Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.

A Psalm of David.

Samson’s Weakness

16 Now Samson went to ^(A)Gaza and saw a prostitute there, and had relations with her. ² When it was reported to the Gazites, saying, “Samson has come here,” they ^(B)surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. And they kept silent all night, saying, “Let’s wait until the morning light, then we will kill him.” ³ Now Samson lay asleep until midnight, and at midnight he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two doorposts, and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron.

⁴ After this it came about that he was in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. ⁵ So the ^(C)governors of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “^(D)Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and ^[a]how we can overpower him so that we may bind him to humble him. Then we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” ⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and ^[b]how you can be bound to humble you.” ⁷ And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh ^[c]animal tendons that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” ⁸ Then the governors of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh ^[d]animal tendons that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. ⁹ Now she had men prepared for an ambush in an inner room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he tore the tendons to pieces just like a thread of flax is torn apart when it ^[e]comes too close to fire. So his strength was not discovered.

¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have toyed with me and told me lies; now please tell me ^[f]how you may be bound.” ¹¹ Then He said to her, “If they bind me tightly with new ropes ^[g]which have not been used, then I will 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!” For the men in the ambush were waiting in the inner room. But he tore ^[h]the ropes from his arms like thread.

¹³ Then Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have toyed with me and told me lies; tell me ^[i]how you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my ^[j]hair with the ^[k]web ^[l][and fasten it with the pin, then I will be weak like any other man.” ¹⁴ So while he slept, Delilah wove the seven locks of his ^[m]hair with the web]. And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web.

Delilah Extracts His Secret

¹⁵ Then she said to him, “^(E)How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have toyed with me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is.” ¹⁶ And it came about, when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was ^[n]annoyed to death. ¹⁷ So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, “A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a ^(F)Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man.”

¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent word and called the governors of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.” Then the governors of the Philistines came up to her and brought up the money in their hands. ¹⁹ And she made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to humble him, and his strength left him. ²⁰ She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that ^(G)the Lord had departed from him. ²¹ Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and restrained him with bronze chains, and he became a grinder in the prison. ²² However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.

^15 (A)Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even ^[a]from envy and strife, but some also ^[b]from goodwill; ¹⁶ the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the ^(B)gospel; ¹⁷ the former proclaim Christ ^(C)out of selfish ambition ^[c]rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my ^[d](D)imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

But not only that, I also will rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that this will turn out for my ^[e]deliverance ^(E)through your ^[f]prayers and the provision of ^(F)the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰ according to my ^(G)eager expectation and ^(H)hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with ^(I)all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be ^(J)exalted in my body, ^(K)whether by life or by death.

To Live Is Christ

²¹ For to me, ^(L)to live is Christ, and to die is gain.