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Then the Philistines went up and camped in Judah and spread out in Lehi. 10 So the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” And they said, “We have come up to bind Samson in order 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 (A)that 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 I have done to them.” 12 And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you so that we may give you into the hand of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you yourselves will not [a]kill me.” 13 So they said to [b]him, “No, but we will bind you fast and give you into their hands; yet surely we will not put you to death.” Then 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. And (B)the Spirit of Yahweh [c]came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds [d]dropped from his hands. 15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he sent forth his hand and took it and struck down (C)1,000 men with it. 16 Then Samson said,

“With the jawbone of a donkey,
[e]Heaps upon heaps,
With the jawbone of a donkey
I have struck down 1,000 men.”

17 Now it happened that when he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place [f]Ramath-lehi. 18 Then he became very thirsty, and he (D)called to Yahweh and said, “You have given this great salvation by the hand of Your slave, but now [g]shall I die of thirst [h]and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 So God split the hollow place that is in Lehi and water came out of it. Then he drank, (E)and his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he named it [i]En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. 20 And (F)he judged Israel twenty years in (G)the days of the Philistines.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 15:12 Lit fall upon me
  2. Judges 15:13 Lit him, saying
  3. Judges 15:14 Lit succeeded, rushed upon
  4. Judges 15:14 Lit were melted
  5. Judges 15:16 Lit Heap, two heaps; Heb is same root as donkey
  6. Judges 15:17 Lit the high place of the jawbone
  7. Judges 15:18 Or I shall...uncircumcised
  8. Judges 15:18 Or or
  9. Judges 15:19 Lit the spring of him who called

Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah, and they overran Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” And they said, “To bind Samson; to do to him just as he did to us.” 11 Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and they said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are ruling over us? What is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “Just as they did to me, so I have done to them.” 12 They said to him, “We have come down to bind you and give you over into the hand 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 hand; we will certainly not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes, and they brought him up from the rock.

14 As he came up to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him; and the Spirit of Yahweh rushed on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that has burned with fire, and his bindings melted from his hands. 15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey; he reached down and took it and killed one thousand men with it. 16 And Samson said,

“With the jawbone of the donkey,
    heap upon heap;
with the jawbone of the donkey,
    I struck dead one thousand men.”

17 And it happened, when he finished speaking he threw the jawbone from his hand; and he called that place Ramath Lehi.[a]

18 And he was very thirsty, and he called to Yahweh and said, “You gave this great victory into the hand of your servant, but now I must die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?” 19 So God split the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it; and he drank, and his spirit returned, and he was revived. Thus he called its name The Spring of Ha-Qore,[b] which is at Lehi to this day. 20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 15:17 That is, “Hill of the Jawbone”
  2. Judges 15:19 Literally “the spring of the one who called” or “En-hakkore”