Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines

15 Later on, at the time of wheat harvest,^(A) Samson^(B) took a young goat^(C) and went to visit his wife. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room.”^(D) But her father would not let him go in.

² “I was so sure you hated her,” he said, “that I gave her to your companion.^(E) Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.”

³ Samson said to them, “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.” ⁴ So he went out and caught three hundred foxes^(F) and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch^(G) to every pair of tails, ⁵ lit the torches^(H) and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks^(I) and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.

⁶ When the Philistines asked, “Who did this?” they were told, “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his companion.^(J)”

So the Philistines went up and burned her^(K) and her father to death.^{(L) 7} Samson said to them, “Since you’ve acted like this, I swear that I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.” ⁸ He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock^(M) of Etam.^(N)

⁹ The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi.^{(O) 10} The people of Judah asked, “Why have you come to fight us?”

“We have come to take Samson prisoner,” they answered, “to do to him as he did to us.”

¹¹ Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us?^(P) What have you done to us?”

He answered, “I merely did to them what they did to me.”

¹² They said to him, “We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”

Samson said, “Swear to me^(Q) that you won’t kill me yourselves.”

¹³ “Agreed,” they answered. “We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes^(R) and led him up from the rock. ¹⁴ As he approached Lehi,^(S) the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.^(T) The ropes on his arms became like charred flax,^(U) and the bindings dropped from his hands. ¹⁵ Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.^(V)

¹⁶ Then Samson said,

¹⁷ When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.^[b](X)

¹⁸ Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord,^(Y) “You have given your servant this great victory.^(Z) Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” ¹⁹ Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived.^(AA) So the spring^(AB) was called En Hakkore,^[c] and it is still there in Lehi.

²⁰ Samson led^[d] Israel for twenty years^(AC) in the days of the Philistines.

Psalm 111^[a]

Abraham Justified by Faith

4 What then shall we say^(A) that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh,^(B) discovered in this matter? ² If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.^{(C) 3} What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^[a](D)

⁴ Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift^(E) but as an obligation. ⁵ However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.^{(F) 6} David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁹ Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?^(H) We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.^{(I) 10} Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! ¹¹ And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.^(J) So then, he is the father^(K) of all who believe^(L) but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹² And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

¹³ It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise^(M) that he would be heir of the world,^(N) but through the righteousness that comes by faith.^{(O) 14} For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless,^{(P) 15} because the law brings wrath.^(Q) And where there is no law there is no transgression.^(R)

¹⁶ Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace^(S) and may be guaranteed^(T) to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.^{(U) 17} As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”^[c](V) He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life^(W) to the dead and calls^(X) into being things that were not.^(Y)

¹⁸ Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations,^(Z) just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”^{[d](AA) 19} Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead^(AB)—since he was about a hundred years old^(AC)—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.^{(AD) 20} Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened^(AE) in his faith and gave glory to God,^{(AF) 21} being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.^{(AG) 22} This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”^{(AH) 23} The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, ²⁴ but also for us,^(AI) to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him^(AJ) who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.^{(AK) 25} He was delivered over to death for our sins^(AL) and was raised to life for our justification.^(AM)