A Gentile Shows Her Faith^(A)

^24 (B)From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre ^[a]and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be ^(C)hidden. ²⁵ For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and ^(D)fell at His feet. ²⁶ The woman was a ^[b]Greek, a ^[c]Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept ^[d]asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

²⁸ And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹ Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

³⁰ And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

Jesus Heals a Deaf-Mute^(E)

^31 (F)Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. ³² Then ^(G)they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. ³³ And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and ^(H)He spat and touched his tongue. ³⁴ Then, ^(I)looking up to heaven, ^(J)He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”

^35 (K)Immediately his ears were opened, and the ^[e]impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶ Then ^(L)He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. ³⁷ And they were ^(M)astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He ^(N)makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

¹⁴ For in fact the body is not one member but many.

¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? ¹⁸ But now ^(A)God has set the members, each one of them, in the body ^(B)just as He pleased. ¹⁹ And if they were all one member, where would the body be?

²⁰ But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. ²¹ And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. ²³ And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, ²⁴ but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, ²⁵ that there should be no ^[a]schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. ²⁶ And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

²⁷ Now ^(C)you are the body of Christ, and ^(D)members individually. ²⁸ And ^(E)God has appointed these in the church: first ^(F)apostles, second ^(G)prophets, third teachers, after that ^(H)miracles, then ^(I)gifts of healings, ^(J)helps, ^(K)administrations, varieties of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But ^(L)earnestly desire the ^[b]best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.

Remembering the Covenant with David, and Sorrow for Lost Blessings

A ^[a]Contemplation of ^(A)Ethan the Ezrahite.

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:

²⁴ When the people saw him, they ^(M)praised their god; for they said:

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.