The Choosing of the Seven

6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing,^(A) the Hellenistic Jews^[a](B) among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows^(C) were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.^{(D) 2} So the Twelve gathered all the disciples^(E) together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God^(F) in order to wait on tables. ³ Brothers and sisters,^(G) choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit^(H) and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them^{(I) 4} and will give our attention to prayer^(J) and the ministry of the word.”

⁵ This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen,^(K) a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit;^(L) also Philip,^(M) Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. ⁶ They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed^(N) and laid their hands on them.^(O)

⁷ So the word of God spread.^(P) The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly,^(Q) and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Stephen Seized

⁸ Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs^(R) among the people. ⁹ Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene^(S) and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia^(T) and Asia^(U)—who began to argue with Stephen. ¹⁰ But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.^(V)

¹¹ Then they secretly^(W) persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”^(X)

¹² So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.^{(Y) 13} They produced false witnesses,^(Z) who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place^(AA) and against the law. ¹⁴ For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place^(AB) and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”^(AC)

¹⁵ All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin^(AD) looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

The Birth of Samson

13 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines^(A) for forty years.^(B)

² A certain man of Zorah,^(C) named Manoah,^(D) from the clan of the Danites,^(E) had a wife who was childless,^(F) unable to give birth. ³ The angel of the Lord^(G) appeared to her^(H) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.^{(I) 4} Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink^(J) and that you do not eat anything unclean.^{(K) 5} You will become pregnant and have a son^(L) whose head is never to be touched by a razor^(M) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,^(N) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead^(O) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

⁶ Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God^(P) came to me. He looked like an angel of God,^(Q) very awesome.^(R) I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. ⁷ But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine^(S) or other fermented drink^(T) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.^(U)’”

⁸ Then Manoah^(V) prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God^(W) you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”

⁹ God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. ¹⁰ The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me^(X) the other day!”

¹¹ Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”

“I am,” he said.

¹² So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?”

¹³ The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. ¹⁴ She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink^(Y) nor eat anything unclean.^(Z) She must do everything I have commanded her.”

¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat^(AA) for you.”

¹⁶ The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering,^(AB) offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize^(AC) that it was the angel of the Lord.)

¹⁷ Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name,^(AD) so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”

¹⁸ He replied, “Why do you ask my name?^(AE) It is beyond understanding.^[a]” ¹⁹ Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock^(AF) to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: ²⁰ As the flame^(AG) blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.^{(AH) 21} When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized^(AI) that it was the angel of the Lord.

²² “We are doomed^(AJ) to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen^(AK) God!”

²³ But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”^(AL)

²⁴ The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.^(AM) He grew^(AN) and the Lord blessed him,^{(AO) 25} and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir^(AP) him while he was in Mahaneh Dan,^(AQ) between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson’s Marriage

14 Samson^(AR) went down to Timnah^(AS) and saw there a young Philistine woman. ² When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.”^(AT)

³ His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people?^(AU) Must you go to the uncircumcised^(AV) Philistines to get a wife?^(AW)”

But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” ⁴ (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord,^(AX) who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines;^(AY) for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)^(AZ)

⁵ Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. ⁶ The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him^(BA) so that he tore the lion apart^(BB) with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. ⁷ Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her.

⁸ Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. ⁹ He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.

¹⁰ Now his father went down to see the woman. And there Samson held a feast,^(BC) as was customary for young men. ¹¹ When the people saw him, they chose thirty men to be his companions.

¹² “Let me tell you a riddle,^(BD)” Samson said to them. “If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast,^(BE) I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.^{(BF) 13} If you can’t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.”

“Tell us your riddle,” they said. “Let’s hear it.”

¹⁴ He replied,

For three days they could not give the answer.

¹⁵ On the fourth^[b] day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax^(BH) your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death.^(BI) Did you invite us here to steal our property?”

¹⁶ Then Samson’s wife threw herself on him, sobbing, “You hate me! You don’t really love me.^(BJ) You’ve given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.”

“I haven’t even explained it to my father or mother,” he replied, “so why should I explain it to you?” ¹⁷ She cried the whole seven days^(BK) of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people.

¹⁸ Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said to him,

Samson said to them,

¹⁹ Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.^(BM) He went down to Ashkelon,^(BN) struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger,^(BO) he returned to his father’s home. ²⁰ And Samson’s wife was given to one of his companions^(BP) who had attended him at the feast.

Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines

15 Later on, at the time of wheat harvest,^(BQ) Samson^(BR) took a young goat^(BS) and went to visit his wife. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room.”^(BT) But her father would not let him go in.

² “I was so sure you hated her,” he said, “that I gave her to your companion.^(BU) Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.”

³ Samson said to them, “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.” ⁴ So he went out and caught three hundred foxes^(BV) and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch^(BW) to every pair of tails, ⁵ lit the torches^(BX) and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks^(BY) and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.

⁶ 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.^(BZ)”

So the Philistines went up and burned her^(CA) and her father to death.^{(CB) 7} Samson said to them, “Since you’ve acted like this, I swear that I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.” ⁸ He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock^(CC) of Etam.^(CD)

⁹ The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi.^{(CE) 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?^(CF) 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^(CG) 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^(CH) and led him up from the rock. ¹⁴ As he approached Lehi,^(CI) the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.^(CJ) The ropes on his arms became like charred flax,^(CK) and the bindings dropped from his hands. ¹⁵ Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.^(CL)

¹⁶ Then Samson said,

¹⁷ When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.^[d](CN)

¹⁸ Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord,^(CO) “You have given your servant this great victory.^(CP) 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.^(CQ) So the spring^(CR) was called En Hakkore,^[e] and it is still there in Lehi.

²⁰ Samson led^[f] Israel for twenty years^(CS) in the days of the Philistines.

Psalm 49^[a]

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.