⁴ (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord,^(A) who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines;^(B) for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)^(C)

²⁰ For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts^(A) to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.^(B)

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)

⁷ Through Ahaziah’s^(A) visit to Joram, God brought about Ahaziah’s downfall. When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.