⁴ After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. ⁵ And ^(A)the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, ^(B)“Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to ^(C)humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” ⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could ^(D)subdue you.”

⁷ Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, ^(E)then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” ⁸ Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. ⁹ Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound.” ¹¹ And he said to her, “If they bind me with ^(F)new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” ¹² So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.

¹³ Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” ¹⁴ So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web.^[a] And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.

¹⁵ And she said to him, ^(G)“How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.” ¹⁶ And ^(H)when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. ¹⁷ And he told her all his heart, and said to her, ^(I)“A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”

¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought ^(J)the money in their hands. ¹⁹ She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began ^(K)to torment him, and his strength left him. ²⁰ And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that ^(L)the Lord had left him. ²¹ And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. ^(M)And he ground at the mill in the prison. ²² But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

The Death of Samson

²³ Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to ^(N)Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.” ²⁴ And when the people saw him, ^(O)they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.”^{[b] 25} And ^(P)when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. ²⁶ And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” ²⁷ Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and ^(Q)on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.

²⁸ Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, ^(R)please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” ²⁹ And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. ³⁰ And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. ³¹ Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him ^(S)between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.

Ahab and the False Prophets

22 For three years Syria and Israel continued without war. ^2 (A)But in the third year ^(B)Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. ³ And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that ^(C)Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?” ⁴ And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, ^(D)“I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

⁵ And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” ⁶ Then the king of Israel ^(E)gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” ⁷ But ^(F)Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” ⁸ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” ⁹ Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.” ¹⁰ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor ^(G)at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹¹ And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself ^(H)horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these ^(I)you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” ¹² And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab

¹³ And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” ¹⁴ But Micaiah said, ^(J)“As the Lord lives, ^(K)what the Lord says to me, that I will speak.” ¹⁵ And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” ¹⁶ But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁷ And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, ^(L)as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” ¹⁸ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ^(M)“Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” ¹⁹ And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: ^(N)I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, ^(O)and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; ²⁰ and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. ²¹ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ ²² And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be ^(P)a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ ²³ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.”

²⁴ Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near ^(Q)and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?” ²⁵ And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go ^(R)into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” ²⁶ And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah, and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son, ²⁷ and say, ‘Thus says the king, ^(S)“Put this fellow in prison and feed him meager rations of bread and water, ^(T)until I come in peace.”’” ²⁸ And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, ^(U)the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, ^(V)“Hear, all you peoples!”

Ahab Killed in Battle

²⁹ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. ³⁰ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ^(W)“I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. ³¹ Now the king of Syria had commanded ^(X)the thirty-two captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” ³² And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is surely the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. ³³ And when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. ³⁴ But a certain man drew his bow at random^[a] and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, ^(Y)for I am wounded.” ³⁵ And the battle continued that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians, until at evening he died. And the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. ³⁶ And about sunset a cry went through the army, “Every man to his city, and every man to his country!”

³⁷ So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. ³⁸ And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, ^(Z)according to the word of the Lord that he had spoken.

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

^30 (A)They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, ³¹ for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, ^(B)after three days he will rise.” ^32 (C)But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Who Is the Greatest?

³³ And ^(D)they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house ^(E)he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” ³⁴ But they kept silent, for on the way ^(F)they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. ³⁵ And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, ^(G)“If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶ And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and ^(H)taking him in his arms, he said to them, ^37 (I)“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and ^(J)whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us

^38 (K)John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone ^(L)casting out demons in your name,^[a] and ^(M)we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” ³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. ^40 (N)For the one who is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ For truly, I say to you, ^(O)whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

Temptations to Sin

^42 (P)“Whoever causes one of ^(Q)these little ones who believe in me to sin,^{[b] (R)}it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. ^43 (S)And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to ^(T)hell,^[c] to ^(U)the unquenchable fire.^{[d] 45 (V)}And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into ^(W)hell. ^47 (X)And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into ^(Y)hell, ⁴⁸ ‘where ^(Z)their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ ⁴⁹ For everyone will be salted with fire.^{[e] 50 (AA)}Salt is good, ^(AB)but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? ^(AC)Have salt in yourselves, and ^(AD)be at peace with one another.”

Paul Appeals to Caesar

25 Now three days after Festus had arrived in ^(A)the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. ² And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews ^(B)laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, ³ asking as a favor against Paul^[a] that he summon him to Jerusalem—because ^(C)they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. ⁴ Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. ⁵ “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”

⁶ After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on ^(D)the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. ⁷ When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him ^(E)that they could not prove. ⁸ Paul argued in his defense, “Neither ^(F)against ^(G)the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor ^(H)against Caesar have I committed any offense.” ⁹ But Festus, ^(I)wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?” ¹⁰ But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar's ^(J)tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. ¹¹ If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. ^(K)I appeal to Caesar.” ¹² Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”

Paul Before Agrippa and Bernice

¹³ Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. ¹⁴ And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, ^(L)“There is a man left prisoner by Felix, ¹⁵ and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case ^(M)against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. ^16 (N)I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone ^(O)before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. ^17 (P)So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on ^(Q)the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. ¹⁸ When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed. ¹⁹ Rather they ^(R)had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about ^(S)a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. ²⁰ Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I ^(T)asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. ²¹ But ^(U)when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of ^(V)the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.” ²² Then ^(W)Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.”

²³ So on the next day ^(X)Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom ^(Y)the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, ^(Z)shouting that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵ But I found that ^(AA)he had done nothing deserving death. And ^(AB)as he himself appealed to ^(AC)the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. ²⁶ But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write. ²⁷ For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.”