⁴ After this he fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. ⁵ The lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her, “Coax him, and find out what makes his strength so great and how we may overpower him, so that we may bind him in order to subdue him, and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”^{(A) 6} So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes your strength so great and how you could be bound, so that one could subdue you.” ⁷ Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that are not dried out, then I shall become weak and be like anyone else.” ⁸ Then the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not dried out, and she bound him with them. ⁹ While men were lying in wait in an inner chamber, she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings as a strand of fiber snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and told me lies; please tell me how you could be bound.”^{(B) 11} He said to her, “If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like anyone else.” ¹² So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” (The men lying in wait 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 could be bound.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like anyone else.”^{(C) 14} So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web^[a] and made them tight with the pin. Then she 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 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me three times now and have not told me what makes your strength so great.”^{(D) 16} Finally, after she had nagged him with her words day after day and pestered him, he was tired to death. ¹⁷ So he told her his whole secret and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, then my strength would leave me; I would become weak and be like anyone else.”^(E)

¹⁸ When Delilah realized that he had told her his whole secret, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “This time come up, for he has told his whole secret to me.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. ¹⁹ She let him fall asleep on her lap, and she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. He began to weaken,^[b] and his strength left him.^{(F) 20} Then she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” When he awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.^{(G) 21} So the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles, 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.

Samson’s Death

²³ Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon and to rejoice, for they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.”^{(H) 24} When the people saw him, 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.”^{(I) 25} And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, and let him entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them. They made him stand between the pillars,^{(J) 26} and Samson said to the attendant who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, so 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 on the roof there were about three thousand men and women who looked on while Samson performed.^(K)

²⁸ Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “Lord God, remember me and strengthen me only this once, O God, so that with this one act of revenge I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.”^{[c](L) 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 Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” He strained with all his might, and the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So those he killed at his death were more than those he had killed during his life. ³¹ Then his kindred and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years.^(M)

Service Well-Pleasing to God

13 Let mutual affection continue. ² Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.^{(A) 3} Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them, those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.^{[a] 4} Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.^{(B) 5} Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”^{(C) 6} So we can say with confidence,

⁷ Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. ⁹ Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by regulations about food,^[b] which have not benefited those who observe them.^{(D) 10} We have an altar from which those who officiate in the tent^[c] have no right to eat.^{(E) 11} For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.^{(F) 12} Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood.^{(G) 13} Let us then go to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. ¹⁴ For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.^{(H) 15} Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.^{(I) 16} Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

¹⁷ Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with sighing, for that would be harmful to you.^(J)

¹⁸ Pray for us; we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.^{(K) 19} I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you very soon.

Benediction

²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,^{(L) 21} make you complete in everything good^[d] so that you may do his will, as he works among us^[e] that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever.^[f] Amen.^(M)

Final Exhortation and Greetings

²² I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. ²³ I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been set free, and if he comes in time he will be with me when I see you.^{(N) 24} Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy send you greetings. ²⁵ Grace be with all of you.^[g](O)

The Festival of Weeks Reviewed

⁹ “You shall count seven weeks; begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain.^{(A) 10} Then you shall keep the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God, contributing a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing that you have received from the Lord your God. ¹¹ Rejoice before the Lord your God—you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female slaves, the Levites resident in your towns, as well as the strangers, the orphans, and the widows who are among you—at the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.^{(B) 12} Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and diligently observe these statutes.^(C)

Ministry of Apollos

²⁴ Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos from Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures.^{(A) 25} He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord, and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.^{(B) 26} He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately. ²⁷ And when he wished to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers,^{(C) 28} for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah^[a] is Jesus.^(D)

Paul in Ephesus

19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples.^{(E) 2} He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ Then he said, “Into what, then, were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.”^{(F) 4} Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.”^{(G) 5} On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied,^{(H) 7} altogether there were about twelve of them.