Samson Burns Philistine Crops

15 But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife (A)with a young goat, and said, “I will go in to my wife in her room.” But her father did not let him enter. Her father said, “I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I (B)gave her to your companion. Is her younger sister not [a]more beautiful than she? Please let her be yours [b]instead.” Samson then said to them, “This time I will have been blameless regarding the Philistines when I do them harm.” And Samson went and caught three hundred jackals, and took torches, and turned the jackals tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between two tails. When he had set fire to the torches, he released the jackals into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to both the bundled heaps and the standing grain, along with the vineyards and olive groves. Then the Philistines said, “Who did this?” And some said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because [c]he took his wife and gave her to his companion.” So the Philistines came up and (C)burned her and her father to death with fire. Then Samson said to them, “If this is how you act, I will certainly take revenge on you, and only after that will I stop.” So he struck them [d]ruthlessly with a great slaughter; and afterward he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 15:2 Lit better
  2. Judges 15:2 Lit instead of her
  3. Judges 15:6 I.e., the Timnite
  4. Judges 15:8 Lit thigh on loin

Samson attacks the Philistines

15 Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing along a young goat. He said, “Let me go into my wife’s bedroom.”

But her father wouldn’t allow him to go in. Her father said, “I was so sure that you had completely rejected her that I gave her in marriage to one of your companions. Don’t you think her younger sister is even better? Let her be your wife instead.”

Samson replied, “No one can blame me now for being ready to bring down trouble on the Philistines!”

Then Samson went and caught three hundred foxes. He took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. He lit the torches and released the foxes into the Philistines’ grain fields. So he burned the stacked grain, standing grain, vineyards, and olive orchards.

The Philistines inquired, “Who did this?”

So it was reported, “Samson the Timnite’s son-in-law did it, because his father-in-law gave his wife in marriage to one of his companions.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.

Samson then responded to them, “If this is how you act, then I won’t stop until I get revenge on you!” He struck them hard, taking their legs right out from under them.[a] Then he traveled down and stayed in a cave in the rock at Etam.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 15:8 Or struck them hip and thigh