Old/New Testament
Samson and Delilah
16 Samson went down to Gaza; there he saw a prostitute and had sex with her.[a] 2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here,” so they surrounded the place and lay in ambush for him all night at the city gate. They kept silent all night, saying, “We will wait until the morning light, and then we will kill him.” 3 But Samson lay until the middle of the night; he got up in the middle of the night and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two door posts, tore them loose with the bar, put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the hill that is in front of[b] Hebron.
4 After this he fell in love with a woman in the wadi[c] of Sorek, and her name was Delilah. 5 And the rulers of the Philistines came up to her and said, “Entice him and find out what makes his strength so great, and how we can overpower him, so that we may bind him up in order to subdue him; each of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver. 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes your strength so great, and with what can you be tied up to subdue you?” 7 Samson said to her, “If you tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that are not dried up, I will become weak like everyone else.” 8 So the rulers of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that were not dried up, and she tied him up with them. 9 The ambush was sitting in wait for her in an inner room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you Samson!” And he snapped the bowstrings just as flax fiber snaps when it comes close to fire. And the secret of his strength remained unknown. 10 Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you can be bound.” 11 He said to her, “If they tie me tightly with new ropes that have not been used, I will become weak and be like everyone else.” 12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him up with them, and she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” (The ambush was sitting in an inner room.) But he snapped them from his arms like thread.
13 And Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told lies to me. Tell me how you can be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave seven locks of my head with warp-threads.”[d] 14 She fastened it with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And Samson woke up from his sleep and tore loose the loom pin of the web and the warp-threads.[e]
15 And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me how your strength is so great.” 16 And because she nagged him day after day with her words, and pestered him, his soul grew impatient to the point of death.[f] 17 So he confided everything to her,[g] and he said to her, “A razor has never touched[h] my head, for I am a Nazirite of God[i] from birth.[j] If I am shaved my strength will leave me, and I will become weak, like everyone else.
18 Delilah realized that he had confided in her,[k] so she sent and called the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up one more time, for he has confided in me.”[l] And the rulers of the Philistines came up, and they brought the money with them.[m] 19 And she put him to sleep on her lap; then she called the men[n] and shaved off seven locks of his head. Then she began to subdue him,[o] and his strength went away from him. 20 And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he woke up from his sleep and said, “I will go out just like every other time and shake myself free,” but he did not know that Yahweh had left him. 21 And the Philistines seized him, gouged his eyes, and brought him to Gaza. They tied him up with bronze shackles, and he became a grinder in the prison.[p] 22 But the hair of his head began to grow back after it had been shaved off.
23 The rulers of the Philistines had gathered to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice. And they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.” 24 And the people saw him, and they praised their god, for they said, “Our god has given into our hand those who hate us, devastate our land, and have killed many of us.”[q] 25 After awhile, when their hearts[r] were merry, they said, “Call Samson and let him entertain us.” And they called Samson from the prison,[s] and he entertained them.[t] And they made him stand between the pillars. 26 Then Samson said to the servant who was holding him by his hand, “Position me so that I can touch the pillars on which the house[u] rests, so I can lean on them.” 27 And the house[v] was full of men and women, and all of the rulers of the Philistines were there—about three thousand men and women were on the roof watching the performance of Samson.
Samson’s Revenge
28 And Samson called to Yahweh and said, “My Lord Yahweh, remember me! Please give me strength this one time, O God, so that I can repay with one act of revenge to the Philistines for my eyes.” 29 And Samson reached out and held two of the middle pillars on which the house[w] was resting, and he leaned on them, one on his right and one on his left. 30 And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” And he pushed[x] with all his strength, and the house[y] fell on the rulers and all of the people who were with him. And the dead whom he killed in his death were more than those he killed in his life.
31 His brothers and his whole family[z] came down and picked him up; and they brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father; he judged Israel twenty years.
Micah’s Idolatry
17 There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim; his name was Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, and about which you also pronounced a curse in my hearing,[aa] are with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by Yahweh.” 3 He returned the eleven hundred pieces[ab] of silver to his mother, and his mother thought, “I will certainly consecrate to Yahweh the pieces[ac] of silver from my hand for my son to make an idol of cast metal; now then, I will return them[ad] to you.” 4 When he returned the pieces[ae] of silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces[af] of silver, and she gave it to the smith, and he made it into an idol of cast metal; and it was in the house of Micah. 5 The man Micah had for himself a shrine,[ag] and he made an ephod and teraphim, and he appointed one of his sons[ah] who became a priest for him. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel, and each one did what was right in his own eyes.
7 There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, from the clan of Judah; he was a Levite and was dwelling as a foreigner[ai] there. 8 And the man went from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to live as a foreigner[aj] wherever he could find a place. And he came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, to continue his journey. 9 And Micah said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah; I am going to dwell as a foreigner[ak] wherever I can find a place.” 10 And Micah said to him, “Stay with me and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give to you ten pieces[al] of silver a year, a set of clothes, and your food.” So the Levite went with him. 11 The Levite agreed to stay with the man; and the young man became as one of his sons. 12 So Micah appointed the Levite,[am] and the young man became a priest for him; and he was in the house of Micah. 13 And Micah said, “Now I know Yahweh will make me prosperous, because the Levite has become my priest.”
The Tribe of Dan Seeks Territory
18 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking territory for itself to live in, because until that day it had not been allotted territory among the tribes of Israel. 2 The descendants[an] of Dan sent from the whole number of their clan five capable men[ao] from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go, explore the land.” And they went to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and they spent the night there.[ap] 3 While they were with the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite, and they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place, and what is your business here?”[aq] 4 And he said to them, “Micah did such and such for me and hired me, and I became his priest.” 5 And they said to him, “Please inquire of God that we may know whether our journey that we are going on will be successful.” 6 And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. Yahweh is in front of you on the journey you want to go on.”
7 And the five men went and came to Laish, and they observed the people who were living according to the customs of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, and lacking nothing in the land, and possessing restraint.[ar] And they were far from the Sidonians and had no word with anyone. 8 They came to their relatives[as] at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their relatives[at] said to them, “What do you report?” 9 And they said to them, “Come, let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Will you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go, to enter, to possess the land. 10 When you go you will come to an unsuspecting people, and the land is spread out on all sides;[au] God has given a place into your hands where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”
11 Six hundred men from the clan of the Danites from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war, set out from there. 12 They went up and encamped at Kiriath Jearim in Judah. Therefore they called this place Camp of Dan[av] to this day; it is west of Kiriath Jearim. 13 From there they crossed over to the hill country of Ephraim, and they came to the house of Micah.
14 And the five men that went out to spy out the land (that is, Laish) responded and said to their relatives,[aw] “Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, teraphim, and an idol of cast metal? So then, consider what you must do.” 15 So they turned to that direction, and they came to the house of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and they greeted him.[ax] 16 And six hundred men from the descendants[ay] of Dan, armed with their weapons of war, were standing at the entrance of the gate. 17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and they entered there and took the carved divine image, ephod, teraphim, and the molten image. The priest was standing at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with the weapons of war. 18 When these went to Micah’s house, they took the divine carved image, ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, and the priest asked them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Keep quiet! Put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be for us a father and a priest. Is it better being a priest for a house of one man or being a priest for a tribe and clan in Israel?” 20 The priest accepted the offer,[az] and he took the ephod, teraphim, and molten image and went along with the people.
21 And they turned[ba] and went and put the little children, the livestock, and the valuable property in front of them. 22 When they were at a distance from the house, Micah and the men who were in the houses that were near the house of Micah cried out, and they overtook the descendants[bb] of Dan. 23 And they called to the descendants[bc] of Dan, who turned around to face them, and they said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you assembled together?” 24 He said, “You took away my gods that I had made, and the priest, and then you go away. What is now left for me? How can you say to me, ‘What is the matter?’” 25 And the descendants[bd] of Dan said to him, “You should not let your voice be heard among us, so that ill-tempered men[be] will not attack you,[bf] and take your life[bg] and the lives of your household.” 26 And the descendants[bh] of Dan went their way. When Micah saw that they were stronger than him, he turned to return to his house.
27 And they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and they came to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people, and they put them to the sword[bi] and burned the city with fire. 28 There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had had no dealings with anyone.[bj] It was in the valley that belonged to Beth-rehob, and they rebuilt[bk] the city and lived in it. 29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after Dan their ancestor,[bl] who was born to Israel; but the former name of the city was Laish. 30 And the descendants[bm] of Dan set up for themselves the carved divine image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh,[bn] he and his sons were priests for the tribe of the Danites until the time of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up for themselves the carved divine image that Micah had made, all the days that the house of God was in Shiloh.
A Centurion’s Slave Healed
7 After he had finished all his statements in the hearing of the people, he entered into Capernaum. 2 Now a certain centurion’s slave, who was esteemed by him, was sick[a] and[b] was about to die. 3 So when he[c] heard about Jesus, he sent Jewish elders to him, asking him that he would come and[d] cure his slave. 4 And when they[e] came to Jesus, they began imploring[f] him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy that you grant this for him, 5 because he loves our nation and he himself built the synagogue for us.” 6 So Jesus went with them. Now by this time he was not far away from the house, and[g] the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof. 7 For this reason neither did I consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word and my slave must be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, who has soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another one, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”[h]
9 And when[i] Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning around to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith!” 10 And when they[j] returned to the house, those who had been sent found the slave healthy.
A Widow’s Son Raised
11 And it happened that on the next day he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. 12 And as he approached the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when[k] the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep!” 14 And he came up and[l] touched the bier, and those who were carrying it[m] stopped. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother. 16 And fear seized them all, and they began to glorify[n] God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us!” and “God has visited to help his people!” 17 And this report about him went out in the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.
A Question from John the Baptist
18 And his disciples reported to John about all these things. And summoning a certain two of his disciples, John 19 sent them[o] to the Lord,[p] saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” 20 And when[q] the men came to him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and suffering and evil spirits, and he granted sight to many blind people. 22 And he answered and[r] said to them, “Go and[s] tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear;[t] the dead are raised, the poor have good news announced to them.[u] 23 And whoever is not offended by me is blessed.”
24 And when[v] the messengers of John had departed, he began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are in splendid clothing and luxury are in the royal palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and even more than a prophet! 27 It is this man about whom it is written:
‘Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’[w]
28 I tell you, there is no one greater among those born of women than John, but the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. 29 (And all the people, when they[x] heard this[y]—even the tax collectors—affirmed the righteousness of God, because they[z] had been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the legal experts rejected the purpose of God for themselves, because they[aa] had not been baptized by him.)
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