Judges 16:4-21
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Samson and Delilah. 4 After that he fell in love with a woman in the Wadi Sorek whose name was Delilah. 5 (A)The lords of the Philistines came up to her and said, “Trick him and find out where he gets his great strength, and how we may overcome and bind him so as to make him helpless. Then for our part, we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me where you get your great strength and how you may be bound so as to be made helpless.” 7 “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not dried,” Samson answered her, “I shall grow weaker and be like anyone else.” 8 So the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not dried, and she bound him with them. 9 She had men lying in wait in the room, and she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings as a thread of tow is snapped by a whiff of flame; and his strength remained unexplained.
10 Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and told me lies. Now tell me how you may be bound.” 11 “If they bind me tight with new ropes, with which no work has been done,” he answered her, “I shall grow weaker and be like anyone else.” 12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them. Then she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” For there were men lying in wait in the room. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like thread.
13 Delilah said to Samson again, “Up to now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you may be bound.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my hair into the web and fasten them with the pin, I shall grow weaker and be like anyone else.” 14 So when he went to bed, Delilah took the seven locks of his hair and wove them into the web, and fastened them with the pin. Then she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” Awakening from his sleep, he pulled out both the loom and the web.
15 (B)Then she said to him, “How can you say ‘I love you’ when your heart is not mine? Three times already you have mocked me, and not told me where you get your great strength!” 16 (C)She pressed him continually and pestered him till he was deathly weary of it. 17 So he told her all that was in his heart and said, “No razor has touched my head, for I have been a nazirite for God from my mother’s womb.(D) If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I shall grow weaker and be like anyone else.” 18 When Delilah realized that he had told her all that was in his heart, she summoned the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up this time, for he has told me all that is in his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came to her and brought the money with them.(E) 19 She put him to sleep on her lap, and called for a man who shaved off the seven locks of his hair. He immediately became helpless, for his strength had left him.[a] 20 When she said “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” he woke from his sleep and thought, “I will go out as I have done time and again and shake myself free.” He did not realize that the Lord had left him. 21 But the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. Then they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze fetters, and he was put to grinding grain in the prison.
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Judges 16:4-21
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
4 After this he fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 The lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her, “Coax him, and find out what makes his strength so great, and how we may overpower him, so that we may bind him in order to subdue him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.” 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes your strength so great, and how you could be bound, so that one could subdue you.” 7 Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that are not dried out, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else.” 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not dried out, and she bound him with them. 9 While men were lying in wait in an inner chamber, she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a strand of fiber snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and told me lies; please tell me how you could be bound.” 11 He said to her, “If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else.” 12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” (The men lying in wait were in an inner chamber.) But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.
13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies; tell me how you could be bound.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else.” 14 So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web,[a] and made them tight with the pin. Then she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.
15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me three times now and have not told me what makes your strength so great.” 16 Finally, after she had nagged him with her words day after day, and pestered him, he was tired to death. 17 So he told her his whole secret, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head; for I have been a nazirite[b] to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, then my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be like anyone else.”
18 When Delilah realized that he had told her his whole secret, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “This time come up, for he has told his whole secret to me.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hands. 19 She let him fall asleep on her lap; and she called a man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. He began to weaken,[c] and his strength left him. 20 Then she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” When he awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. 21 So the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles; and he ground at the mill in the prison.
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- Judges 16:14 Compare Gk: in verses 13–14, Heb lacks and make it tight . . . into the web
- Judges 16:17 That is one separated or one consecrated
- Judges 16:19 Gk: Heb She began to torment him
Judges 16:4-21
Good News Translation
Samson and Delilah
4 After this, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in Sorek Valley. 5 The five Philistine kings went to her and said, “Trick Samson into telling you why he is so strong and how we can overpower him, tie him up, and make him helpless. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong. If someone wanted to tie you up and make you helpless, how could he do it?”
7 Samson answered, “If they tie me up with seven new bowstrings that are not dried out, I'll be as weak as anybody else.”
8 So the Philistine kings brought Delilah seven new bowstrings that were not dried out, and she tied Samson up. 9 She had some men waiting in another room, so she shouted, “Samson! The Philistines are coming!” But he snapped the bowstrings just as thread breaks when fire touches it. So they still did not know the secret of his strength.
10 Delilah told Samson, “Look, you've been making a fool of me and not telling me the truth. Please tell me how someone could tie you up.”
11 He told her, “If they tie me with new ropes that have never been used, I'll be as weak as anybody else.”
12 So Delilah got some new ropes and tied him up. Then she shouted, “Samson! The Philistines are coming!” The men were waiting in another room. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like thread.
13 Delilah said to Samson, “You're still making a fool of me and not telling me the truth. Tell me how someone could tie you up.”
He told her, “If you weave my seven locks of hair into a loom, and make it tight with a peg, I'll be as weak as anybody else.”
14 Delilah then lulled him to sleep, took his seven locks of hair, and wove them into the loom.[a] She made it tight with a peg and shouted, “Samson! The Philistines are coming!” But he woke up and pulled his hair loose from the loom.
15 So she said to him, “How can you say you love me, when you don't mean it? You've made a fool of me three times, and you still haven't told me what makes you so strong.” 16 She kept on asking him, day after day. He got so sick and tired of her bothering him about it 17 that he finally told her the truth. “My hair has never been cut,” he said. “I have been dedicated to God as a nazirite[b] from the time I was born. If my hair were cut, I would lose my strength and be as weak as anybody else.”
18 When Delilah realized that he had told her the truth, she sent a message to the Philistine kings and said, “Come back one more time. He has told me the truth.” Then they came and brought the money with them. 19 Delilah lulled Samson to sleep in her lap and then called a man, who cut off[c] Samson's seven locks of hair. Then she began to torment him, for he had lost his strength. 20 Then she shouted, “Samson! The Philistines are coming!” He woke up and thought, “I'll get loose and go free, as always.” He did not know that the Lord had left him. 21 The Philistines captured him and put his eyes out. They took him to Gaza, chained him with bronze chains, and put him to work grinding at the mill in the prison.
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- Judges 16:14 One ancient translation and make it tight (in verse 13) … into the loom (in verse 14); Hebrew does not have these words.
- Judges 16:17 See 13.5.
- Judges 16:19 Probable text who cut off; Hebrew and she cut off.
Judges 16:4-21
New American Standard Bible
4 After this it came about that he was in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 So the (A)governors of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “(B)Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and [a]how we can overpower him so that we may bind him to humble him. Then we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and [b]how you can be bound to humble you.” 7 And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh [c]animal tendons that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” 8 Then the governors of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh [d]animal tendons that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now she had men prepared for an ambush in an inner room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he tore the tendons to pieces just like a thread of flax is torn apart when it [e]comes too close to fire. So his strength was not discovered.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have toyed with me and told me lies; now please tell me [f]how you may be bound.” 11 Then He said to her, “If they bind me tightly with new ropes [g]which have not been used, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” 12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” For the men in the ambush were waiting in the inner room. But he tore [h]the ropes from his arms like thread.
13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have toyed with me and told me lies; tell me [i]how you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my [j]hair with the [k]web [l][and fasten it with the pin, then I will be weak like any other man.” 14 So while he slept, Delilah wove the seven locks of his [m]hair with the web]. And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web.
Delilah Extracts His Secret
15 Then she said to him, “(C)How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have toyed with me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is.” 16 And it came about, when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was [n]annoyed to death. 17 So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, “A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a (D)Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man.”
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent word and called the governors of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.” Then the governors of the Philistines came up to her and brought up the money in their hands. 19 And she made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to humble him, and his strength left him. 20 She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that (E)the Lord had departed from him. 21 Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and restrained him with bronze chains, and he became a grinder in the prison.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 16:5 Lit by what
- Judges 16:6 Lit by what
- Judges 16:7 I.e., of a butchered animal, that shrink and hold when drying
- Judges 16:8 See note v 7
- Judges 16:9 Lit smells
- Judges 16:10 Lit by what
- Judges 16:11 Lit with which work has not been done
- Judges 16:12 Lit them
- Judges 16:13 Lit by what
- Judges 16:13 Lit head
- Judges 16:13 I.e., in weaving, the warp of a loom
- Judges 16:13 The passage in brackets is found in LXX but not in any Heb mss
- Judges 16:14 Lit head
- Judges 16:16 Lit impatient to the point of
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