⁴ Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. ⁵ And the ^(A)lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, ^(B)“Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”

⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.”

⁷ And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

⁸ So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them. ⁹ Now men were lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with.”

¹¹ So he said to her, “If they bind me securely with ^(C)new ropes ^[a]that have never been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

¹² Therefore Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And men were lying in wait, staying in the room. But he broke them off his arms like a thread.

¹³ Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me what you may be bound with.”

And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom”—

¹⁴ So she wove it tightly with the batten of the loom, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled out the batten and the web from the loom.

¹⁵ Then she said to him, ^(D)“How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.” ¹⁶ And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was ^[b]vexed to death, ¹⁷ that he ^(E)told her all his heart, and said to her, ^(F)“No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, 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 for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. ^19 (G)Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then ^[c]she began to torment him, and his strength left him. ²⁰ And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord ^(H)had departed from him.

²¹ Then the Philistines took him and ^[d]put out his ^(I)eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison. ²² However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven.

Samson Dies with the Philistines

²³ Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to ^(J)Dagon their god, and to rejoice. And they said:

²⁴ When the people saw him, they ^(K)praised their god; for they said:

²⁵ So it happened, when their hearts were ^(L)merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars. ²⁶ Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them.” ²⁷ Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there—about three thousand men and women on the ^(M)roof watching while Samson performed.

²⁸ Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord God, ^(N)remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!” ²⁹ And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. ³⁰ Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.

³¹ And his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and ^(O)buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel ^(P)twenty years.

Concluding Moral Directions

13 Let ^(A)brotherly love continue. ^2 (B)Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing ^(C)some have unwittingly entertained angels. ^3 (D)Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

^4 (E)Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; ^(F)but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

⁵ Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ^(G)“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶ So we may boldly say:

Concluding Religious Directions

⁷ Remember those who ^[a]rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. ⁸ Jesus Christ is ^(I)the same yesterday, today, and forever. ⁹ Do not be carried ^[b]about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. ¹¹ For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. ¹² Therefore Jesus also, that He might ^[c]sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. ¹³ Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing ^(J)His reproach. ¹⁴ For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. ^15 (K)Therefore by Him let us continually offer ^(L)the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, ^(M)the fruit of our lips, ^[d]giving thanks to His name. ^16 (N)But do not forget to do good and to share, for ^(O)with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

^17 (P)Obey those who ^[e]rule over you, and be submissive, for ^(Q)they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Prayer Requested

^18 (R)Pray for us; for we are confident that we have ^(S)a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. ¹⁹ But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Benediction, Final Exhortation, Farewell

²⁰ Now may ^(T)the God of peace ^(U)who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, ^(V)that great Shepherd of the sheep, ^(W)through the blood of the everlasting covenant, ²¹ make you ^[f]complete in every good work to do His will, ^(X)working in ^[g]you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²² And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words. ²³ Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly.

²⁴ Greet all those who ^[h]rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.

²⁵ Grace be with you all. Amen.

The Feast of Weeks Reviewed^(A)

⁹ “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. ¹⁰ Then you shall keep the ^(B)Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give ^(C)as the Lord your God blesses you. ^11 (D)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 gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. ^12 (E)And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

Ministry of Apollos

^24 (A)Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. ²⁵ This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being ^(B)fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, ^(C)though he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. ²⁷ And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, ^(D)he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; ²⁸ for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, ^(E)showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

Paul at Ephesus

19 And it happened, while ^(F)Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through ^(G)the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples ² he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

So they said to him, ^(H)“We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

³ And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”

So they said, ^(I)“Into John’s baptism.”

⁴ Then Paul said, ^(J)“John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized ^(K)in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had ^(L)laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and ^(M)they spoke with tongues and prophesied. ⁷ Now the men were about twelve in all.