Judges 16
International Children’s Bible
Samson Goes to the City of Gaza
16 One day Samson went to Gaza. He saw a prostitute there. He went in to spend the night with her. 2 Someone told the people of Gaza, “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the place and hid and waited for him. Remaining very quiet, they stayed near the city gate all night. They said to each other, “When dawn comes, we will kill Samson!”
3 But Samson only stayed with the prostitute until midnight. Then he got up and took hold of the doors and the two posts of the city gate. He tore them loose, along with the bar. Then he put them on his shoulders. And he carried them to the top of the hill that faces the city of Hebron!
Samson and Delilah
4 After this, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah. She lived in the Valley of Sorek. 5 The kings of the Philistines went to Delilah. They said, “Try to find out what makes Samson so strong. Try to trick him into telling you. Find out how we could capture him and tie him up. Then we will be able to control him. If you do this, each one of us will give you 28 pounds of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me why you are so strong. How could someone tie you up and take control of you?”
7 Samson answered, “Someone would have to tie me up. He would have to use seven new bowstrings that have not been dried. If he did that, I would be as weak as any other man.”
8 Then the kings of the Philistines brought seven new bowstrings to Delilah. They had not been dried. She tied Samson with them. 9 Some men were hiding in another room. Delilah said to Samson, “Samson, the Philistines are about to capture you!” But Samson easily broke the bowstrings. They broke like pieces of string burned in a fire. So the Philistines did not find out the secret of Samson’s strength.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You’ve made me look foolish. You lied to me. Please tell me. How could someone tie you up?”
11 Samson said, “They would have to tie me with new ropes that have not been used before. Then I would become as weak as any other man.”
12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied Samson. Some men were hiding in another room. Then she called out to him, “Samson, the Philistines are about to capture you!” But he broke the ropes as easily as if they were threads.
13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now, you have made me look foolish. You have lied to me. Tell me how someone could tie you up.”
He said, “Use the loom.[a] Weave the seven braids of my hair into the cloth. Tighten it with a pin. Then I will become as weak as any other man.”
Then Samson went to sleep. So Delilah wove the seven braids of his hair into the cloth. 14 Then she fastened it with a pin.
Again she called out to him, “Samson, the Philistines are about to capture you!” Samson woke up and pulled up the pin and the loom with the cloth.
15 Then Delilah said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you don’t even trust me? This is the third time you have made me look foolish. You haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” 16 She kept bothering Samson about his secret day after day. He became so tired of it he felt he was going to die!
17 So he told her everything. He said, “I have never had my hair cut. I have been set apart to God as a Nazirite since I was born. If someone shaved my head, then I would lose my strength. I would become as weak as any other man.”
18 Delilah saw that he had told her everything sincerely. So she sent a message to the kings of the Philistines. She said, “Come back one more time. He has told me everything.” So the kings of the Philistines came back to Delilah. They brought the silver they had promised to give her. 19 Delilah got Samson to go to sleep. He was lying in her lap. Then she called in a man to shave off the seven braids of Samson’s hair. In this way she began to make him weak. And Samson’s strength left him.
20 Then she called out to him, “Samson, the Philistines are about to capture you!”
He woke up and thought, “I’ll get loose as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
21 Then the Philistines captured Samson. They tore out his eyes. And they took him down to Gaza. They put bronze chains on him. They put him in prison and made him grind grain. 22 But his hair began to grow again.
Samson Dies
23 The kings of the Philistines gathered to celebrate. They were going to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They said, “Our god has given us Samson our enemy.” 24 When they saw him, they praised their god. They said,
“This man destroyed our country.
He killed many of us!
But our god helped us
capture our enemy.”
25 The people were having a good time at the celebration. They said, “Bring Samson out to perform for us.” So they brought Samson from the prison. He performed for them. They made him stand between the pillars of the temple of Dagon. 26 A servant was holding his hand. Samson said to him, “Let me feel the pillars that hold up the temple. I want to lean against them.” 27 Now the temple was full of men and women. All the kings of the Philistines were there. There were about 3,000 men and women on the roof.[b] They watched Samson perform. 28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord. He said, “Lord God, remember me. God, please give me strength one more time. Let me pay these Philistines back for putting out my two eyes!” 29 Then Samson held the two center pillars of the temple. These two pillars supported the whole temple. He braced himself between the two pillars. His right hand was on one, and his left hand was on the other. 30 Samson said, “Let me die with these Philistines!” Then he pushed as hard as he could. And the temple fell on the kings and all the people in it. So Samson killed more of the Philistines when he died than when he was alive.
31 Samson’s brothers and his whole family went down to get his body. They brought him back and buried him in the tomb of Manoah, his father. That tomb is between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol. Samson was a judge for the people of Israel for 20 years.
Judges 16
King James Version
16 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.
2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.
3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.
4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.
13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.
21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.
25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.
27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
28 And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
Judges 16
New King James Version
Samson and Delilah
16 Now Samson went to (A)Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her. 2 When the Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they (B)surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him.” 3 And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
4 Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the (C)lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, (D)“Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.”
7 And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
8 So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now men were lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with.”
11 So he said to her, “If they bind me securely with (E)new ropes [a]that have never been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
12 Therefore Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And men were lying in wait, staying in the room. But he broke them off his arms like a thread.
13 Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me what you may be bound with.”
And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom”—
14 So she wove it tightly with the batten of the loom, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled out the batten and the web from the loom.
15 Then she said to him, (F)“How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.” 16 And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was [b]vexed to death, 17 that he (G)told her all his heart, and said to her, (H)“No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. 19 (I)Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then [c]she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord (J)had departed from him.
21 Then the Philistines took him and [d]put out his (K)eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison. 22 However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven.
Samson Dies with the Philistines
23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to (L)Dagon their god, and to rejoice. And they said:
“Our god has delivered into our hands
Samson our enemy!”
24 When the people saw him, they (M)praised their god; for they said:
“Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy,
The destroyer of our land,
And the one who multiplied our dead.”
25 So it happened, when their hearts were (N)merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars. 26 Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them.” 27 Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there—about three thousand men and women on the (O)roof watching while Samson performed.
28 Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord God, (P)remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!” 29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. 30 Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.
31 And his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and (Q)buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel (R)twenty years.
Footnotes
- Judges 16:11 Lit. with which work has never been done
- Judges 16:16 Lit. impatient to the point of
- Judges 16:19 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX he began to be weak,
- Judges 16:21 Lit. bored out
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.