Judges 16:16-31

New American Standard Bible

¹⁶ And it came about, when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was ^[a]annoyed to death. ¹⁷ So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, “A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a ^(A)Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man.”

¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent word and called the governors of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.” Then the governors of the Philistines came up to her and brought up the money in their hands. ¹⁹ And she made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to humble him, and his strength left him. ²⁰ She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that ^(B)the Lord had departed from him. ²¹ Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and restrained him with bronze chains, and he became a grinder in the prison. ²² However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.

²³ Now the governors of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to ^(C)Dagon their god, and to celebrate, for they said,

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

²⁵ It so happened when ^[b]they were in high spirits, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may amuse us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he ^[c]entertained them. And they made him stand between the pillars. ²⁶ Then Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, “^[d]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, and all the governors of the Philistines were there. And about three thousand men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was entertaining them.

Samson Is Avenged

^28 (E)Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “Lord ^[e]God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once ^(F)take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes.” ²⁹ Then Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. ³⁰ And Samson said, “Let ^[f]me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed outwards powerfully, so that the house fell on the governors and all the people who were in it. And the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed during his lifetime. ³¹ Then his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. ^(G)So he had judged Israel for twenty years.