Judges 16

¹ Samson then went to Gaza and, seeing a prostitute there, went in to her.

² The men of Gaza being told, 'Samson has arrived,' surrounded the place and kept watch for him thewhole night at the town gate. Al that night they were going to make no move, thinking, 'Let us wait untildaybreak, and then kil him.'

³ Til midnight, however, Samson stayed in bed, and then at midnight he got up, seized the doors of thetown gate and the two posts as wel ; he tore them up, bar and al , hoisted them on to his shoulders and carriedthem to the top of the hill overlooking Hebron.

⁴ After this, he fell in love with a woman in the Vale of Sorek; she was called Delilah.

⁵ The Philistine chiefs visited her and said, 'Cajole him and find out where his great strength comesfrom, and how we can master him, so that we can bind him and subdue him. In return we shall each give youeleven hundred silver shekels.'

⁶ Delilah said to Samson, 'Please tel me where your great strength comes from, and what would beneeded to bind and subdue you.'

⁷ Samson replied, 'If I were bound with seven new bowstrings which had not yet been dried, I shouldlose my strength and become like any other man.'

⁸ The Philistine chiefs brought Delilah seven new bowstrings which had not yet been dried and she tookthem and bound him with them.

⁹ She had men concealed in her room, and she shouted, 'The Philistines are on you, Samson!' Then hesnapped the bowstrings as a strand of tow snaps at a touch of the fire. So the secret of his strength remainedunknown.

¹⁰ Delilah then said to Samson, 'You have been laughing at me and tel ing me lies. But now please telme what would be needed to bind you.'

¹¹ He replied, 'If I were bound tightly with new ropes which have never been used, I should lose mystrength and become like any other man.'

¹² Delilah then took new ropes and bound him with them, and she shouted, 'The Philistines are on you,Samson!' She had men concealed in her room, but he snapped the ropes round his arms like thread.

¹³ Delilah then said to Samson, 'Up to now you have been laughing at me and tel ing me lies. Tell mewhat would be needed to bind you.' He replied, 'If you wove the seven locks of my hair into the warp of a clothand beat them together tight with the reed, I should lose my strength and become like any other man.'

¹⁴ She lul ed him to sleep, then wove the seven locks of his hair into the warp, beat them together tightwith the reed and shouted, 'The Philistines are on you, Samson!' He woke from his sleep and pul ed out bothreed and warp. So the secret of his strength remained unknown.

¹⁵ Delilah said to him, 'How can you say that you love me, when your heart is not with me? Three timesnow you have laughed at me and have not told me where your great strength comes from.'

¹⁶ And day after day she pestered him with her talk, nagging him til he grew sick to death of it.

¹⁷ At last he confided everything to her; he said to her, 'A razor has never touched my head, because Ihave been God's nazirite from my mother's womb. If my head were shorn, then my power would leave me and Ishould lose my strength and become like any other man.'

¹⁸ Delilah then realized that he had real y confided in her; she sent for the Philistine princes with themessage, 'Come just once more: he has confided everything to me.' And the Philistine chiefs came to her withthe money in their hands.

¹⁹ She lul ed Samson to sleep in her lap, summoned a man and had him shear off the seven locks fromhis head. Thus for the first time she got control over him, and his strength left him.

²⁰ She cried, 'The Philistines are on you, Samson!' He awoke from sleep, thinking, 'I shal break free as I have done time after time and shake myself clear.' But he did not know that Yahweh had left him.

²¹ The Philistines seized him, put out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. They fettered him with adouble chain of bronze and he spent his time turning the mil in the prison.

²² But his hair began to grow again when it had been cut off.

²³ The Philistine chiefs assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god. And amid their festivitiesthey said: Into our hands our god has delivered Samson our enemy.

²⁴ And as soon as the people saw their god, they acclaimed him, shouting his praises: Into our handsour god has delivered Samson our enemy, the man who laid our country waste and kil ed so many of us.

²⁵ And as their hearts were full of joy, they shouted, 'Summon Samson out to amuse us.' So Samsonwas summoned from prison, and he performed feats in front of them; then he was put to stand between thepil ars.

²⁶ Samson then said to the boy who was leading him by the hand, 'Lead me where I can touch thepil ars supporting the building, so that I can lean against them.'

²⁷ Now the building was crowded with men and women. Al the Philistine chiefs were there, while aboutthree thousand men and women were watching Samson's feats from the terrace.

²⁸ Samson cal ed on Yahweh and cried out, 'Lord Yahweh, I beg you, remember me; give me strengthagain this once, O God, and let me be revenged on the Philistines at one blow for my two eyes.'

²⁹ And Samson took hold of the two central pil ars supporting the building, and braced himself with hisright arm round one and his left round the other;

³⁰ and he shouted, 'Let me die with the Philistines!' He then heaved with al his might, and the buildingfel on the chiefs and on all the people there. Those whom he brought to their death by his death outnumberedthose whom he had done to death during his life.

³¹ His brothers and the whole of his father's family came down and carried him away. They took himback and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel fortwenty years.