The Birth of Samson

13 And the people of Israel again ^(A)did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them ^(B)into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

² There was a certain man of ^(C)Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. ^(D)And his wife was barren and had no children. ^3 (E)And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. ⁴ Therefore be careful ^(F)and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, ⁵ for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. ^(G)No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be ^(H)a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall ^(I)begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁶ Then the woman came and told her husband, ^(J)“A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. ^(K)I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, ⁷ but he said to me, ^(L)‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”

⁸ Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.” ⁹ And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her. ¹⁰ So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” ¹¹ And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.” ¹² And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, ^(M)what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission?” ¹³ And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. ¹⁴ She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, ^(N)neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.”

¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you and ^(O)prepare a young goat for you.” ¹⁶ And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.) ¹⁷ And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, ^(P)“What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” ¹⁸ And the angel of the Lord said to him, ^(Q)“Why do you ask my name, seeing ^(R)it is wonderful?” ¹⁹ So ^(S)Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works^[a] wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching. ²⁰ And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, ^(T)and they fell on their faces to the ground.

²¹ The angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. ^(U)Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. ²² And Manoah said to his wife, ^(V)“We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” ²³ But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.” ²⁴ And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. ^(W)And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. ^25 (X)And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between ^(Y)Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson's Marriage

14 ^(Z)Samson went down to ^(AA)Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. ² Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. ^(AB)Now get her for me as my wife.” ³ But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters ^(AC)of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the ^(AD)uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

⁴ His father and mother did not know that it was ^(AE)from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. ^(AF)At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.

⁵ Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. ^6 (AG)Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. ⁷ Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson's eyes.

⁸ After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. ⁹ He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.

¹⁰ His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do. ¹¹ As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. ¹² And Samson said to them, ^(AH)“Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within ^(AI)the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty ^(AJ)changes of clothes, ¹³ but if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Put your riddle, that we may hear it.” ¹⁴ And he said to them,

And in three days they could not solve the riddle.

¹⁵ On the fourth^[b] day they said to Samson's wife, ^(AK)“Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, ^(AL)lest we burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?” ¹⁶ And Samson's wife wept over him and said, ^(AM)“You only hate me; you do not love me. You have put a riddle to my people, and you have not told me what it is.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?” ¹⁷ She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted, and on the seventh day he told her, because ^(AN)she pressed him hard. Then she told the riddle to her people. ¹⁸ And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,

And he said to them,

^19 (AO)And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to ^(AP)Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father's house. ²⁰ And Samson's wife was given to ^(AQ)his companion, ^(AR)who had been his best man.

10 Brothers,^[a] my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. ² For I bear them witness that ^(A)they have a zeal for God, ^(B)but not according to knowledge. ³ For, being ignorant of ^(C)the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. ⁴ For ^(D)Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.^[b]

The Message of Salvation to All

⁵ For ^(E)Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that ^(F)the person who does the commandments shall live by them. ⁶ But ^(G)the righteousness based on faith says, ^(H)“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the ^(I)abyss?’” (that is, ^(J)to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? ^(K)“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹ because, if ^(L)you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and ^(M)believe in your heart ^(N)that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, ^(O)“Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ^12 (P)For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; ^(Q)for the same Lord is Lord of all, ^(R)bestowing his riches on all who call on him. ¹³ For ^(S)“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him ^(T)of whom they have never heard?^[c] And how are they to hear ^(U)without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ^(V)“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” ¹⁶ But ^(W)they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ^(X)“Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” ¹⁷ So ^(Y)faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

¹⁸ But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for

¹⁹ But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,

²⁰ Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,

²¹ But of Israel he says, ^(AF)“All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

The Remnant of Israel

11 I ask, then, ^(AG)has God rejected his people? By no means! For ^(AH)I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,^[d] a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ^2 (AI)God has not rejected his people whom he ^(AJ)foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ^3 (AK)“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” ⁴ But what is God's reply to him? ^(AL)“I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ So too at the present time there is ^(AM)a remnant, chosen by grace. ^6 (AN)But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

⁷ What then? ^(AO)Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest ^(AP)were hardened, ⁸ as it is written,

⁹ And David says,

Gentiles Grafted In

¹¹ So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass ^(AT)salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. ¹² Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion^[e] mean!

¹³ Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as ^(AU)I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry ¹⁴ in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and ^(AV)thus save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection means ^(AW)the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? ^16 (AX)If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷ But if ^(AY)some of the branches were broken off, and you, ^(AZ)although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root^[f] of the olive tree, ¹⁸ do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. ¹⁹ Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you ^(BA)stand fast through faith. So ^(BB)do not become proud, but ^(BC)fear. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. ²² Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, ^(BD)provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise ^(BE)you too will be cut off. ²³ And ^(BF)even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

The Mystery of Israel's Salvation

^25 (BG)Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:^{[g] (BH)}a partial hardening has come upon Israel, ^(BI)until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶ And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

²⁸ As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are ^(BN)beloved for the sake of their forefathers. ²⁹ For the gifts and ^(BO)the calling of God are irrevocable. ³⁰ For just as ^(BP)you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹ so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now^[h] receive mercy. ³² For God ^(BQ)has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and ^(BR)wisdom and knowledge of God! ^(BS)How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

³⁶ For ^(BW)from him and through him and to him are all things. ^(BX)To him be glory forever. Amen.

A Living Sacrifice

12 ^(BY)I appeal to you therefore, brothers,^[i] by the mercies of God, ^(BZ)to present your bodies ^(CA)as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.^{[j] 2 (CB)}Do not be conformed to this world,^[k] but be transformed by ^(CC)the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ^(CD)discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^[l]

Gifts of Grace

³ For ^(CE)by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^(CF)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, ^(CG)each according to ^(CH)the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴ For ^(CI)as in one body we have many members,^[m] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, ^(CJ)though many, ^(CK)are one body in Christ, and individually ^(CL)members one of another. ^6 (CM)Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if ^(CN)prophecy, ^(CO)in proportion to our faith; ⁷ if ^(CP)service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸ the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; ^(CQ)the one who leads,^[n] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with ^(CR)cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

^9 (CS)Let love be genuine. ^(CT)Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ^10 (CU)Love one another with brotherly affection. ^(CV)Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, ^(CW)be fervent in spirit,^{[o] (CX)}serve the Lord. ^12 (CY)Rejoice in hope, ^(CZ)be patient in tribulation, ^(DA)be constant in prayer. ^13 (DB)Contribute to the needs of the saints and ^(DC)seek to show hospitality.

^14 (DD)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ^15 (DE)Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ^16 (DF)Live in harmony with one another. ^(DG)Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^{[p] (DH)}Never be wise in your own sight. ^17 (DI)Repay no one evil for evil, but ^(DJ)give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, ^(DK)live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, ^(DL)never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[q] to the wrath of God, for it is written, ^(DM)“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, ^(DN)“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.