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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. 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.”

Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in the case of the Philistines when I harm them.” 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. 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.

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.

Samson said to them, “If you behave like this, surely I will take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.” 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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Samson Defeats the Philistines

15 After a while, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing along a kid. He said, “I want to go into my wife’s room.” But her father would not allow him to go in. Her father said, “I was sure that you had rejected her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister prettier than she? Why not take her instead?”(A) Samson said to them, “This time, when I do mischief to the Philistines, I will be without blame.” So Samson went and caught three hundred foxes and took some torches, and he turned the foxes[a] tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. When he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and burned up the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and[b] olive groves. Then the Philistines asked, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken Samson’s wife and given her to his companion.” So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father.(B) Samson said to them, “If this is what you do, I swear I will not stop until I have taken revenge on you.” He struck them down hip and thigh with a massive defeat, and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

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Footnotes

  1. 15.4 Heb lacks the foxes
  2. 15.5 Gk Tg Vg: Heb lacks and