² And there is a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danite, and his name [is] Manoah, his wife [is] barren, and hath not borne;

³ and a messenger of Jehovah appeareth unto the woman, and saith unto her, `Lo, I pray thee, thou [art] barren, and hast not borne; when thou hast conceived, then thou hast borne a son.

⁴ And, now, take heed, I pray thee, and do not drink wine, and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing,

⁵ for, lo, thou art conceiving and bearing a son, and a razor doth not go up on his head, for a Nazarite to God is the youth from the womb, and he doth begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.'

⁶ And the woman cometh and speaketh to her husband, saying, `A man of God hath come unto me, and his appearance [is] as the appearance of a messenger of God, very fearful, and I have not asked him whence he [is], and his name he hath not declared to me;

⁷ and he saith to me, Lo, thou art pregnant, and bearing a son, and now do not drink wine and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing, for a Nazarite to God is the youth from the womb till the day of his death.'

⁸ And Manoah maketh entreaty unto Jehovah, and saith, `O, my Lord, the man of God whom Thou didst send, let him come in, I pray thee, again unto us, and direct us what we do to the youth who is born.'

⁹ And God hearkeneth to the voice of Manoah, and the messenger of God cometh again unto the woman, and she [is] sitting in a field, and Manoah her husband is not with her,

¹⁰ and the woman hasteth, and runneth, and declareth to her husband, and saith unto him, `Lo, he hath appeared unto me -- the man who came on [that] day unto me.'

¹¹ And Manoah riseth, and goeth after his wife, and cometh unto the man, and saith to him, `Art thou the man who spake unto the woman?' and he saith, `I [am].'

¹² And Manoah saith, `Now let thy words come to pass; what is the custom of the youth -- and his work?'

¹³ And the messenger of Jehovah saith unto Manoah, `Of all that I said unto the woman let her take heed;

¹⁴ of anything which cometh out from the wine-vine she doth not eat, and wine and strong drink she doth not drink, and any unclean thing she doth not eat; all that I have commanded her she doth observe.'

¹⁵ And Manoah saith unto the messenger of Jehovah, `Let us detain thee, we pray thee, and prepare before thee a kid of the goats.'

¹⁶ And the messenger of Jehovah saith unto Manoah, `If thou detain me -- I do not eat of thy bread; and if thou prepare a burnt-offering -- to Jehovah thou dost offer it;' for Manoah hath not known that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah.

¹⁷ And Manoah saith unto the messenger of Jehovah, `What [is] thy name? when thy words come to pass, then we have honoured thee.'

¹⁸ And the messenger of Jehovah saith to him, `Why [is] this -- thou dost ask for My name? -- and it [is] Wonderful.'

¹⁹ And Manoah taketh the kid of the goats, and the present, and offereth on the rock to Jehovah, and He is doing wonderfully, and Manoah and his wife are looking on,

²⁰ and it cometh to pass, in the going up of the flame from off the altar toward the heavens, that the messenger of Jehovah goeth up in the flame of the altar, and Manoah and his wife are looking on, and they fall on their faces to the earth,

²¹ and the messenger of Jehovah hath not added again to appear unto Manoah, and unto his wife, then hath Manoah known that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah.

²² And Manoah saith unto his wife, `We certainly die, for we have seen God.'

²³ And his wife saith to him, `If Jehovah were desirous to put us to death, He had not received from our hands burnt-offering and present, nor shewed us all these things, nor as [at this] time caused us to hear [anything] like this.'

²⁴ And the woman beareth a son, and calleth his name Samson, and the youth groweth, and Jehovah doth bless him,

²⁵ and the Spirit of Jehovah beginneth to move him in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

14 And Samson goeth down to Timnath, and seeth a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines,

² and cometh up and declareth to his father, and to his mother, and saith, `A woman I have seen in Timnath, of the daughters of the Philistines; and now, take her for me for a wife.'

³ And his father saith to him -- also his mother, `Is there not among the daughters of thy brethren, and among all my people, a woman, that thou art going to take a woman from the uncircumcised Philistines?' and Samson saith unto his father, `Take her for me, for she is right in mine eyes.'

⁴ And his father and his mother have not known that from Jehovah it [is], that a meeting he is seeking of the Philistines; and at that time the Philistines are ruling over Israel.

⁵ And Samson goeth down -- also his father and his mother, to Timnath, and they come unto the vineyards of Timnath, and lo, a lion's whelp roareth at meeting him,

⁶ and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and he rendeth it as the rending of a kid, and there is nothing in his hand, and he hath not declared to his father and to his mother that which he hath done.

⁷ And he goeth down and speaketh to the woman, and she is right in the eyes of Samson;

⁸ and he turneth back after [some] days to take her, and turneth aside to see the carcase of the lion, and lo, a company of bees [are] in the body of the lion -- and honey.

⁹ And he taketh it down on to his hands, and goeth on, going and eating; and he goeth unto his father, and unto his mother, and giveth to them, and they eat, and he hath not declared to them that from the body of the lion he took down the honey.

¹⁰ And his father goeth down unto the woman, and Samson maketh there a banquet, for so the young men do;

¹¹ and it cometh to pass when they see him, that they take thirty companions, and they are with him.

¹² And Samson saith to them, `Let me, I pray you, put forth to you a riddle; if ye certainly declare it to me [in] the seven days of the banquet, and have found [it] out, then I have given to you thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of garments;

¹³ and if ye are not able to declare [it] to me, then ye have given to me thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of garments.' And they say to him, `Put forth thy riddle, and we hear it!'

¹⁴ And he saith to them: `Out of the eater came forth meat, And out of the strong came forth sweetness;' and they were not able to declare the riddle [in] three days.

¹⁵ And it cometh to pass, on the seventh day, that they say to Samson's wife, `Entice thy husband, that he declare to us the riddle, lest we burn thee and the house of thy father with fire; to possess us have ye called for us? is it not?'

¹⁶ And Samson's wife weepeth for it, and saith, `Thou hast only hated me, and hast not loved me; the riddle thou hast put forth to the sons of my people -- and to me thou hast not declared it;' and he saith to her, `Lo, to my father and to my mother I have not declared [it] -- and to thee I declare [it]!'

¹⁷ And she weepeth for it the seven days [in] which their banquet hath been, and it cometh to pass on the seventh day that he declareth [it] to her, for she hath distressed him; and she declareth the riddle to the sons of her people.

¹⁸ And the men of the city say to him on the seventh day, before the sun goeth in: -- `What [is] sweeter than honey? And what stronger than a lion?' And he saith to them: `Unless ye had ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle.'

¹⁹ And the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and he goeth down to Ashkelon, and smiteth of them thirty men, and taketh their armour, and giveth the changes to those declaring the riddle; and his anger burneth, and he goeth up to the house of his father;

²⁰ and Samson's wife becometh his companion's, who [is] his friend.

15 And it cometh to pass, after [some] days, in the days of wheat-harvest, that Samson looketh after his wife, with a kid of the goats, and saith, `I go in unto my wife, to the inner chamber;' and her father hath not permitted him to go in,

² and her father saith, I certainly said, that thou didst certainly hate her, and I give her to thy companion; is not her sister -- the young one -- better than she? Let her be, I pray thee, to thee, instead of her.'

³ And Samson saith of them, `I am more innocent this time than the Philistines, though I am doing with them evil.'

⁴ And Samson goeth and catcheth three hundred foxes, and taketh torches, and turneth tail unto tail, and putteth a torch between the two tails, in the midst,

⁵ and kindleth fire in the torches, and sendeth [them] out into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burneth [it] from heap even unto standing corn, even unto vineyard -- olive-yard.

⁶ And the Philistines say, `Who hath done this?' And they say, `Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because he hath taken away his wife, and giveth her to his companion;' and the Philistines go up, and burn her and her father with fire.

⁷ And Samson saith to them, `Though ye do thus, nevertheless I am avenged on you, and afterwards I cease!'

⁸ And he smiteth them hip and thigh -- a great smiting, and goeth down and dwelleth in the cleft of the rock Etam.

⁹ And the Philistines go up, and encamp in Judah, and are spread out in Lehi,

¹⁰ and the men of Judah say, `Why have ye come up against us?' and they say, `To bind Samson we have come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.'

¹¹ And three thousand men of Judah go down unto the cleft of the rock Etam, and say to Samson, `Hast thou now known that the Philistines are rulers over us? and what [is] this thou hast done to us?' And he saith to them, `As they did to me, so I did to them.'

¹² And they say to him, `To bind thee we have come down -- to give thee into the hand of the Philistines.' And Samson saith to them, `Swear to me, lest ye fall upon me yourselves.'

¹³ And they speak to him, saying, No, but we certainly bind thee, and have given thee into their hand, and we certainly do not put thee to death;' and they bind him with two thick bands, new ones, and bring him up from the rock.

¹⁴ He hath come unto Lehi -- and the Philistines have shouted at meeting him -- and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and the thick bands which [are] on his arms are as flax which they burn with fire, and his bands are wasted from off his hands,

¹⁵ and he findeth a fresh jaw-bone of an ass, and putteth forth his hand and taketh it, and smiteth with it -- a thousand men.

¹⁶ And Samson saith, `With a jaw-bone of the ass -- an ass upon asses -- with a jaw-bone of the ass I have smitten a thousand men.'

¹⁷ And it cometh to pass when he finisheth speaking, that he casteth away the jaw-bone out of his hand, and calleth that place Ramath-Lehi;

¹⁸ and he thirsteth exceedingly, and calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, `Thou -- Thou hast given by the hand of Thy servant this great salvation; and now, I die with thirst, and have fallen into the hand of the uncircumcised.'

¹⁹ And God cleaveth the hollow place which [is] in Lehi, and waters come out of it, and he drinketh, and his spirit cometh back, and he reviveth; therefore hath [one] called its name `The fountain of him who is calling,' which [is] in Lehi unto this day.

²⁰ And he judgeth Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

16 And Samson goeth to Gaza, and seeth there a woman, a harlot, and goeth in unto her;

² [it is told] to the Gazathites, saying, `Samson hath come in hither;' and they go round and lay wait for him all the night at the gate of the city, and keep themselves silent all the night, saying, `Till the light of the morning -- then we have slain him.'

³ And Samson lieth down till the middle of the night, and riseth in the middle of the night, and layeth hold on the doors of the gate of the city, and on the two side posts, and removeth them with the bar, and putteth on his shoulders, and taketh them up unto the top of the hill, which [is] on the front of Hebron.

⁴ And it cometh to pass afterwards that he loveth a woman in the valley of Sorek, and her name [is] Delilah,

⁵ and the princes of the Philistines come up unto her, and say to her, `Entice him, and see wherein his great power [is], and wherein we are able for him -- and we have bound him to afflict him, and we -- we give to thee, each one, eleven hundred silverlings.'

⁶ And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Declare, I pray thee, to me, wherein thy great power [is], and wherewith thou art bound, to afflict thee.'

⁷ And Samson saith unto her, `If they bind me with seven green withs which have not been dried, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.'

⁸ And the princes of the Philistines bring up to her seven green withs which have not been dried, and she bindeth him with them.

⁹ And the ambush is abiding with her in an inner chamber, and she saith unto him, `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and he breaketh the withs as a thread of tow is broken in its smelling fire, and his power hath not been known.

¹⁰ And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Lo, thou hast played upon me, and speakest unto me lies; now, declare, I pray thee, to me, wherewith thou art bound.'

¹¹ And he saith unto her, `If they certainly bind me with thick bands, new ones, by which work hath not been done, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.'

¹² And Delilah taketh thick bands, new ones, and bindeth him with them, and saith unto him, `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and the ambush is abiding in an inner chamber, and he breaketh them from off his arms as a thread.

¹³ And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Hitherto thou hast played upon me, and dost speak unto me lies; declare to me wherewith thou art bound.' And he saith unto her, `If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.'

¹⁴ And she fixeth [it] with the pin, and saith unto him, `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and he awaketh out of his sleep, and journeyeth with the pin of the weaving machine, and with the web.

¹⁵ And she saith unto him, `How dost thou say, I have loved thee, and thy heart is not with me? these three times thou hast played upon me, and hast not declared to me wherein thy great power [is].'

¹⁶ And it cometh to pass, because she distressed him with her words all the days, and doth urge him, and his soul is grieved to death,

¹⁷ that he declareth to her all his heart, and saith to her, `A razor hath not gone up on my head, for a Nazarite to God I [am] from the womb of my mother; if I have been shaven, then hath my power turned aside from me, and I have been weak, and have been as any of the human race.'

¹⁸ And Delilah seeth that he hath declared to her all his heart, and she sendeth and calleth for the princes of the Philistines, saying, `Come up this time, for he hath declared to me all his heart;' and the princes of the Philistines have come up unto her, and bring up the money in their hand.

¹⁹ and she maketh him sleep on her knees, and calleth for a man, and shaveth the seven locks of his head, and beginneth to afflict him, and his power turneth aside from off him;

²⁰ and she saith, `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and he awaketh out of his sleep, and saith, `I go out as time by time, and shake myself;' and he hath not known that Jehovah hath turned aside from off him.

²¹ And the Philistines seize him, and pick out his eyes, and bring him down to Gaza, and bind him with two brazen fetters; and he is grinding in the prison-house.

²² And the hair of his head beginneth to shoot up, when he hath been shaven,

²³ and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, `Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.'

²⁴ And the people see him, and praise their god, for they said, `Our god hath given in our hand our enemy, and he who is laying waste our land, and who multiplied our wounded.'

²⁵ And it cometh to pass, when their heart [is] glad, that they say, `Call for Samson, and he doth play before us;' and they call for Samson out of the prison-house, and he playeth before them, and they cause him to stand between the pillars.

²⁶ And Samson saith unto the young man who is keeping hold on his hand, `Let me alone, and let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, and I lean upon them.'

²⁷ And the house hath been full of men and of women, and thither [are] all the princes of the Philistines, and on the roof [are] about three thousand men and women, who are looking on the playing of Samson.

²⁸ And Samson calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, `Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this time, O God; and I am avenged -- vengeance at once -- because of my two eyes, on the Philistines.'

²⁹ And Samson turneth aside [to] the two middle pillars, on which the house is established, and on which it is supported, [to] the one with his right hand, and one with his left;

³⁰ and Samson saith, `Let me die with the Philistines,' and he inclineth himself powerfully, and the house falleth on the princes, and on all the people who [are] in it, and the dead whom he hath put to death in his death are more than those whom he put to death in his life.

³¹ And his brethren come down, and all the house of his father, and lift him up, and bring him up, and bury him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the burying-place of Manoah his father; and he hath judged Israel twenty years.