Judges 15:1-8
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.
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Judges 15:1-8
International Standard Version
Samson Burns the Philistine Harvest
15 A while later during the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife, bringing along a young goat, and told his father-in-law,[a] “I’m going into my wife’s room.” But her father wouldn’t give permission for him[b] to go.
2 Her father said, “Because I honestly thought that you hated her deeply, I gave her in marriage to your best man.[c] Isn’t her younger sister better than she? Please then, let her be yours instead.”
3 Samson replied to them, “This time I’ll be blameless when I do something evil to the Philistines.” 4 So Samson went out, caught 300 foxes, grabbed some torches,[d] tied[e] the foxes together in pairs at their tails,[f] and fastened a torch[g] between each pair of tails. 5 Then he ignited the torches, set the foxes loose into the Philistines’ unharvested grain, and burned up both the harvested shocks and the standing grain, along with their vineyards and olive groves.
6 Then the Philistines demanded, “Who did this?”
Someone said, “Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because his father-in-law[h] took Samson’s[i] wife and gave her to the best man at Samson’s wedding.”[j] In retaliation, the Philistines came up and burned her and her father to death.
7 Samson replied to them, “Because you did this, I’m not going to stop until I get my revenge against you!” 8 So he attacked them ruthlessly[k] in a massive slaughter, then left to live in the caves of Etam.
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- Judges 15:1 The Heb. lacks to his father-in-law
- Judges 15:1 The Heb. lacks permission for him
- Judges 15:2 Lit. your acquaintance; cf. Judg 14:20; 15:7
- Judges 15:4 Or firebrands
- Judges 15:4 Lit. turned
- Judges 15:4 Lit. foxes tail to tail
- Judges 15:4 Or firebrand
- Judges 15:6 Lit. because he
- Judges 15:6 Lit. his
- Judges 15:6 Lit. to his acquaintance; cf. Judg 14:20, 15:2
- Judges 15:8 Lit. them hip and thigh
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