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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.

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. (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. And now, be careful (D)not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any [a]unclean thing. (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.” 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. 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.’”

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.” 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

  1. Judges 13:4 I.e., ritually unclean
  2. Judges 13:7 I.e., ritually unclean
  3. Judges 13:10 Lit husband, and said to him
  4. Judges 13:10 Lit came to me
  5. Judges 13:12 Lit come
  6. Judges 13:13 Lit from
  7. Judges 13:16 Lit bread
  8. Judges 13:17 Lit come
  9. Judges 13:18 I.e., incomprehensible
  10. Judges 13:25 I.e., the camp of Dan

The Birth of Samson(A)

13 Again the children of Israel (B)did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them (C)into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

Now there was a certain man from (D)Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. And the (E)Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now therefore, please be careful (F)not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no (G)razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be (H)a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall (I)begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

So the woman came and told her husband, saying, (J)“A Man of God came to me, and His (K)countenance[a] was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I (L)did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”

Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.”

And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!”

11 So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?”

And He said, “I am.

12 Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?”

13 So the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14 She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, (M)nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.”

15 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “Please (N)let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.”

16 And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the Lord.)

17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?”

18 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, (O)“Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”

19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, (P)and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on— 20 it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they (Q)fell on their faces to the ground. 21 When the Angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, (R)then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the Lord.

22 And Manoah said to his wife, (S)“We shall surely die, because 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 shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.”

24 So the woman bore a son and called his name (T)Samson; and (U)the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. 25 (V)And the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him at [b]Mahaneh Dan (W)between Zorah and (X)Eshtaol.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 13:6 appearance
  2. Judges 13:25 Lit. Camp of Dan, Judg. 18:12

13 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.

And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.

Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:

But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

Then Manoah intreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.

10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.

11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.

12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?

13 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.

14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.

16 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the Lord.

17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?

18 And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?

19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord: and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.

20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.

21 But the angel of the Lord did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the Lord.

22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

23 But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.

24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Philistines Oppress Again

13 Now Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was infertile and had no children. And the [a]Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are infertile and have no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. Therefore, be careful not to drink wine or [any other] intoxicating drink, and do not eat anything [ceremonially] unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a [b]Nazirite [dedicated] to God from birth; and he shall begin to rescue Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” Then the woman went and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the Angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask Him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. But He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or [any other] intoxicating drink, nor eat anything [ceremonially] unclean, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.’”

Then Manoah pleaded with the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do for the boy who is to be born.” And God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the Angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the Man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” 11 Then Manoah got up and followed his wife, and came to the Man and said to him, “Are you the Man who spoke to this woman?” He said, “I am.” 12 And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what shall be the boy’s manner of life, and his vocation?” 13 The Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “The woman must pay attention to everything that I said to her. 14 She may not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine or [any other] intoxicating drink, nor eat anything [ceremonially] unclean. She shall observe everything that I commanded her.”

15 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you and let us prepare a young goat for you [to eat].” 16 The Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain me, I will not eat your 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 Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that when your words come true, we may honor you?” 18 But the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful (miraculous)?”(A) 19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the Lord, and He performed miracles while Manoah and his wife looked on. 20 For when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the Angel of the Lord ascended in the altar flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this they fell on their faces to the ground.

21 The Angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah or his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the Angel of the Lord. 22 So Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen God.” 23 But his [sensible] wife said to him, “If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have received a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have announced such things as these at this time.”

24 So the woman [in due time] gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the boy grew and the Lord blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to [c]stir him at times in [d]Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 13:3 “Angel” has been capitalized here to reflect the likelihood that it is God appearing in a visible form (see v 22 and note Gen 16:7).
  2. Judges 13:5 The rules and regulations for a Nazirite are stated in Num 6:2-21. Ordinarily a person would take the vow of a Nazirite for a limited period of time as a voluntary act of dedication to God, but Samson’s was a special, divinely-ordained case.
  3. Judges 13:25 Or trouble.
  4. Judges 13:25 I.e. the camp of Dan.

13 And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

And there is a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danite, and his name [is] Manoah, his wife [is] barren, and hath not borne;

and a messenger of Jehovah appeareth unto the woman, and saith unto her, `Lo, I pray thee, thou [art] barren, and hast not borne; when thou hast conceived, then thou hast borne a son.

And, now, take heed, I pray thee, and do not drink wine, and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing,

for, lo, thou art conceiving and bearing a son, and a razor doth not go up on his head, for a Nazarite to God is the youth from the womb, and he doth begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.'

And the woman cometh and speaketh to her husband, saying, `A man of God hath come unto me, and his appearance [is] as the appearance of a messenger of God, very fearful, and I have not asked him whence he [is], and his name he hath not declared to me;

and he saith to me, Lo, thou art pregnant, and bearing a son, and now do not drink wine and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing, for a Nazarite to God is the youth from the womb till the day of his death.'

And Manoah maketh entreaty unto Jehovah, and saith, `O, my Lord, the man of God whom Thou didst send, let him come in, I pray thee, again unto us, and direct us what we do to the youth who is born.'

And God hearkeneth to the voice of Manoah, and the messenger of God cometh again unto the woman, and she [is] sitting in a field, and Manoah her husband is not with her,

10 and the woman hasteth, and runneth, and declareth to her husband, and saith unto him, `Lo, he hath appeared unto me -- the man who came on [that] day unto me.'

11 And Manoah riseth, and goeth after his wife, and cometh unto the man, and saith to him, `Art thou the man who spake unto the woman?' and he saith, `I [am].'

12 And Manoah saith, `Now let thy words come to pass; what is the custom of the youth -- and his work?'

13 And the messenger of Jehovah saith unto Manoah, `Of all that I said unto the woman let her take heed;

14 of anything which cometh out from the wine-vine she doth not eat, and wine and strong drink she doth not drink, and any unclean thing she doth not eat; all that I have commanded her she doth observe.'

15 And Manoah saith unto the messenger of Jehovah, `Let us detain thee, we pray thee, and prepare before thee a kid of the goats.'

16 And the messenger of Jehovah saith unto Manoah, `If thou detain me -- I do not eat of thy bread; and if thou prepare a burnt-offering -- to Jehovah thou dost offer it;' for Manoah hath not known that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah.

17 And Manoah saith unto the messenger of Jehovah, `What [is] thy name? when thy words come to pass, then we have honoured thee.'

18 And the messenger of Jehovah saith to him, `Why [is] this -- thou dost ask for My name? -- and it [is] Wonderful.'

19 And Manoah taketh the kid of the goats, and the present, and offereth on the rock to Jehovah, and He is doing wonderfully, and Manoah and his wife are looking on,

20 and it cometh to pass, in the going up of the flame from off the altar toward the heavens, that the messenger of Jehovah goeth up in the flame of the altar, and Manoah and his wife are looking on, and they fall on their faces to the earth,

21 and the messenger of Jehovah hath not added again to appear unto Manoah, and unto his wife, then hath Manoah known that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah.

22 And Manoah saith unto his wife, `We certainly die, for we have seen God.'

23 And his wife saith to him, `If Jehovah were desirous to put us to death, He had not received from our hands burnt-offering and present, nor shewed us all these things, nor as [at this] time caused us to hear [anything] like this.'

24 And the woman beareth a son, and calleth his name Samson, and the youth groweth, and Jehovah doth bless him,

25 and the Spirit of Jehovah beginneth to move him in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.