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The rulers of the Philistines went to visit Delilah. They said to her, ‘Do something clever to discover what makes Samson so strong. We want to find a way to take hold of him and tie him up. If you do that, we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.’

So Delilah said to Samson, ‘Please tell me what makes you so strong. How could someone tie you up so that you become helpless?’

Samson replied, ‘Someone would have to use seven new strings for bows. The strings must not have become dry. If they use those strings to tie me up, I will become weak, like other men.’

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The rulers of the Philistines(A) went to her and said, “See if you can lure(B) him into showing you the secret of his great strength(C) and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels[a] of silver.”(D)

So Delilah(E) said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”

Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 16:5 That is, about 28 pounds or about 13 kilograms