Judges 16
Samson at
Gaza |
1 |
Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there a
harlot, and went in unto her.
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2 |
And it was told the Gazites,
saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and
laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet
all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill
him.
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3 |
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose
at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two
posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of a hill that is before Hebron.
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Samson and
Delilah |
4 |
And it came to pass afterward, that he
loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Deli'lah.
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5 |
And the lords of the Philistines came up
unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great
strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail
against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give
thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of
silver.
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6 |
And Deli'lah said to Samson, Tell me, I
pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith
thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
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7 |
And Samson said unto her, If they bind me
with seven green withes that were never dried, then shall I be weak,
and be as another man.
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8 |
Then the lords of the Philistines brought
up to her seven green withes which had not been dried, and she bound
him with them.
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9 |
Now there were men lying in wait,
abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The
Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withes, as
a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength
was not known.
|
10 |
And Deli'lah said unto Samson, Behold,
thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee,
wherewith thou mightest be bound.
|
11 |
And he said unto her, If they bind me
fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak,
and be as another man.
|
12 |
Deli'lah therefore took new ropes, and
bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in
the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a
thread.
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13 |
And Deli'lah said unto Samson, Hitherto
thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou
mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven
locks of my head with the web.
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14 |
And she fastened it with the pin,
and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And
he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam,
and with the web.
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15 |
And she said unto him, How canst thou
say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? Thou hast
mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great
strength lieth.
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16 |
And it came to pass, when she pressed him
daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was
vexed unto death;
|
17 |
that he told her all his heart, and said
unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have
been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven,
then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be
like any other man.
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18 |
And when Deli'lah saw that he had told
her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the
Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath showed me all
his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and
brought money in their hand.
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19 |
And she made him sleep upon her knees;
and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven
locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength
went from him.
|
20 |
And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will
go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not
that the LORD was departed from him.
|
21 |
But the Philistines took him, and put out
his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters
of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
|
22 |
Howbeit the hair of his head began to
grow again after he was shaven.
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The Death of
Samson |
23 |
Then the lords of the Philistines
gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon
their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered
Samson our enemy into our hand.
|
24 |
And when the people saw him, they praised
their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our
enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of
us.
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25 |
And it came to pass, when their hearts
were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us
sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he
made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
|
26 |
And Samson said unto the lad that held
him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the
house standeth, that I may lean upon them.
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27 |
Now the house was full of men and women;
and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there
were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that
beheld while Samson made sport.
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28 |
And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD,
remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this
once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my
two eyes.
|
29 |
And Samson took hold of the two middle
pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of
the one with his right hand, and of the other with his
left.
|
30 |
And Samson said, Let me die with the
Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the
house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
|
31 |
Then his brethren and all the house of
his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and
buried him between Zorah and Eshta'ol in the buryingplace of Mano'ah
his father. And he judged Israel twenty
years.
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