Old/New Testament
16 Then Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.
2 The Gazites were told, Samson has come here. So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, In the morning, when it is light, we will kill him.
3 But Samson lay until midnight, and [then] he arose and took hold of the doors of the city’s gate and the two posts, and pulling them up, bar and all, he put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is before Hebron.
4 After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.
5 And the lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her, Entice him and see in what his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him that we may bind him to subdue him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.
6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray you, wherein your great strength lies, and with what you might be bound to subdue you.
7 And Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven fresh, strong gutstrings, still moist, then shall I be weak and be like any other man.
8 Then the Philistine lords brought to her seven fresh, strong bowstrings, still moist, and she bound him with them.
9 Now she had men lying in wait in an inner room. And she said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And he broke the bowstrings as a string of tow breaks when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
10 And Delilah said to Samson, Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies; now tell me, I pray you, how you might be bound.
11 And he said to her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.
12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And the men lying in wait were in the inner room. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like [sewing] thread.
13 And Delilah said to Samson, Until now you have mocked me and told me lies; tell me with what you might be bound. And he said to her, If you weave the seven braids of [the hair of] my head with the web.
14 And she did so and fastened it with the pin and said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep and went away with the pin of the [weaver’s] beam and with the web.
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 have not told me in what your great strength lies.
16 And when she pressed him day after day with her words and urged him, he was vexed to death.
17 Then he told her all his mind and said to her, A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my birth. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.
18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his mind, she went and called for the Philistine lords, saying, Come up this once, for he has told me all he knows. Then the Philistine lords came up to her and brought the money in their hands.
19 And she made Samson sleep upon her knees, and she called a man and caused him to shave off the seven braids of his head. Then she began to torment [Samson], and his strength went from him.
20 She said, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep and said, I will go out as I have time after time and shake myself free. For Samson did not know that the Lord had departed from him.
21 But the Philistines laid hold of him, bored out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with [two] bronze fetters; and he ground at the mill in the prison.
22 But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
23 Then the Philistine lords gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, for they said, Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands.
24 And when the people saw Samson, they praised their god, for they said, Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, the ravager of our country, who has slain many of us.
25 And when their hearts were merry, they said, Call for Samson, that he may make sport for us. So they called [blind] Samson out of the prison, and he made sport before them. They made him stand between the pillars.
26 And Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, Allow me to feel the pillars upon which the house rests, that I may lean against them.
27 Now the house was full of men and women; all the Philistine princes were there, and on the roof were about 3,000 men and women who looked on while Samson made sport.
28 Then Samson called to the Lord and said, O Lord God, [earnestly] remember me, I pray You, and strengthen me, I pray You, only this once, O God, and let me have one vengeance upon the Philistines for both my eyes.
29 And Samson laid hold of the two middle pillars by which the house was borne up, one with his right hand and the other with his left.
30 And Samson cried, Let me die with the Philistines! And he bowed himself mightily, and the house fell upon the princes and upon all the people that were in it. So the dead whom he slew at his death were more than they whom he slew in his life.
31 Then his kinsmen and all the tribal family of his father came down, took his body, and brought it up; and they buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burial place of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel [that is, had defended the Israelites] twenty years.(A)
17 There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.
2 And he said to his mother, The 1,100 shekels of silver that were taken from you, about which you cursed and also spoke about in my hearing, behold, I have the silver with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be you by the Lord, my son!
3 He restored the 1,100 shekels of silver to his mother, and she said, I had truly dedicated the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son to make a graven image and a molten image; now therefore, I will restore it to you.
4 So when he restored the money to his mother, she took 200 pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith, who made of it a graven image and a molten image; and they were in the house of Micah.
5 And the man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod and teraphim and dedicated one of his sons, who became his priest.
6 In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.
7 And there was a young man in Bethlehem of Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he sojourned there.
8 And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place, and as he journeyed he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah.
9 And Micah said to him, From where do you come? And he said to him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.
10 And Micah said to him, Dwell with me and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver each year, a suit of clothes, and your living. So the Levite went in.
11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man was to Micah as one of his sons.
12 And Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and was in the house of Micah.
13 Then said Micah, Now I know that the Lord will favor me, since I have a Levite to be my priest.
18 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites sought for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no [sufficient] inheritance had been acquired by them among the tribes of Israel.
2 So the Danites sent from the whole number of their tribe five brave men from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and to explore it, and they said to them, Go, explore the land. They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.
3 When they went by 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? And what do you do in this place? And what have you here?
4 And he said to them, Thus and thus Micah deals with me and has hired me, and I am his priest.
5 And they said to him, Ask counsel, we pray you, of God that we may know whether our journey will be successful.
6 And the priest said to them, Go in peace. The way in which you go is before (under the eye of) the Lord.
7 Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, how they dwelt securely after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and feeling safe; and there was no magistrate in the land, who might put them to shame in anything or injure them; and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone.
8 The five men came back to their brethren at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren said to them, What do you say?
9 They said, Arise, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very fertile. And will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go and enter in and possess the land.
10 When you go, you will come to people [feeling] safe and secure. The land is broad [widely extended on all sides]; and God has given it into your hands—a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth.
11 And there went from there of the tribe of the Danites, out of Zorah and Eshtaol, 600 men armed with weapons of war.
12 And they went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan [camp of Dan] to this day; it is west of Kiriath-jearim.
13 And they passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.
14 Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish said to their brethren, Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, teraphim, a graven image, and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you have to do.
15 And they turned in that direction and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and saluted him.
16 Now the 600 Danites with their weapons of war stood at Micah’s gate.
17 And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up and entered the house and took the graven image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war.
18 And when these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, What are you doing?
19 And they said to him, Be still, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and family in Israel?
20 And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
21 So they turned and departed and put the little ones, the cattle, and the baggage in front of them.
22 When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were Micah’s near neighbors were called out and overtook the Danites.
23 They shouted to the Danites, who turned and said to Micah, What ails you, that you come with such a company?
24 And he said, You take away my gods which I made and the priest, and go away; and what have I left? How can you say to me, What ails you?
25 And the men of Dan said to him, Let not your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you and you lose your life with the lives of your household.
26 And the Danites went their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
27 And they took the things which Micah had made, and his priest, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and feeling secure, and they smote them with the sword and burned the city.
28 And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no business with anyone. It was in the valley which belongs to Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and dwelt in it.
29 They named the city Dan, after Dan their forefather who was born to Israel; however, the name of the city was Laish at first.
30 And the Danites set up the graven image for themselves; and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.
31 So they set them up Micah’s graven image which he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.
7 After Jesus had finished all that He had to say in the hearing of the people [on the mountain], He entered Capernaum.
2 Now a centurion had a bond servant who was held in honor and highly valued by him, who was sick and at the point of death.
3 And when the centurion heard of Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and make his bond servant well.
4 And when they reached Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying, He is worthy that You should do this for him,
5 For he loves our nation and he built us our synagogue [at his own expense].
6 And Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent [some] friends to Him, saying, Lord, do not trouble [Yourself], for I am not [a]sufficiently worthy to have You come under my roof;
7 Neither did I consider myself worthy to come to You. But [just] speak a word, and my servant boy will be healed.
8 For I also am a man [daily] subject to authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my bond servant, Do this, and he does it.
9 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and He turned and said to the crowd that followed Him, I tell you, not even in [all] Israel have I found such great faith [as this].
10 And when the messengers who had been sent returned to the house, they found the bond servant [b]who had been ill quite well again.
11 [c]Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and His disciples and a great throng accompanied Him.
12 [Just] as He drew near the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large gathering from the town was accompanying her.
13 And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, Do not weep.
14 And He went forward and touched the funeral bier, and the pallbearers stood still. And He said, Young man, I say to you, arise [[d]from death]!
15 And the man [who was] dead sat up and began to speak. And [Jesus] gave him [back] to his mother.
16 Profound and reverent fear seized them all, and they began [e]to recognize God and praise and give thanks, saying, A great [f]Prophet has appeared among us! And God has visited His people [in order to help and care for and provide for them]!
17 And this report concerning [Jesus] spread through the whole of Judea and all the country round about.(A)
18 And John’s disciples brought him [who was now in prison] word of all these things.
19 And John summoned to him a certain two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord, saying, Are You He Who is to come, or shall we [continue to] look for another?
20 So the men came to Jesus and said, John the Baptist sent us to You to ask, Are You the One Who is to come, or shall we [continue to] look for another?
21 In that very hour Jesus was healing many [people] of sicknesses and distressing bodily plagues and evil spirits, and to many who were blind He gave [[g]a free, gracious, joy-giving gift of] sight.
22 So He replied to them, Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news (the Gospel) preached to them.(B)
23 And blessed (happy—[h]with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from outward conditions—and [i]to be envied) is he who takes no offense in Me and who is not hurt or resentful or annoyed or repelled or made to stumble [[j]whatever may occur].
24 And the messengers of John having departed, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: What did you go out into the desert to gaze on? A reed shaken and swayed by the wind?
25 Then what did you go out to see? A man dressed up in soft garments? Behold, those who wear fine apparel and live in luxury are in the courts or palaces of kings.
26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet (a forthteller)? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet.
27 This is the one of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who shall make ready Your way before You.(C)
28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; but [k]he that is inferior [to the other citizens] in the kingdom of God is greater [in incomparable privilege] than he.
29 And all the people who heard Him, even the tax collectors, acknowledged the justice of God [in [l]calling them to repentance and in pronouncing future wrath on the impenitent], being baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers [of the Mosaic Law] annulled and rejected and brought to nothing God’s purpose concerning themselves, by [refusing and] not being baptized by him [John].
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