Samson and Delilah

16 Samson went to Gaza,(A) where he saw a prostitute and went to bed with her. When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded the place and waited in ambush for him all that night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let’s wait until dawn; then we will kill him.” But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate along with the two gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.

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Samson’s Troubles in Gaza

16 Sometime later, Samson went to Gaza, saw a prostitute there, and went in to have sex with her. When the Gazites were informed,[a] “Samson has come here!” they surrounded him, intending to lay in wait for him at the city gate throughout the entire night. They kept quiet all night, telling each other,[b] “At first light, let’s kill him!”

Meanwhile, Samson had sex until midnight, then at midnight he got up, grabbed the doors, the two door posts, and the bars of the city gate, and uprooted them. He put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the mountain opposite Hebron.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 16:2 Lit. were told
  2. Judges 16:2 The Heb. lacks each other