Samson and Delilah

16 One day Samson^(A) went to Gaza,^(B) where he saw a prostitute.^(C) He went in to spend the night with her. ² The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate.^(D) They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn^(E) we’ll kill him.”

³ But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.^(F)

⁴ Some time later, he fell in love^(G) with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.^{(H) 5} The rulers of the Philistines^(I) went to her and said, “See if you can lure^(J) him into showing you the secret of his great strength^(K) and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels^[a] of silver.”^(L)

⁶ So Delilah^(M) said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”

⁷ Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

⁸ Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. ⁹ With men hidden in the room,^(N) she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”^(O) But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.

¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me;^(P) you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.”

¹¹ He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes^(Q) that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

¹² So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”^(R) But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.

¹³ Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.”

He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric ¹⁴ and^[b] tightened it with the pin.

Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”^(S) He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.

¹⁵ Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’^(T) when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time^(U) you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.^(V)” ¹⁶ With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.

¹⁷ So he told her everything.^(W) “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite^(X) dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”

¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines^(Y), “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands.^{(Z) 19} After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.^[c] And his strength left him.^(AA)

²⁰ Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”^(AB)

He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.^(AC)

²¹ Then the Philistines^(AD) seized him, gouged out his eyes^(AE) and took him down to Gaza.^(AF) Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain^(AG) in the prison. ²² But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

The Death of Samson

²³ Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon^(AH) their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”

²⁴ When the people saw him, they praised their god,^(AI) saying,

²⁵ While they were in high spirits,^(AK) they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.

When they stood him among the pillars, ²⁶ Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” ²⁷ Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof^(AL) were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. ²⁸ Then Samson prayed to the Lord,^(AM) “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge^(AN) on the Philistines for my two eyes.” ²⁹ Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, ³⁰ Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.

³¹ Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah^(AO) his father. He had led^[d](AP) Israel twenty years.^(AQ)

Psalm 112^[a]

Peace and Hope

5 Therefore, since we have been justified^(A) through faith,^(B) we^[a] have peace^(C) with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,^{(D) 2} through whom we have gained access^(E) by faith into this grace in which we now stand.^(F) And we^[b] boast in the hope^(G) of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings,^(H) because we know that suffering produces perseverance;^{(I) 4} perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope^(J) does not put us to shame, because God’s love^(K) has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,^(L) who has been given to us.

⁶ You see, at just the right time,^(M) when we were still powerless,^(N) Christ died for the ungodly.^{(O) 7} Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.^(P)

⁹ Since we have now been justified^(Q) by his blood,^(R) how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath^(S) through him! ¹⁰ For if, while we were God’s enemies,^(T) we were reconciled^(U) to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!^{(V) 11} Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.^(W)

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

¹² Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,^(X) and death through sin,^(Y) and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned^(Z)—

¹³ To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.^{(AA) 14} Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam,^(AB) who is a pattern of the one to come.^(AC)

¹⁵ But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man,^(AD) how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ,^(AE) overflow to the many! ¹⁶ Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. ¹⁷ For if, by the trespass of the one man, death^(AF) reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life^(AG) through the one man, Jesus Christ!

¹⁸ Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people,^(AH) so also one righteous act resulted in justification^(AI) and life^(AJ) for all people. ¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man^(AK) the many were made sinners,^(AL) so also through the obedience^(AM) of the one man the many will be made righteous.

²⁰ The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase.^(AN) But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,^{(AO) 21} so that, just as sin reigned in death,^(AP) so also grace^(AQ) might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life^(AR) through Jesus Christ our Lord.