Judges 13
Expanded Bible
The Birth of Samson
13 Again the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. So he ·handed them over to [L gave them into the hand of] the Philistines for forty years.
2 There was a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan, who lived in the city of Zorah [C fifteen miles west of Jerusalem; v. 25]. He had a wife, but she [L was barren/infertile and] could not have children [C a cause of both sadness and shame; Gen. 11:30; 29:31]. 3 The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord [C angelic spokesperson for God, sometimes identified with the Lord himself; 2:1; 6:11; Gen. 16:7; Ex. 14:19; 23:20] appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “·You [L Look/T Behold, you are barren and] have not been able to have children, but you will ·become pregnant [conceive] and give birth to a son. 4 Be careful not to drink wine or ·beer [or other fermented drink; T strong drink; C an alcoholic beverage made from grain] or eat anything that is unclean [C in a ritual sense], 5 because you will ·become pregnant [conceive] and have a son. You must never cut his hair, because he will be a Nazirite [Num. 6:1–12], given to God from ·birth [L the womb]. He will begin to ·save [rescue; T deliver] Israel from the ·power [hand] of the Philistines.”
6 Then Manoah’s wife went to him and told him what had happened. She said, “A man from God came to me. He looked like an angel from God; ·his appearance was frightening [very terrifying/awesome]. I didn’t ask him where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You will ·become pregnant [conceive] and will have a son. Don’t drink wine or ·beer [or other fermented drink; T strong drink; v. 4] or eat anything that is unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite [v. 5] to God from his birth until the day of his death.’”
8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, I beg you to let the man of God come to us again. Let him teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born to us.”
9 God heard Manoah’s prayer, and the ·angel [messenger] of God came to Manoah’s wife again while she was sitting in the field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 So she ran to tell him, “·He is here [L Look; T Behold]! The man who ·appeared [came] to me the other day is here!”
11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”
The man said, “I am.”
12 So Manoah asked, “When what you say happens, what kind of life should the boy live? What ·should he do [is his mission/vocation]?”
13 The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord said, “Your wife must be careful to do everything I told her to do. 14 She must not eat anything that grows on a grapevine, or drink any wine or ·beer [or other fermented drink; T strong drink; v. 4], or eat anything that is unclean [C in a ritual sense]. She must do everything I have commanded her.”
15 Manoah said to the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord, “We would like you to stay awhile so we can cook a young goat for you.”
16 The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord answered, “Even if I stay awhile, I would not eat your food. But if you want to prepare something, offer a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] to the Lord.” (Manoah did not understand that the man was really the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah asked the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord, “What is your name? Then we will honor you when what you have said really happens.”
18 The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord said, “Why do you ask my name? It is ·too amazing for you to understand [beyond comprehension; wonderful; Is. 9:6].” 19 So Manoah sacrificed a young goat on a rock and offered ·some grain as a gift [a grain/gift/tribute offering; Lev. 2:1] to the Lord. Then ·an amazing thing happened [or the Lord did an amazing thing] as Manoah and his wife watched. 20 As the flames went up to ·the sky [heaven] from the altar, the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord ·went up [ascended] in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw that, they bowed facedown on the ground. 21 The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord did not appear to them again. Then Manoah ·understood [realized; knew] that the man was really the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord. 22 Manoah said, “We have seen ·God [or a divine being; C Hebrew: Elohim; v. 3], so we will surely die [6:23; Gen. 16:13].”
23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] or ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [Lev. 2:1]. He would not have shown us all these things or told us all this.”
24 So the woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson [C related to the Hebrew word for “sun”; perhaps “sun-like” or “light from God”; Mal. 4:2]. He grew, and the Lord blessed him. 25 The Spirit of the Lord began to ·work in Samson [move/stir/empower him] while he was in the city of Mahaneh Dan, between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol.
Judges 13
New American Standard Bible
Philistines Oppress Again
13 Now the sons of Israel (A)again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.
2 And there was a man of (B)Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was infertile and had not given birth to any children. 3 (C)Then the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are infertile and have not given birth; but you will conceive and give birth to a son. 4 And now, be careful (D)not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any [a]unclean thing. 5 (E)For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a (F)Nazirite to God from the womb; and he will begin to save Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” 6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “(G)A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. So I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any [b]unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”
8 Then Manoah pleaded with the Lord and said, “Lord, please let (H)the man of God whom You have sent come to us again so that he may teach us what we are to do for the boy who is to be born.” 9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah; and (I)the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 So the woman hurried and ran, and told her [c]husband, “Behold, (J)the man who [d]came the other day has appeared to me!” 11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he said to him, “Are you (K)the man who spoke to the woman?” And he said, “I am.” 12 Then Manoah said, “Now when your words [e]are fulfilled, what shall be the boy’s way of life and his vocation?” 13 And (L)the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “(M)The woman shall pay attention [f]to all that I said. 14 She shall not eat anything that comes from the (N)vine nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; she shall keep all that I commanded.”
15 Then Manoah said to (O)the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a young goat for you.” 16 But the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain me, (P)I will not eat your [g]food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.” For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord. 17 And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “(Q)What is your name, so that when your words [h]are fulfilled, we may honor you?” 18 But the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, for it is [i](R)wonderful?” 19 So (S)Manoah took the young goat along with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the Lord; and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. 20 For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they (T)fell on their faces to the ground.
21 Now the angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. (U)Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. 22 So Manoah said to his wife, “(V)We will certainly die, for we have seen God.” 23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have (W)shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time.”
24 So the woman gave birth to a son, and named him Samson; and the (X)child grew up and the Lord blessed him. 25 And (Y)the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him when he was in [j](Z)Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Footnotes
- Judges 13:4 I.e., ritually unclean
- Judges 13:7 I.e., ritually unclean
- Judges 13:10 Lit husband, and said to him
- Judges 13:10 Lit came to me
- Judges 13:12 Lit come
- Judges 13:13 Lit from
- Judges 13:16 Lit bread
- Judges 13:17 Lit come
- Judges 13:18 I.e., incomprehensible
- Judges 13:25 I.e., the camp of Dan
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