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The Book of Judges 16

16 Now Samson went to Gaza and he saw a woman there, a harlot, and he went in to her. 2 Thus the Gazites were saying, “Samson has come here.” So they encircled and they laid in wait for him all the night at the gate of the city. They kept themselves quiet all the night, saying, “At the light of the morning, then we will kill him.” 3 Samson lay down until the middle of the night. Then he arose in the middle of the night and he seized the doors of the gate of the city and the two doorposts. He pulled them up along with the bolt, he hoisted them upon his shoulders, and he brought them up to the top of the hill which is in front of Hebron.

4 Now it happened after this that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek. Her name was Delilah. 5 The governors of the Philistines came up to her, and they said to her, “Make him open up. See by what means is his great strength, and how we can prevail over him, so that we may bind him in order to weaken him. Then we will each give you one thousand one hundred silver pieces.” 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please, tell me by what means is your great strength, and how can you be bound in order to weaken you?” 7 Samson replied to her, “If they would bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, then I would become weak and I would be just as one of the other men.” 8 Then the governors of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them. 9 Now she had the ambush group staying in the room when she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he tore the cords to shreds just as a wick of flax fiber is torn to shreds when it draws in fire. So his strength did not become known.

10 As a result Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you have deceived me and you have spoken lies to me. Now tell me, please, by what means you can be bound.” 11 He replied to her, “If in fact they would bind me with new cords with which work has not been done with them, I would become weak and I would be just as one of the other men.” 12 So Delilah took new cords and she bound him with them. She said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” with the ambush group staying in the room. But he flicked them off from upon his arms like they were thread.

13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have dealt deceitfully with me and you have spoken lies to me. Reveal to me in what manner you may be bound.” So he said to her, “If you would only weave seven of the locks of hair from my head with the loom.” 14 She fastened them together with a pin, and she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” However he woke from his sleep and he pulled out the pin from the weaving and the warp of the loom.

15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ yet your heart is not with me? You have dealt deceitfully with me these three times and you have not revealed to me by what means is your great strength.” 16 Now it happened that she pressured him with her speech throughout the day. She also continually pressed him so that his soul was vexed to death. 17 So he told her everything in his heart and he said to her, “A razor has never gone up upon my head, because I have been a Nazirite to God from the womb of my mother. If I would be completely shaved, then my strength would leave me, and I would become weak. I would be just as any of the other men.”

18 When Delilah perceived that he had told her everything in his heart, she sent and she called to the governors of the Philistines, saying, “Come up one more time, for he has told me everything in his heart.” Then the rulers of the Philistines came up to her, and they brought the silver in their hand. 19 Then she made him fall asleep on her knees and she called to the man while she shaved off the seven locks from his head. Thus she had begun to weaken him, and his strength departed from upon him. 20 Then she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” He woke up from his sleep and he said, “I will escape like time after time and I will shake myself loose.” But he did not know that Yahweh had departed from upon him. 21 The Philistines seized him and they gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and they bound him with a pair of bronze fetters. Now it happened that he was grinding at the house of the prisoners. 22 However, the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

23 The governors of the Philistines assembled themseleves together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and for a celebration. They said, “Our god has given Samson into our hand, our great enemy.” 24 When the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the devastator of our land, who heaped up our slain ones.” 25 Now it happened when their heart was merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may make us laugh.” So they called for Samson from the house of the prisoners and he caused laughter in front of them. They had made him stand between the columns. 26 Samson said to the young man who was holding onto his hand, “Let me rest! Let me touch the columns, those which the building is situated upon them, so that I may support myself on them.” 27 Now the building was full of the men and the women, and situated there were all of the governors of the Philistines. On the roof there were about three thousand men and women, who were watching while Samson was entertaining.

28 Then Samson called out to Yahweh and he said, “My Lord Yahweh, remember me, please! Strengthen me please, just this time, O God, so that I may avenge myself by one act of vengence on the Philistines because of my two eyes.” 29 Samson took hold of the two center columns on which the building was situated on them. He leaned himself against them, one in his right hand, and one in his left. 30 Then Samson said, “My soul will die with the Philistines!” He stretched out with his strength and the building fell on the governors and on all of the people who were in it. So the ones who died that he killed at his death were more than those he killed during his life. 31 Then his brothers and all the house of his father went down. They carried him, as they went back up. They buried him between Zorah and between Eshtaol in the burial place of Manoah, his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.

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