Judges 13

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Again the Israelites began doing what is evil in Yahweh's eyes, and Yahweh delivered them into thepower of the Philistines for forty years.	1 And again, the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. And he delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
2 There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of Dan, cal ed Manoah. His wife was barren; she had borne nochildren.	2 Now there was a certain man from Zorah, and of the stock of Dan, whose name was Manoah, having a barren wife.
3 The Angel of Yahweh appeared to this woman and said to her, 'You are barren and have had no child,but you are going to conceive and give birth to a son.	3 And an Angel of the Lord appeared to her, and he said: “You are barren and without children. But you shall conceive and bear a son.
4 From now on, take great care. Drink no wine or fermented liquor, and eat nothing unclean.	4 Therefore, take care that you do not drink wine or strong drink. Neither shall you eat anything unclean.
5 For you are going to conceive and give birth to a son. No razor is to touch his head, for the boy is to beGod's nazirite from his mother's womb; and he wil start rescuing Israel from the power of the Philistines.'	5 For you shall conceive and bear a son, whose head no razor shall touch. For he shall be a Nazirite of God, from his infancy and from his mother’s womb. And he shall begin to free Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”
6 The woman then went and told her husband, 'A man of God has just come to me, who looked like theAngel of God, so majestic was he. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tel me his name.	6 And when she had gone to her husband, she said to him: “A man of God came to me, having the countenance of an Angel, exceedingly terrible. And when I had inquired of him, who he was, and where he was from, and what name he was called, he was not willing to tell me.
7 But he said to me, "You are going to conceive and wil give birth to a son. From now on, drink no wineor fermented liquor, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy is to be God's nazirite from his mother's womb to hisdying day." '	7 But he responded: ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Take care that you do not drink wine or strong drink. And you shall not consume anything unclean. For the boy shall be a Nazirite of God from his infancy, from his mother’s womb, even until the day of his death.’ ”
8 Manoah then pleaded with Yahweh and said, 'I beg you, Lord, let the man of God that you sent cometo us again and instruct us what to do about the child when he is born.'	8 And so Manoah prayed to the Lord, and he said, “I beg you Lord, that the man of God, whom you sent, may come again, and may teach us what we ought to do about the boy who is to be born.”
9 Yahweh heard Manoah's prayer, and the Angel of Yahweh visited the woman again while she wassitting in a field and when her husband Manoah was not with her.	9 And the Lord heeded the prayer of Manoah, and the Angel of the Lord appeared again to his wife, sitting in a field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. And when she had seen the Angel,
10 The woman quickly ran and told her husband, 'Look,' she said, 'the man who came to me the otherday has appeared to me again.'	10 she hurried and ran to her husband. And she reported to him, saying, “Behold, the man appeared to me, whom I had seen before.”
11 Manoah got up, followed his wife, came to the man and said to him, 'Are you the man who spoke tothis woman?' He replied, 'I am.'	11 And he rose up and followed his wife. And going to the man, he said to him, “Are you the one who spoke to my wife?” And he responded, “I am.”
12 Manoah then said, 'When your words come true, what wil be the boy's way of life?'	12 And Manoah said to him: “When will your word be fulfilled. What do you want the boy to do? Or from what should he keep himself?”
13 The Angel of Yahweh replied to Manoah, 'From everything that I forbade this woman, let her abstain.	13 And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah: “Concerning all the things about which I have spoken to your wife, she herself should abstain.
14 Let her swal ow nothing that comes from the vine, let her drink no wine or fermented liquor, let her eatnothing unclean and let her obey al the orders that I have given her.'	14 And let her eat nothing from the vine. She may not drink wine or strong drink. She may consume nothing unclean. And let her observe and keep what I have instructed to her.”
15 Manoah then said to the Angel of Yahweh, 'Al ow us to detain you while we prepare a kid for you' --for Manoah did not know that this was the Angel of Yahweh.	15 And Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “I beg you to agree to my petition, and to let us prepare a kid from the goats.”
16 The Angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, 'Even if you did detain me, I should not eat your food; but ifyou wish to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to Yahweh.'	16 And the Angel answered him: “Even if you compel me, I will not eat from your bread. But if you are willing to offer a holocaust, offer it to the Lord.” And Manoah did not know that he was an Angel of the Lord.
17 Manoah then said to the Angel of Yahweh, 'What is your name, so that we may honour you whenyour words come true?'	17 And he said to him, “What is your name, so that, if your word is fulfilled, we may honor you?”
18 The Angel of Yahweh replied, 'Why ask my name? It is a name of wonder.'	18 And he answered him, “Why do you ask my name, which is a wonder?”
19 Manoah then took the kid and the oblation and offered it on the rock as a burnt offering to Yahwehthe Wonderworker. Manoah and his wife looked on.	19 And so, Manoah took a kid from the goats, and libations, and he placed them upon a rock, as an offering to the Lord, who accomplishes wonders. Then he and his wife watched.
20 Now, as the flame rose heavenwards from the altar, the Angel of Yahweh ascended in this flamebefore the eyes of Manoah and his wife, and they fel face downwards on the ground.	20 And when the flame of the altar ascended to heaven, the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. And when Manoah and his wife had seen this, they fell prone on the ground.
21 After this, the Angel of Yahweh did not appear any more to Manoah and his wife, but Manoahunderstood that this had been the Angel of Yahweh.	21 And the Angel of the Lord no longer appeared to them. And immediately, Manoah understood him to be an Angel of the Lord.
22 And Manoah said to his wife, 'We are certain to die, because we have seen God.'	22 And he said to his wife, “We shall certainly die, since we have seen God.”
23 His wife replied, 'If Yahweh had meant to kil us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering andoblation from us, he would not have let us see all this and, at the same time, have told us such things.'	23 And his wife answered him, “If the Lord wished to kill us, he would not have accepted the holocaust and the libations from our hands. He would not have revealed all these things to us, nor would he have told us the things that are in the future.”
24 The woman gave birth to a son and cal ed him Samson. The child grew, and Yahweh blessed him;	24 And so she bore a son, and she called his name Samson. And the boy grew up, and the Lord blessed him.
25 and the spirit of Yahweh began to stir him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.	25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to be with him in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.