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.

Sacrifices Pleasing to God

13 Let ^(A)brotherly love continue. ^2 (B)Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby ^(C)some have entertained angels unawares. ^3 (D)Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. ^4 (E)Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge ^(F)the sexually immoral and adulterous. ⁵ Keep your life ^(G)free from love of money, and ^(H)be content with what you have, for he has said, ^(I)“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶ So we can confidently say,

⁷ Remember ^(L)your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and ^(M)imitate their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is ^(N)the same yesterday and today and forever. ⁹ Do not be ^(O)led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, ^(P)not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. ¹⁰ We have an altar ^(Q)from which those who serve the tent^[a] have no right to eat. ¹¹ For ^(R)the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned ^(S)outside the camp. ¹² So Jesus also ^(T)suffered ^(U)outside the gate in order to sanctify the people ^(V)through his own blood. ¹³ Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear ^(W)the reproach he endured. ¹⁴ For ^(X)here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. ^15 (Y)Through him then let us continually offer up ^(Z)a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, ^(AA)the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. ¹⁶ Do not neglect to do good and ^(AB)to share what you have, for such ^(AC)sacrifices are pleasing to God.

¹⁷ Obey ^(AD)your leaders and submit to them, ^(AE)for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to ^(AF)give an account. ^(AG)Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

^18 (AH)Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. ¹⁹ I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order ^(AI)that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Benediction

²⁰ Now ^(AJ)may the God of peace ^(AK)who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, ^(AL)the great shepherd of the sheep, by ^(AM)the blood of the eternal covenant, ^21 (AN)equip you with everything good that you may do his will, ^(AO)working in us^[b] that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, ^(AP)to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

²² I appeal to you, brothers,^[c] bear with my word of exhortation, for ^(AQ)I have written to you briefly. ²³ You should know that ^(AR)our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. ²⁴ Greet all ^(AS)your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. ^25 (AT)Grace be with all of you.

The Feast of Weeks

^9 (A)“You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. ¹⁰ Then you shall keep ^(B)the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with ^(C)the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give ^(D)as the Lord your God blesses you. ¹¹ And ^(E)you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. ^12 (F)You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

Apollos Speaks Boldly in Ephesus

²⁴ Now a Jew named ^(A)Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, ^(B)competent in the Scriptures. ²⁵ He had been instructed in ^(C)the way of the Lord. And ^(D)being fervent in spirit,^[a] he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only ^(E)the baptism of John. ²⁶ He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when ^(F)Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him ^(G)the way of God more accurately. ²⁷ And when he wished to cross to ^(H)Achaia, ^(I)the brothers encouraged him and ^(J)wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, ^(K)he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, ²⁸ for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures ^(L)that the Christ was Jesus.

Paul in Ephesus

19 And it happened that while ^(M)Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed ^(N)through the inland^[b] country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. ² And he said to them, ^(O)“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, ^(P)we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ And he said, ^(Q)“Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into ^(R)John's baptism.” ⁴ And Paul said, ^(S)“John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people ^(T)to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” ⁵ On hearing this, ^(U)they were baptized in^[c] the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And ^(V)when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and ^(W)they began speaking in tongues and ^(X)prophesying. ⁷ There were about twelve men in all.