatever would come up. Either this repetition was original and the MT and LXX eliminated the redundancy, or the tradition behind the Qumran scroll may have read these elements in a different order than the MT and LXX and then added the material to the earlier location (matching the MT and LXX) resulting in the repetition. See Graeme Auld, I & II Samuel (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011) 44-45.
  19. 1 Samuel 2:17 tn The term נַעַר (naʿar), here translated “young men,” often refers to a servant or apprentice in line for a position of authority. The same term describes Samuel in vs 11 and 18. The repetition helps establish the contrast between Samuel and Eli’s sons.
  20. 1 Samuel 2:17 tc Heb “the men,” which is absent from one medieval Hebrew ms, a Qumran ms, and the LXX.
  21. 1 Samuel 2:18 tn The word “now” does not appear in the Hebrew but was added as part of beginning a new topic in a new paragraph. Verse 11b begins similarly.
  22. 1 Samuel 2:18 tn Heb “with [or “before”] the face of.” Cf. 1 Sam 2:11 and 1 Kgs 13:6 where the face represents favor.
  23. 1 Samuel 2:18 tn The term נַעַר (naʿar), here translated “boy,” often refers to a servant or apprentice in line for a position of authority. The same term describes Samuel in vs 11 and Eli’s sons in vs 17. The repetition helps establish the contrast between Samuel and Eli’s sons.
  24. 1 Samuel 2:20 tn The Hebrew verb שִׂים (sim) means “to position, to set down, to set up, to install.”
  25. 1 Samuel 2:20 tn Heb “seed.”
  26. 1 Samuel 2:20 tc The MT reads “in place of the request which he asked of the Lord.” The LXX reads “in place of the loan which you lent to the Lord.” At Qumran 4QSama has the Hiphil form of שָׁאַל (shaʾal), “which she loaned (or entrusted) to the Lord” (cf. 1:28). The masculine verb in the MT is odd, since the context expects Hannah to be the subject. A masculine form would need to be read impersonally or repointed as a passive. The translation most closely follows 4QSama and understands the “request” to be Samuel, the requested one. A longer English translation would be “in place of the one which was requested which she dedicated to the Lord.”
  27. 1 Samuel 2:20 tc LXX “the man.”
  28. 1 Samuel 2:20 tn Heb “his.”
  29. 1 Samuel 2:21 tn The core component of Hebrew verb פָּקַד (paqad) is “to take note of.” But it also carries the implication of acting accordingly with what is noted. When the syntax combines the Qal of פָּקַד (paqad) plus a direct object which is a person, plus contextually stated benefits, the verb regularly describes assisting or providing for someone (Brian Webster, The Cambridge Introduction to Biblical Hebrew [New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009] 230). The same verb is used to describe enabling Sara to have Isaac in Gen 21:1.
  30. 1 Samuel 2:21 tn Presumably in successive pregnancies, not as quintuplets.
  31. 1 Samuel 2:21 tn The term נַעַר (naʿar), here translated “boy,” often refers to a servant or apprentice in line for a position of authority. tc At Qumran 4QSama omits “the boy” and reads “he grew up there.” The Hebrew word “there” (שָׁם; sham) consists of the first two letters of Samuel’s name.
  32. 1 Samuel 2:21 tc The MT reads “with the Lord.” The LXX and 4QSama read “before the Lord.” The Hebrew phrasing “with (עִם; ʾim) the Lord” or “with God” is uncommon and varies in significance. The preposition indicates generally that the action in the verb is done in association with the preposition’s object. From context we understand that Samuel’s religious duties are specially in the Lord’s presence, hence the NAB and TEV “in the service of the Lord”; or the CEV “at the Lord’s house in Shiloh.” The NIV, NRSV, and NLT follow the LXX “in the presence of the Lord.”
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Judges 14:1-16:22
New English Translation

Samson’s Unconsummated Marriage

14 Samson went down to Timnah, where a Philistine girl caught his eye.[a] 2 When he got home,[b] he told his father and mother, “A Philistine girl in Timnah has caught my eye.[c] Now get her for my wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Certainly you can find a wife among your relatives or among all our[d] people! You should not have to go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines.”[e] But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me,[f] because she is the right one for me.”[g] 4 Now his father and mother did not realize this was the Lord’s doing,[h] because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble with the Philistines[i] (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).

5 Samson[j] went down to Timnah. When he approached[k] the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him.[l] 6 The Lord’s Spirit empowered[m] him, and he tore the lion[n] in two with his bare hands[o] as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

7 Samson continued on down to Timnah[p] and spoke to the girl. In his opinion, she was just the right one.[q] 8 Some time later, when he went back to marry[r] her, he turned aside to see the lion’s remains. He saw[s] a swarm of bees in the lion’s carcass, as well as some honey. 9 He scooped it up with his hands and ate it as he walked along. When he returned[t] to his father and mother, he offered them some and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had scooped the honey out of the lion’s carcass.[u]

10 Then Samson’s father accompanied him to Timnah for the marriage.[v] Samson hosted a party[w] there, for this was customary for bridegrooms[x] to do. 11 When the Philistines saw he had no attendants, they gave him thirty groomsmen who kept him company.[y] 12 Samson said to them, “I will give you a riddle. If you really can solve it during the seven days the party lasts,[z] I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets[aa] of clothes. 13 But if you cannot solve it,[ab] you will give me thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes.” They said to him, “Let us hear your riddle.”[ac] 14 He said to them,

“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;
out of the strong one came something sweet.”

They could not solve the riddle for three days.

15 On the fourth[ad] day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle.[ae] If you refuse,[af] we will burn up[ag] you and your father’s family.[ah] Did you invite us here[ai] to make us poor?”[aj] 16 So Samson’s bride cried on his shoulder[ak] and said, “You must[al] hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men[am] a riddle, but you have not told me the solution.” He said to her, “Look, I have not even told my father or mother. Do you really expect me to tell you?”[an] 17 She cried on his shoulder[ao] until the party was almost over.[ap] Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much.[aq] Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle.[ar] 18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him,

“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”

He said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer,[as]
you would not have solved my riddle!”

19 The Lord’s Spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men. He took their clothes[at] and gave them[au] to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home.[av] 20 Samson’s bride was then given to his best man.[aw]

Samson Versus the Philistines

15 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest,[ax] Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride.[ay] He said to her father,[az] “I want to sleep with[ba] my bride in her bedroom!”[bb] But her father would not let him enter. 2 Her father said, “I really thought[bc] you absolutely despised[bd] her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!”[be] 3 Samson said to them,[bf] “This time I am justified in doing the Philistines harm!”[bg] 4 Samson went and captured 300 jackals[bh] and got some torches. He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair.[bi] 5 He lit the torches[bj] and set the jackals loose in the Philistines’ standing grain. He burned up the grain heaps and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves. 6 The Philistines asked,[bk] “Who did this?” They were told,[bl] “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because the Timnite[bm] took Samson’s[bn] bride and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father.[bo] 7 Samson said to them, “Because you did this,[bp] I will get revenge against you before I quit fighting.”[bq] 8 He struck them down and defeated them.[br] Then he went down and lived for a time in the cave in the cliff of Etam.

9 The Philistines went up and invaded[bs] Judah. They arrayed themselves for battle[bt] in Lehi. 10 The men of Judah said, “Why are you attacking[bu] us?” The Philistines[bv] said, “We have come up to take Samson prisoner so we can do to him what he has done to us.” 11 So 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?” He said to them, “I have only done to them what they have done to me.” 12 They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me[bw] you will not kill[bx] me.” 13 They said to him, “We promise![by] We will only take you prisoner and hand you over to them. We promise not to kill you.” They tied him up with two brand new ropes and led him up from the cliff. 14 When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s Spirit empowered[bz] him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in[ca] fire, and they[cb] melted away from his hands. 15 He happened to see[cc] a solid[cd] jawbone of a donkey. He grabbed it[ce] and struck down[cf] 1,000 men. 16 Samson then said,

“With the jawbone of a donkey
I have left them in heaps;[cg]
with the jawbone of a donkey
I have struck down a thousand men!”

17 When he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone down[ch] and named that place Ramath Lehi.[ci]

18 He was very thirsty, so he cried out to the Lord and said, “You have given your servant[cj] this great victory. But now must I die of thirst and fall into the hands of these uncircumcised Philistines?”[ck] 19 So God split open the basin[cl] at Lehi and water flowed out from it. When he took a drink, his strength[cm] was restored and he revived. For this reason he named the spring[cn] En Hakkore.[co] It remains in Lehi to this very day. 20 Samson led[cp] Israel for twenty years during the days of Philistine prominence.[cq]

Samson’s Downfall

16 Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and slept with her.[cr] 2 The Gazites were told,[cs] “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town[ct] and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave.[cu] They relaxed[cv] all night, thinking,[cw] “He will not leave[cx] until morning comes;[cy] then we will kill him!” 3 Samson spent half the night with the prostitute; then he got up in the middle of the night and left.[cz] He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all.[da] He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron.[db]

4 After this Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her and said to her, “Trick him! Find out what makes him so strong and how we can subdue him and humiliate[dc] him. Each one of us will give you 1,100 silver pieces.”

6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me what makes you so strong and how you can be subdued and humiliated.”[dd] 7 Samson said to her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh[de] bowstrings[df] that have not been dried, I will become weak and be just like any other man.” 8 So the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them. 9 They hid[dg] in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here,[dh] Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire.[di] The secret of his strength was not discovered.[dj]

10 Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you deceived[dk] me and told me lies! Now tell me how you can be subdued.” 11 He said to her, “If they tie me tightly with brand new ropes that have never been used,[dl] I will become weak and be just like any other man.” 12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are here,[dm] Samson!” (The Philistines were hiding in the bedroom.)[dn] But he tore the ropes[do] from his arms as if they were a piece of thread.

13 Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you can be subdued.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair[dp] into the fabric on the loom[dq] and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.” 14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom, fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are here,[dr] Samson!”[ds] He woke up[dt] and tore away the pin of the loom and the fabric.

15 She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you will not share your secret with me?[du] Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.” 16 She nagged him[dv] every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it.[dw] 17 Finally he told her his secret.[dx] He said to her, “My hair has never been cut,[dy] for I have been dedicated to God[dz] from the time I was conceived.[ea] If my head[eb] were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak and be just like all other men.” 18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret,[ec] she sent for[ed] the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me[ee] his secret.”[ef] So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands. 19 She made him go to sleep on her lap[eg] and then called a man in to shave off[eh] the seven braids of his hair.[ei] She made him vulnerable[ej] and his strength left him. 20 She said, “The Philistines are here,[ek] Samson!” He woke up[el] and thought,[em] “I will do as I did before[en] and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him. 21 The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison. 22 His hair[eo] began to grow back after it had been shaved off.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 14:1 tn Heb “and he saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”
  2. Judges 14:2 tn Heb “and he went up.”
  3. Judges 14:2 tn Heb “I have seen a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”
  4. Judges 14:3 tn Heb “my.” The singular may seem strange, since the introduction to the quotation attributes the words to his father and mother. But Samson’s father apparently speaks for both himself and his wife. However, the Lucianic recension of the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta have a second person pronoun here (“you”), and this may represent the original reading.
  5. Judges 14:3 tn Heb “Is there not among the daughters of your brothers or among all my people a woman that you have to go to get a wife among the uncircumcised Philistines?”
  6. Judges 14:3 tn “Her” is first in the Hebrew word order for emphasis. Samson wanted this Philistine girl, no one else. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 357.
  7. Judges 14:3 tn Heb “because she is right in my eyes.”
  8. Judges 14:4 tn Heb “this was from the LORD.”
  9. Judges 14:4 tn Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”
  10. Judges 14:5 tc The Hebrew includes “and his father and his mother.” See the next note.
  11. Judges 14:5 tc The MT reads “they approached,” while the LXX reads “he approached.” The previous sentence suggests that his parents were there, reading literally, “he went down, Samson and his father and his mother, to Timnah.” But the story line suggests that his parents were not there, as v. 6b reports that Samson did not tell them about the incident. The following sentence begins with וְהִנֵּה (vehinneh, “and behold”). This particle is used to focus or shift attention, typically pointing something out or introducing it into the scene (here the lion). But the scene that וְהִנֵּה comments on is set by the previous verb. If the verb “approached” were plural, then Samson’s parents should be with him when the lion attacks, something that contradicts the story as a whole. This indicates the verb should be singular. Since the previous verb, “went down,” is also singular (so also v. 7a), the phrase “and his father and his mother” may have been accidentally copied into the text under the influence of v. 4a. Later the verb was changed to “they approached” to account for the addition, but not until after the LXX was translated. Or one might suppose that his parents had gone on this trip down to Timnah (retaining “and his father and his mother”), but he had separated from them before approaching to the vineyards.
  12. Judges 14:5 tn Heb “and look, a young lion of the lions was roaring to meet him.”
  13. Judges 14:6 tn Heb “rushed on.”
  14. Judges 14:6 tn Heb “him” or “it”; the referent (the lion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  15. Judges 14:6 tn Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”
  16. Judges 14:7 tn Heb “He went down.”
  17. Judges 14:7 tn Heb “She was the right one in the eyes of Samson.”
  18. Judges 14:8 tn Heb “get.”
  19. Judges 14:8 tn Heb “and look, a swarm of bees….”
  20. Judges 14:9 tn Heb “went.” Samson apparently went home to his parents before going to Timnah for the marriage. Seeing and tasting the honey appears to encourage Manoah to go with his son to Timnah. Perhaps both Samson and his father viewed the honey as a good omen of future blessing. Possibly Samson considered it a symbol of sexual pleasure or an aphrodisiac. Note the use of honey imagery in Song 4:11 and 5:1.
  21. Judges 14:9 sn Touching the carcass of a dead animal undoubtedly violated Samson’s Nazirite status. See Num 6:6.
  22. Judges 14:10 tn Heb “And his father went down to the woman.”
  23. Judges 14:10 tn Or “[wedding] feast.”
  24. Judges 14:10 tn Heb “the young men.”
  25. Judges 14:11 tn Heb “When they saw him, they gave him thirty companions and they were with him.” Instead of כִּרְאוֹתָם (kirʾotam, “when they saw”) some ancient witnesses (e.g., some mss of the LXX) assume the reading בְּיִרְאָתָם (beyirʾatam, “because they feared”).
  26. Judges 14:12 tn Heb “If you really can tell it to me [during] the seven days of the feast and you find [its answer].”
  27. Judges 14:12 tn Heb “changes.”
  28. Judges 14:13 tn Heb “you are unable to tell me.”
  29. Judges 14:13 tn Heb “Give your riddle so we can hear it.”
  30. Judges 14:15 tc The MT reads “seventh.” In Hebrew there is a difference of only one letter between the words רְבִיעִי (reviʿi, “fourth”) and שְׁבִיעִי (sheviʿi, “seventh”). Some ancient textual witnesses (e.g., LXX and the Syriac Peshitta) read “fourth,” here, which certainly harmonizes better with the preceding verse (cf. “for three days”) and with v. 17. Another option is to change שְׁלֹשֶׁת (sheloshet, “three”) at the end of v. 14 to שֵׁשֶׁת (sheshet, “six”), but the resulting scenario does not account as well for v. 17, which implies the bride had been hounding Samson for more than one day.
  31. Judges 14:15 tn Heb “Entice your husband so that he might tell us the riddle.”
  32. Judges 14:15 tn Heb “lest.”
  33. Judges 14:15 tn The Hebrew text expands the statement: “burn up with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.
  34. Judges 14:15 tn Heb “house.”
  35. Judges 14:15 tc The translation assumes the Hebrew form הֲלֹם (halom, “here,” attested in five Hebrew mss and supported by the Targum), instead of the inexplicable הֲלֹא (haloʾ), a negative particle with interrogative particle prefixed to it.
  36. Judges 14:15 tn For discussion of this difficult form, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 364.
  37. Judges 14:16 tn Heb “on him.”
  38. Judges 14:16 tn Heb “only”; or “simply.”
  39. Judges 14:16 tn Heb “the sons of my people.”
  40. Judges 14:16 tn Heb “Should I tell you?”
  41. Judges 14:17 tn Heb “on him.”
  42. Judges 14:17 tn Heb “the seven days [during] which they held the party.” This does not mean she cried for the entire seven days; v. 15 indicates otherwise. She cried for the remainder of the seven day period, beginning on the fourth day.
  43. Judges 14:17 tn Heb “because she forced him.”
  44. Judges 14:17 tn Heb “she told the riddle to the sons of her people.”
  45. Judges 14:18 sn Plowed with my heifer. This statement emphasizes that the Philistines had utilized a source of information which should have been off-limits to them. Heifers were used in plowing (Hos 10:11), but one typically used one’s own farm animals, not another man’s.
  46. Judges 14:19 tn Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”
  47. Judges 14:19 tn Heb “changes [of clothes].”
  48. Judges 14:19 tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”
  49. Judges 14:20 tn Heb “to his companion who had been his attendant.”
  50. Judges 15:1 sn The wheat harvest took place during the month of May. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 37, 88.
  51. Judges 15:1 tn Heb “Samson visited his wife with a young goat.”
  52. Judges 15:1 tn The words “to her father” are supplied in the translation (see the end of the verse).
  53. Judges 15:1 tn Heb “I want to approach.” The verb בּוֹא (boʾ) with the preposition אֶל (ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
  54. Judges 15:1 tn Heb “I will go to my wife in the bedroom.” The Hebrew idiom בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel, “to go to”) often has sexual connotations. The cohortative form used by Samson can be translated as indicating resolve (“I want to go”) or request (“let me go”).
  55. Judges 15:2 tn Heb “saying, I said.” The first person form of אָמַר (ʾamar, “to say”) sometimes indicates self-reflection. The girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
  56. Judges 15:2 tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
  57. Judges 15:2 tn Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her [i.e., the younger sister] be yours instead of her [i.e., Samson’s ‘bride’]).”
  58. Judges 15:3 tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the singular “to him.”
  59. Judges 15:3 tn Heb “I am innocent this time from the Philistines when I do with them harm.”
  60. Judges 15:4 tn Traditionally, “foxes.”
  61. Judges 15:4 tn Heb “He turned tail to tail and placed one torch between the two tails in the middle.”
  62. Judges 15:5 tn Heb “He set fire to the torches.”
  63. Judges 15:6 tn Or “said.”
  64. Judges 15:6 tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.
  65. Judges 15:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  66. Judges 15:6 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  67. Judges 15:6 tn The Hebrew text expands the statement with the additional phrase “burned with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons. Some textual witnesses read “burned…her father’s house,” perhaps under the influence of 14:15. On the other hand, the shorter text may have lost this phrase due to haplography.
  68. Judges 15:7 tn The Niphal of נָקָם (naqam, “to avenge, to take vengeance”) followed by the preposition ב (bet) has the force “to get revenge against.” See 1 Sam 18:25; Jer 50:15; Ezek 25:12.
  69. Judges 15:7 tn Heb “and afterward I will stop.”
  70. Judges 15:8 tn Heb “He struck them, calf on thigh, [with] a great slaughter.” The precise meaning of the phrase “calf on thigh” is uncertain.
  71. Judges 15:9 tn Or “camped in.”
  72. Judges 15:9 tn Or “spread out.” The Niphal of נָטָשׁ (natash) has this same sense in 2 Sam 5:18, 22.
  73. Judges 15:10 tn Or “come up against.”
  74. Judges 15:10 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Philistines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  75. Judges 15:12 tn Or “swear to me.”
  76. Judges 15:12 tn Heb “meet [with hostility]”; “harm.” In light of v. 13, “kill” is an appropriate translation.
  77. Judges 15:13 tn Heb “No,” meaning that they will not harm him.
  78. Judges 15:14 tn Heb “rushed on.”
  79. Judges 15:14 tn Heb “burned with.”
  80. Judges 15:14 tn Heb “his bonds.”
  81. Judges 15:15 tn Heb “he found.”
  82. Judges 15:15 tn Heb “fresh,” i.e., not decayed and brittle.
  83. Judges 15:15 tn Heb “he reached out his hand and took it.”
  84. Judges 15:15 tn The Hebrew text adds “with it.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  85. Judges 15:16 tn The precise meaning of the second half of the line (חֲמוֹר חֲמֹרָתָיִם, khamor khamoratayim) is uncertain. The present translation assumes that the phrase means, “a heap, two heaps” and refers to the heaps of corpses littering the battlefield. Other options include: (a) “I have made donkeys of them” (cf. NIV; see C. F. Burney, Judges, 373, for a discussion of this view, which understands a denominative verb from the noun “donkey”); (b) “I have thoroughly skinned them” (see HALOT 330 s.v. IV cj. חמר, which appeals to an Arabic cognate for support); (c) “I have stormed mightily against them,” which assumes the verb חָמַר (khamar, “to ferment; to foam; to boil up”).
  86. Judges 15:17 tn Heb “from his hand.”
  87. Judges 15:17 sn The name Ramath Lehi means “Height of the Jawbone.”
  88. Judges 15:18 tn Heb “you have placed into the hand of your servant.”
  89. Judges 15:18 tn Heb “the hand of uncircumcised.” “Hand” often represents power or control. “The uncircumcised [ones]” is used as a pejorative and in the context refers to the Philistines.
  90. Judges 15:19 tn The word translated “basin” refers to a circular-shaped depression in the land’s surface.
  91. Judges 15:19 tn Heb “spirit.”
  92. Judges 15:19 tn Heb “named it”; the referent (the spring) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  93. Judges 15:19 sn The name En Hakkore means “Spring of the one who cries out.”
  94. Judges 15:20 tn Traditionally, “judged.”
  95. Judges 15:20 tn Heb “in the days of the Philistines.”
  96. Judges 16:1 tn Heb “approached her.” The idiom בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel, “to go to”) is a euphemism for sexual relations.
  97. Judges 16:2 tc Heb “To the Gazites, saying.” A verb is missing from the MT; some ancient Greek witnesses add “it was reported.”
  98. Judges 16:2 tn Heb “And they surrounded.” The rest of the verse suggests that “the town” is the object, not “the house.” Though the Gazites knew Samson was in the town, apparently they did not know exactly where he had gone. Otherwise, they could have just gone into or surrounded the house and would not have needed to post guards at the city gate.
  99. Judges 16:2 tn Heb “and they lay in wait for him all night in the city gate.”
  100. Judges 16:2 tn Heb “were silent.”
  101. Judges 16:2 tn Heb “saying.”
  102. Judges 16:2 tn The words “He will not leave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  103. Judges 16:2 tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”
  104. Judges 16:3 tn Heb “And Samson lay until the middle of the night and arose in the middle of the night.”
  105. Judges 16:3 tn Heb “with the bar.”
  106. Judges 16:3 tn Heb “which is upon the face of Hebron.”
  107. Judges 16:5 tn Heb “subdue him in order to humiliate him.”
  108. Judges 16:6 tn Heb “how you can be subdued in order to be humiliated.”
  109. Judges 16:7 tn Or “moist.”
  110. Judges 16:7 tn The word refers to a bowstring, probably made from animal tendons. See Ps 11:2; Job 30:11.
  111. Judges 16:9 tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting for her.” The grammatically singular form וְהָאֹרֵב (vehaʾorev) is collective here, referring to the rulers as a group (so also in v. 16).
  112. Judges 16:9 tn Heb “are upon you.”
  113. Judges 16:9 tn Heb “when it smells fire.”
  114. Judges 16:9 tn Heb “His strength was not known.”
  115. Judges 16:10 tn See Gen 31:7; Exod 8:29 [8:25 HT]; Job 13:9; Isa 44:20; Jer 9:4 for other uses of this Hebrew word (II תָּלַל, talal), which also occurs in v. 13.
  116. Judges 16:11 tn Heb “with which no work has been done.”
  117. Judges 16:12 tn Heb “are upon you.”
  118. Judges 16:12 tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting in the bedroom.”
  119. Judges 16:12 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the ropes) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  120. Judges 16:13 tn Heb “head” (also in the following verse). By metonymy the head is mentioned in the Hebrew text in place of the hair on it.
  121. Judges 16:13 tn Heb “with the web.” For a discussion of how Delilah did this, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 381, and G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 353-54.
  122. Judges 16:14 tn Heb “are upon you.”
  123. Judges 16:14 tc The MT of vv. 13b-14a reads simply, “He said to her, ‘If you weave the seven braids of my head with the web.’ And she fastened with the pin and said to him.” The additional words in the translation, “and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.’ 16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom,” which without doubt represent the original text, are supplied from the ancient Greek version. (In both vv. 13b and 14a the Greek version has “to the wall” after “with the pin,” but this is an interpretive addition that reflects a misunderstanding of ancient weaving equipment. See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 353-54.) The Hebrew textual tradition was accidentally shortened during the copying process. A scribe’s eye jumped from the first instance of “with the web” to the second, causing him to leave out inadvertently the intervening words.
  124. Judges 16:14 tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  125. Judges 16:15 tn Heb “when your heart is not with me.”
  126. Judges 16:16 tn Heb “forced him with her words.”
  127. Judges 16:16 tn Heb “and his spirit was short [i.e., impatient] to the point of death.”
  128. Judges 16:17 tn Heb “all his heart.”
  129. Judges 16:17 tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”
  130. Judges 16:17 tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).
  131. Judges 16:17 tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”
  132. Judges 16:17 tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).
  133. Judges 16:18 tn Heb “all his heart.”
  134. Judges 16:18 tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”
  135. Judges 16:18 tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).
  136. Judges 16:18 tn Heb “all his heart.”
  137. Judges 16:19 tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.
  138. Judges 16:19 tn Heb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See J. A. Soggin, Judges (OTL), 254.
  139. Judges 16:19 tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.
  140. Judges 16:19 tn Heb “She began to humiliate him.” Rather than referring to some specific insulting action on Delilah’s part after Samson’s hair was shaved off, this statement probably means that she, through the devious actions just described, began the process of Samson’s humiliation which culminates in the following verses.
  141. Judges 16:20 tn Heb “are upon you.”
  142. Judges 16:20 tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  143. Judges 16:20 tn Heb “and said.”
  144. Judges 16:20 tn Heb “I will go out as before.”
  145. Judges 16:22 tn Heb “the hair of his head.”
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