Book of Common Prayer

A psalm of praise. A psalm of David.

¹⁵ Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you’? You won’t even share your secret with me. This is the third time you have made me look foolish. And you still haven’t told me the secret of why you are so strong.” ¹⁶ She continued to pester him day after day. She nagged him until he was sick and tired of it.

¹⁷ So he told her everything. He said, “My hair has never been cut. That’s because I’ve been a Nazirite since the day I was born. A Nazirite is set apart to God. If you shave my head, I won’t be strong anymore. I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

¹⁸ Delilah realized he had told her everything. So she sent a message to the Philistine rulers. She said, “Come back one more time. He has told me everything.” So the rulers returned. They brought the silver with them. ¹⁹ Delilah got Samson to go to sleep on her lap. Then she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair. That’s how she began to bring Samson under her control. And he wasn’t strong anymore.

²⁰ She called out, “Samson! The Philistines are attacking you!”

He woke up from his sleep. He thought, “I’ll go out just as I did before. I’ll shake myself free.” But he didn’t know that the Lord had left him.

²¹ Then the Philistines grabbed him. They poked his eyes out. They took him down to Gaza. They put bronze chains around him. Then they made him grind grain in the prison. ²² His head had been shaved. But the hair on it began to grow again.

Samson Dies

²³ The rulers of the Philistines gathered together. They were going to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They were going to celebrate. They said, “Our god has handed our enemy Samson over to us.”

²⁴ When the people saw Samson, they praised their god. They said,

²⁵ After they had drunk a lot of wine, they shouted, “Bring Samson out. Let him put on a show for us.” So they called Samson out of the prison. He put on a show for them.

They had him stand near the temple pillars. ²⁶ Then he spoke to the servant who was holding his hand. He said, “Put me where I can feel the pillars. I’m talking about the ones that hold up the temple. I want to lean against them.” ²⁷ The temple was crowded with men and women. All the Philistine rulers were there. About 3,000 men and women were on the roof. They were watching Samson put on a show. ²⁸ Then he prayed to the Lord. Samson said, “Lord and King, show me that you still have concern for me. Please, God, make me strong just one more time. Let me pay the Philistines back for what they did to my two eyes. Let me do it with only one blow.” ²⁹ Then Samson reached toward the two pillars that were in the middle of the temple. They were the ones that held up the temple. He put his right hand on one of them. He put his left hand on the other. He leaned hard against them. ³⁰ Samson said, “Let me die together with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might. The temple came down on the rulers. It fell on all the people in it. So Samson killed many more Philistines when he died than he did while he lived.

³¹ Then his brothers went down to get him. So did his father’s whole family. All of them brought Samson back home. They buried him in the tomb of his father Manoah. It’s between Zorah and Eshtaol. Samson had led Israel for 20 years.

Final Warnings

13 This will be my third visit to you. Scripture says, “Every matter must be proved by the words of two or three witnesses.” (Deuteronomy 19:15) ² I already warned you during my second visit. I now say it again while I’m away. When I return, I won’t spare those who sinned earlier. I won’t spare any of the others either. ³ You are asking me to prove that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you. He is powerful among you. ⁴ It is true that Christ was nailed to the cross because he was weak. But Christ lives by God’s power. In the same way, we share his weakness. But by God’s power we will live with Christ as we serve you.

⁵ Take a good look at yourselves to see if you are really believers. Test yourselves. Don’t you realize that Christ Jesus is in you? Unless, of course, you fail the test! ⁶ I hope you will discover that I haven’t failed the test. ⁷ I pray to God that you won’t do anything wrong. I don’t pray so that people will see that I have passed the test. Instead, I pray this so that you will do what is right, even if it seems I have failed. ⁸ I can’t do anything to stop the truth. I can only work for the truth. ⁹ I’m glad when I am weak but you are strong. I pray that there will be no more problems among you. ¹⁰ That’s why I write these things before I come to you. Then when I do come, I won’t have to be hard on you when I use my authority. The Lord gave me the authority to build you up. He didn’t give it to me to tear you down.

Final Greetings

¹¹ Finally, brothers and sisters, be joyful! Work to make things right with one another. Help one another and agree with one another. Live in peace. And the God who gives love and peace will be with you.

²⁵ A woman was there who had a sickness that made her bleed. It had lasted for 12 years. ²⁶ She had suffered a great deal, even though she had gone to many doctors. She had spent all the money she had. But she was getting worse, not better. ²⁷ Then she heard about Jesus. She came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothes. ²⁸ She thought, “I just need to touch his clothes. Then I will be healed.” ²⁹ Right away her bleeding stopped. She felt in her body that her suffering was over.

³⁰ At once Jesus knew that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd. He asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

³¹ “You see the people,” his disciples answered. “They are crowding against you. And you still ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

³² But Jesus kept looking around. He wanted to see who had touched him. ³³ Then the woman came and fell at his feet. She knew what had happened to her. She was shaking with fear. But she told him the whole truth. ³⁴ He said to her, “Dear woman, your faith has healed you. Go in peace. You are free from your suffering.”