Judges 15
1599 Geneva Bible
15 4 Samson tieth firebrands to the foxes’ tails. 6 The Philistines burnt his father-in-law and his wife. 15 With the jawbone of an ass he killeth a thousand men. 19 Out of a great tooth in the jaw God gave him water.
1 But within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a kid, saying, I will [a]go in to my wife into the chamber: but her father would not suffer him to go in.
2 And her father said, I thought that thou hadst hated her: therefore gave I her to thy companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of the other.
3 Then Samson said unto them, Now am I more [b]blameless than the Philistines: therefore will I do them displeasure.
4 ¶ And Samson went out, and took three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned them tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.
5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he sent them out into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the [c]ricks and the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.
6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson the son-in-law of the [d]Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. Then the Philistines came up and [e]burnt her and her father with fire.
7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and then I will cease.
8 So he smote them [f]hip and thigh with a mighty plague: then he went and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
9 ¶ Then the Philistines came up, and pitched in Judah, and [g]were spread abroad in Lehi.
10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up unto us? And they answered, To [h]bind Samson are we come up, and to do to him as he hath done to us.
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? [i]Wherefore then hast thou done thus unto us? And he answered them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.
12 Again they said unto him, We are come to bind thee, and to deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.
13 And they answered him, saying, No, but we will bind thee and [j]deliver thee unto their hand, but we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him from the rock.
14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms, became as flax that was burnt with fire: for the bands loosed from his hands.
15 And he found a [k]new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hands, and caught it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
16 Then Samson said, With the jaw of an ass are heaps upon heaps: with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
17 And when he had left speaking, he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place, [l]Ramath Lehi.
18 And he was sore athirst, and [m]called on the Lord, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
19 Then God brake the cheek tooth, that was in the jaw, and water came there out: and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he was revived: wherefore the name thereof is called, [n]En Hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.
20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Footnotes
- Judges 15:1 That is, I will use her as my wife.
- Judges 15:3 For through his father-in-law’s occasion, he was moved again to take vengeance of the Philistines.
- Judges 15:5 Or, that which was reaped and gathered.
- Judges 15:6 Or, the citizen of Timnath.
- Judges 15:6 So the wicked punish not vice for love of justice, but for fear of danger, which else might come to them.
- Judges 15:8 Or, horsemen and footmen.
- Judges 15:9 Or, camped.
- Judges 15:10 And so being our prisoner to punish him.
- Judges 15:11 Such was their gross ignorance, that they judged God’s great benefits to be a plague unto them.
- Judges 15:13 Thus they had rather betray their brother, than use the means that God had given for their deliverance.
- Judges 15:15 That is, of an ass lately slain.
- Judges 15:17 Or, the lifting up of the jaw.
- Judges 15:18 Whereby appeareth that he did these things in faith, and so with a true zeal to glorify God, and deliver his country.
- Judges 15:19 Or, the fountain of him that prayed.
Judges 15
New King James Version
Samson Defeats the Philistines
15 After a while, in the time of wheat harvest, it happened that Samson visited his wife with a (A)young goat. And he said, “Let me go in to my wife, into her room.” But her father would not permit him to go in.
2 Her father said, “I really thought that you thoroughly (B)hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please, take her instead.”
3 And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be blameless regarding the Philistines if I harm them!” 4 Then Samson went and caught three hundred foxes; and he took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5 When he had set the torches on fire, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
6 Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?”
And they answered, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” (C)So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.
7 Samson said to them, “Since you would do a thing like this, I will surely take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.” 8 So he attacked them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; then he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of (D)Etam.
9 Now the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and deployed themselves (E)against Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?”
So they answered, “We have come up to [a]arrest Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.”
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines (F)rule over us? What is this you have done to us?”
And he said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”
12 But they said to him, “We have come down to arrest you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.”
Then Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.”
13 So they spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will tie you securely and deliver you into their hand; but we will surely not kill you.” And they bound him with two (G)new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then (H)the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds [b]broke loose from his hands. 15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and (I)killed a thousand men with it. 16 Then Samson said:
“With the jawbone of a donkey,
Heaps upon heaps,
With the jawbone of a donkey
I have slain a thousand men!”
17 And so it was, when he had finished speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand, and called that place [c]Ramath Lehi.
18 Then he became very thirsty; so he cried out to the Lord and said, (J)“You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?” 19 So God split the hollow place that is in [d]Lehi, and water came out, and he drank; and (K)his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he called its name [e]En Hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. 20 And (L)he judged Israel (M)twenty years (N)in the days of the Philistines.
Footnotes
- Judges 15:10 Lit. bind
- Judges 15:14 Lit. were melted
- Judges 15:17 Lit. Jawbone Height
- Judges 15:19 Lit. Jawbone, Judg. 15:14
- Judges 15:19 Lit. Spring of the Caller
Judges 15
King James Version
15 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.
2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.
3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.
4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.
5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.
6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.
12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.
13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.
18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.
20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Judges 15
English Standard Version
Samson Defeats the Philistines
15 After some days, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with (A)a young goat. And he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in. 2 And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her, (B)so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.” 3 And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.” 4 So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5 And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards. 6 Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife (C)and given her to his companion.” And the Philistines came up and (D)burned her and her father with fire. 7 And Samson said to them, “If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit.” 8 And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in the (E)cleft of the rock of Etam.
9 Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and (F)made a raid on (G)Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.” 11 Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that (H)the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.” 12 And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.” 13 They said to him, “No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you.” So they bound him with two (I)new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. (J)Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. 15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, (K)and with it he struck 1,000 men. 16 And Samson said,
“With the jawbone of a donkey,
heaps upon heaps,
with the jawbone of a donkey
have I struck down a thousand men.”
17 As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place (L)was called Ramath-lehi.[a]
18 And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, (M)“You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 And God split open the hollow place that is (N)at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, (O)his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore;[b] it is at Lehi to this day. 20 And he judged Israel (P)in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Footnotes
- Judges 15:17 Ramath-lehi means the hill of the jawbone
- Judges 15:19 En-hakkore means the spring of him who called
Judges 15
World English Bible
15 But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat. He said, “I will go in to my wife’s room.”
But her father wouldn’t allow him to go in. 2 Her father said, “I most certainly thought that you utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Isn’t her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please, take her instead.”
3 Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in the case of the Philistines when I harm them.” 4 Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the middle between every two tails. 5 When he had set the torches on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, and also the olive groves.
6 Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?”
They said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” The Philistines came up, and burned her and her father with fire.
7 Samson said to them, “If you behave like this, surely I will take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.” 8 He struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cave in Etam’s rock. 9 Then the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
10 The men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?”
They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.”
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in Etam’s rock, and said to Samson, “Don’t you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?”
He said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”
12 They said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.”
Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.”
13 They spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will bind you securely and deliver you into their hands; but surely we will not kill you.” They bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.
14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. Then Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burned with fire; and his bands dropped from off his hands. 15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, put out his hand, took it, and struck a thousand men with it. 16 Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps; with the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men.” 17 When he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramath Lehi.[a]
18 He was very thirsty, and called on Yahweh and said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant; and now shall I die of thirst, and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
19 But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out of it. When he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived. Therefore its name was called En Hakkore, which is in Lehi, to this day. 20 He judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
Footnotes
- 15:17 “Ramath” means “hill” and “Lehi” means “jawbone”.
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