³ her husband set out for Bethlehem to speak personally to her and persuade her to come back. He took with him a servant and a pair of donkeys. When he arrived at^[a] her father’s house, her father saw him and welcomed him.

²¹ No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.

³ But then he fell in love with her, and he tried to win her affection with tender words.

We Harvest What We Plant

6 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer^[a] is overcome by some sin, you who are godly^[b] should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.

¹¹ “No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

⁴ “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

¹⁹ Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement^[a] quietly.

The Lord’s Love for Unfaithful Israel

Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines

15 Later on, during the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat as a present to his wife. He said, “I’m going into my wife’s room to sleep with her,” but her father wouldn’t let him in.