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
Judges 13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Birth of Samson
13 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.(A)
2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren, having borne no children.(B) 3 And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son.(C) 4 Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink or to eat anything unclean,(D) 5 for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”(E) 6 Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like that of an angel[a] of God, most awe-inspiring; I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name,(F) 7 but he said to me, ‘You shall conceive and bear a son. So then, drink no wine or strong drink and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.’ ”
8 Then Manoah entreated the Lord and said, “O my Lord, I pray, let the man of God whom you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do concerning the boy who will be born.”(G) 9 God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field, but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” 11 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?” And he said, “I am.” 12 Then Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy’s rule of life; what is he to do?” 13 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Let the woman give heed to all that I said to her.(H) 14 She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine. She is not to drink wine or strong drink or eat any unclean thing. She is to observe everything that I commanded her.”(I)
15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Allow us to detain you and prepare a kid for you.”(J) 16 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat your food, but if you want to prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.)(K) 17 Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?”(L) 18 But the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful.”(M)
19 So Manoah took the kid with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to him who works[b] wonders.[c](N) 20 When the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on, and they fell on their faces to the ground.(O) 21 The angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord.(P) 22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”(Q) 23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands or shown us all these things or[d] announced to us such things as these.”
24 The woman bore a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him.(R) 25 The spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.(S)
Judges 13
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
13 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord: and he delivered them into the hands of the Philistines forty years.
2 Now there was a certain man of Saraa, and of the race of Dan, whose name was Manue, and his wife was barren.
3 And an angel of the Lord appeared to her, and said: Thou art barren and without children: but thou shalt conceive and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing.
5 Because thou shalt conceive and bear a son, and no razor shall touch his head: for he shall be a Nazarite of God, from his infancy, and from his mother's womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.
6 And when she was come to her husband she said to him: A man of God came to me, having the countenance of an angel, very awful. And when I asked him who he was, and whence he came, and by what name he was called, he would not tell me.
7 But he answered thus: Behold thou shalt conceive and bear a son: beware thou drink no wine, nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite of God from his infancy, from his mother's womb until the day of his death.
8 Then Manue prayed to the Lord, and said: I beseech thee, O Lord, that the mail of God, whom thou didst send, may come again, and teach us what we ought to do concerning the child that shall be born.
9 And the Lord heard the prayer of Manue, and the angel of the Lord appeared again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But Manue her husband was not with her. And when she saw the angel,
10 She made haste and ran to her husband: and told him saying: Behold the man hath appeared to me whom I saw before.
11 He rose up and followed his wife: and coming to the man, said to him: Art thou he that spoke to the woman? And he answered: I am.
12 And Manue said to him: When thy word shall come to pass, what wilt thou that the child should do? or from what shall he keep himself?
13 And the angel of the Lord said to Manue: From all the things I have spoken of to thy wife, let her refrain herself:
14 And let her eat nothing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: and whatsoever I have commanded her, let her fulfill and observe.
15 And Manue said to the angel of the Lord: I beseech thee to consent to my request, and let us dress a kid for thee.
16 And the angel answered him: If thou press me, I will not eat of thy bread: but if thou wilt offer a holocaust, offer it to the Lord. And Manue knew not it was the angel of the Lord.
17 And he said to him: What is thy name, that, if thy word shall come to pass, we may honour thee?
18 And he answered him: Why askest thou my name, which is wonderful?
19 Then Manue took a kid of the flocks, and the libations, and put them upon a rock, offering to the Lord, who doth wonderful things: and he and his wife looked on.
20 And when the flame from the altar went up towards heaven, the angel of the lord ascended also in the flame. And when Manue and his wife saw this, they fell flat on the ground.
21 And the angel of the Lord appeared to them no more. And forthwith Manue understood that it was an angel of the Lord,
22 And he said to his wife: We shall certainly die, because we have seen God.
23 And his wife answered him: If the Lord had a mind to kill us, he would not have received a holocaust and libations at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor have told us the things that are to come.
24 And she bore 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 be with him in the camp of Dan, between Saraa and Esthaol.
Judges 13
The Message
Samson
13 And then the People of Israel were back at it again, doing what was evil in God’s sight. God put them under the domination of the Philistines for forty years.
2-5 At that time there was a man named Manoah from Zorah from the tribe of Dan. His wife was barren and childless. The angel of God appeared to her and told her, “I know that you are barren and childless, but you’re going to become pregnant and bear a son. But take much care: Drink no wine or beer; eat nothing ritually unclean. You are, in fact, pregnant right now, carrying a son. No razor will touch his head—the boy will be God’s Nazirite from the moment of his birth. He will launch the deliverance from Philistine oppression.”
6-7 The woman went to her husband and said, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the angel of God—terror laced with glory! I didn’t ask him where he was from and he didn’t tell me his name, but he told me, ‘You’re pregnant. You’re going to give birth to a son. Don’t drink any wine or beer and eat nothing ritually unclean. The boy will be God’s Nazirite from the moment of birth to the day of his death.’”
8 Manoah prayed to God: “Master, let the man of God you sent come to us again and teach us how to raise this boy who is to be born.”
9-10 God listened to Manoah. God’s angel came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field; her husband Manoah wasn’t there with her. She jumped to her feet and ran and told her husband: “He’s back! The man who came to me that day!”
11 Manoah got up and, following his wife, came to the man. He said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”
He said, “I am.”
12 Manoah said, “So. When what you say comes true, what do you have to tell us about this boy and his work?”
13-14 The angel of God said to Manoah, “Keep in mind everything I told the woman. Eat nothing that comes from the vine: Drink no wine or beer; eat no ritually unclean foods. She’s to observe everything I commanded her.”
15 Manoah said to the angel of God, “Please, stay with us a little longer; we’ll prepare a meal for you—a young goat.”
16 God’s angel said to Manoah, “Even if I stay, I won’t eat your food. But if you want to prepare a Whole-Burnt-Offering for God, go ahead—offer it!” Manoah had no idea that he was talking to the angel of God.
17 Then Manoah asked the angel of God, “What’s your name? When your words come true, we’d like to honor you.”
18 The angel of God said, “What’s this? You ask for my name? You wouldn’t understand—it’s sheer wonder.”
19-21 So Manoah took the kid and the Grain-Offering and sacrificed them on a rock altar to God who works wonders. As the flames leapt up from the altar to heaven, God’s angel also ascended in the altar flames. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground. Manoah and his wife never saw the angel of God again.
21-22 Only then did Manoah realize that this was God’s angel. He said to his wife, “We’re as good as dead! We’ve looked on God!”
23 But his wife said, “If God were planning to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted our Whole-Burnt-Offering and Grain-Offering, or revealed all these things to us—given us this birth announcement.”
24-25 The woman gave birth to a son. They named him Samson. The boy grew and God blessed him. The Spirit of God began working in him while he was staying at a Danite camp between Zorah and Eshtaol.
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