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15 Nguni't nangyari pagkatapos ng sangdaling panahon, sa panahon ng pagaani ng trigo, na dumalaw si Samson na may dalang isang anak ng kambing sa kaniyang asawa; at kaniyang sinabi, Aking papasukin ang aking asawa sa loob ng silid. Nguni't ayaw papasukin siya ng kaniyang biyanang lalake.

At sinabi ng kaniyang biyanang lalake, Aking tunay na inisip na iyong lubos na kinapootan siya; kaya't aking ibinigay siya sa iyong kasama: di ba ang kaniyang kapatid na bata ay maganda kay sa kaniya? Isinasamo ko sa iyo na kunin mong kahalili niya.

At sinabi ni Samson sa kanila, Ngayon ay wala akong ipagkakasala sa mga Filisteo, kung gawan ko man sila ng kasamaan.

At yumaon si Samson at humuli ng tatlong daang zorra at kumuha ng mga sigsig at pinag-kabitkabit ang mga buntot, at nilagyan ng isang sigsig sa gitna ng pagitan ng bawa't dalawang buntot.

At nang kaniyang masulsulan ang mga sigsig, ay kaniyang binitiwan sa nakatayong trigo ng mga Filisteo at sinunog kapuwa ang mga mangdala at ang nakatayong trigo, at gayon din ang mga olibohan.

Nang magkagayo'y sinabi ng mga Filisteo, Sinong gumawa nito? At kanilang sinabi, Si Samson na manugang ni Timnateo, sapagka't kaniyang kinuha ang asawa niya at ibinigay sa kaniyang kasama. At sumampa ang mga Filisteo, at sinunog ang babae at ang kaniyang ama.

At sinabi ni Samson sa kanila, Kung ginawa ninyo ang ganito ay walang pagsalang aking igaganti sa inyo; at pagkatapos ay magtitigil ako.

At sinaktan niya sila, sa hita at sasapnan ng di kawasang pagpatay: at siya'y bumaba at tumahan sa isang guwang ng bato ng Etam.

Nang magkagayo'y nagsisampa ang mga Filisteo, at humantong sa Juda, at nagsikalat sa Lehi.

10 At sinabi ng mga lalake sa Juda, Bakit kayo nagsisampa laban sa amin? At kanilang sinabi, Upang gapusin si Samson kung kaya't kami ay nagsisampa upang gawin sa kaniya ang gaya ng ginawa niya sa amin.

11 Nang magkagayo'y ang tatlong libong lalake sa Juda ay nagsilusong sa guwang ng bato ng Etam, at sinabi kay Samson, Hindi mo ba nalalaman na ang mga Filisteo ay nagpupuno sa atin? ano nga itong ginawa mo sa amin? At sinabi niya sa kanila, Kung paano ang ginawa nila sa akin ay gayon ang ginawa ko sa kanila.

12 At sinabi nila sa kaniya, Kami ay nagsilusong upang gapusin ka, upang maibigay ka namin sa kamay ng mga Filisteo. At sinabi ni Samson sa kanila, Sumumpa kayo sa akin, na hindi kayo ang dadaluhong sa akin.

13 At sinalita nila sa kaniya, Hindi kundi gagapusin ka lamang namin, at ibibigay sa kanilang kamay: nguni't tunay na hindi ka namin papatayin. At kanilang ginapos siya ng dalawang bagong lubid, at iniahon mula sa bato.

14 Nang siya'y dumating sa Lehi, ang mga Filisteo ay naghihiyawan samantalang sinasalubong nila siya: at ang Espiritu ng Panginoon ay makapangyarihang sumakaniya, at ang mga lubid na nasa kaniyang mga bisig ay naging parang lino na nasupok sa apoy, at ang kaniyang mga tali ay nalaglag sa kaniyang mga kamay.

15 At siya'y nakasumpong ng isang bagong panga ng asno, at iniunat ang kaniyang kamay, at kinuha, at ipinanakit sa isang libong lalake.

16 At sinabi ni Samson, Sa pamamagitan ng panga ng isang asno, ay nagkabuntonbunton, Sa pamamagitan ng panga ng isang asno ay nanakit ako ng isang libong lalake.

17 At nangyari, pagkatapos niyang makapagsalita, na kaniyang inihagis ang panga na nasa kaniyang kamay, at ang dakong yao'y tinawag na Ramath-lehi.

18 At siya'y nauhaw na mainam at tumawag sa Panginoon, at sinabi, Iyong ibinigay itong dakilang kaligtasan sa kamay ng iyong lingkod: at ngayo'y mamamatay ako dahil sa uhaw at mahuhulog sa kamay ng mga hindi tuli.

19 Nguni't binuksan ng Dios ang isang guwang na nasa Lehi, at nilabasan ng tubig yaon; at nang siya'y makainom, ang kaniyang diwa ay nanumbalik, at siya'y nabuhay: kaya't ang pangalan niyaon ay tinawag na En-haccore, na nasa Lehi hanggang sa araw na ito.

20 At siya'y naghukom sa Israel sa mga kaarawan ng mga Filisteo, ng dalawang pung taon.

Samson attacks the Philistines

15 Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing along a young goat. He said, “Let me go into my wife’s bedroom.”

But her father wouldn’t allow him to go in. Her father said, “I was so sure that you had completely rejected her that I gave her in marriage to one of your companions. Don’t you think her younger sister is even better? Let her be your wife instead.”

Samson replied, “No one can blame me now for being ready to bring down trouble on the Philistines!”

Then Samson went and caught three hundred foxes. He took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. He lit the torches and released the foxes into the Philistines’ grain fields. So he burned the stacked grain, standing grain, vineyards, and olive orchards.

The Philistines inquired, “Who did this?”

So it was reported, “Samson the Timnite’s son-in-law did it, because his father-in-law gave his wife in marriage to one of his companions.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.

Samson then responded to them, “If this is how you act, then I won’t stop until I get revenge on you!” He struck them hard, taking their legs right out from under them.[a] Then he traveled down and stayed in a cave in the rock at Etam.

The Philistines marched up, made camp in Judah, and released their forces on Lehi. 10 The people of Judah asked, “Why have you marched up against us?”

“We’ve marched up to take Samson prisoner,” they replied, “and to do to him just what he did to us.”

11 So three thousand people from Judah traveled down to the cave in the rock at Etam and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?”

But he told them, “I did to them just what they did to me.”

12 Then the people of Judah said to him, “We’ve come down to take you prisoner so we can turn you over to the Philistines.”

Samson responded to them, “Just promise that you won’t attack me yourselves.”

13 “We won’t,” they said to him. “We’ll only take you prisoner so we can turn you over to them. We won’t kill you.” Then they tied him up with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.

14 When Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines met him and came out shouting. The Lord’s spirit rushed over him, the ropes on his arms became like burned-up linen, and the ties melted right off his hands. 15 He found a donkey’s fresh jawbone, picked it up, and used it to attack one thousand men. 16 Samson said,

“With a donkey’s jawbone,
    stacks on stacks!
With a donkey’s jawbone,
    I’ve killed one thousand men.”

17 When he finished speaking, he tossed away the jawbone. So that place became known as Ramath-lehi.[b]

18 Now Samson was very thirsty, so he called out to the Lord, “You are the one who allowed this great victory to be accomplished by your servant’s hands. Am I now going to die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 So God split open the hollow rock in Lehi, and water flowed out of it. When Samson drank, his energy returned and he was recharged. Thus that place is still called by the name En-hakkore[c] in Lehi today.

20 Samson led Israel for twenty years during the time of the Philistines.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 15:8 Or struck them hip and thigh
  2. Judges 15:17 Or Jawbone Hill
  3. Judges 15:19 Or Caller’s Spring

Victory with a Jawbone

15 But after a while, during the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat. “I am going to my wife in her room,” he said.

But her father would not let him enter. “I thought for sure you had utterly hated her,” her father said, “so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister—isn’t she better than her? Please, let her be yours instead.”

Then Samson said to them, “This time I am blameless from the Philistines when I do harm to them.” So Samson went and caught 300 foxes, and took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail and put one torch between every two tails. Then he set fire to the torches and released them into the standing grain of the Philistines, Thus he burned up both the stacks and the standing grain, along with vineyards and olive trees.

Then the Philistines asked, “Who did this?” They were told, “Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines came up and burnt her and her father with fire.

Then Samson said to them, “Since you have acted like this, surely I will take revenge on you—after that I will quit.” So he struck them leg upon thigh with a great slaughter. Then he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

Then the Philistines went up and camped in Judah and spread out in Lehi. 10 The men of Judah asked, “Why have you marched against us?”

They replied, “We have come to arrest Samson—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, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines are ruling over us? So what is this that you have done to us?”

He said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”

12 “We have come down to bind you,” they said to him, “so that we may hand you over to the Philistines.”

So Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you yourselves won’t kill me.”

13 “No, we won’t kill you,” they said to him, “but we will bind you fast and hand you over to them.” So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock. 14 When he arrived at Lehi, the Philistines shouted upon meeting him. But the Ruach Adonai came mightily upon him so that the ropes that were on his arms became like flax burned with fire and his bonds melted off his wrists. 15 Then he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out and took it, and killed a thousand men with it. 16 Then Samson said,

“With the jawbone of a donkey,
    a heap . . . two heaps,
with the jawbone of a donkey
    I struck down a thousand men.”

17 As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone from his hand. Then he named that place Ramat-lehi. [a] 18 Then he became very thirsty, so he called to Adonai and said, “You have granted this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant. So now, will I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?”

19 But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out of it. When he drank, he regained his strength and revived. Therefore he called it En-hakkore[b], which is in Lehi to this day. 20 Then he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines for 20 years.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 15:18 Meaning High Place of the Jawbone.
  2. Judges 15:19 Meaning Spring of One Calling Out.