Samson Awoɔ
1Bio, Israelfoɔ no yɛɛ deɛ ɛyɛ bɔne wɔ Awurade ani so, enti Awurade de wɔn hyɛɛ Filistifoɔ nsam ma wɔhyɛɛ wɔn so mfeɛ aduanan.
2Saa ɛberɛ no, ɔbarima bi tenaa Sora a ne din de Manoa a ɔfiri Dan abusuakuo mu. Na ne yere nnya awoɔ, enti na wɔnni mma. 3Awurade ɔbɔfoɔ yii ne ho kyerɛɛ Manoa yere kaa sɛ, “Ɛwom sɛ wonnyaa awoɔ deɛ, nanso, ɛrenkyɛre worebɛnyinsɛn na woawo ɔbabarima. 4Ɛnsɛ sɛ wonom bobesa anaa nsã a ano yɛ den biara. Na nni biribiara nso a ɛyɛ akyiwadeɛ. 5Wobɛnyinsɛn na woawo ɔbabarima, na hwɛ sɛ oyiwan nka ne tire, ɛfiri sɛ, ɛsɛ sɛ ɔyɛ Nasareni a wɔayi no asi hɔ ama Onyankopɔn firi awoɔ mu. Ɔbɛgye Israel afiri Filistifoɔ nsam.”
6Ɔbaa no de mmirika kɔɔ ne kunu nkyɛn kɔbɔɔ no amaneɛ sɛ, “Onyankopɔn onipa bi yii ne ho adi kyerɛɛ me. Na ɔte sɛ Onyankopɔn abɔfoɔ no mu baako a ne ho yɛ hu yie. Mammisa no baabi a ɔfiri baeɛ, na ɔno nso ammɔ ne din ankyerɛ me. 7Nanso, ɔka kyerɛɛ me sɛ, ‘Wobɛnyinsɛn na woawo ɔbabarima. Enti nnom bobesa anaa nsã a ano yɛ den na nni biribiara a ɛyɛ akyiwadeɛ. Na wo babarima no bɛyɛ obi a wɔayi no asi hɔ ama Onyankopɔn sɛ Nasareni firi awoɔ mu kɔsi ɛberɛ a ɔbɛwu.’ ”
8Na Manoa bɔɔ Awurade mpaeɛ sɛ, “Ao Awurade, mesrɛ wo, ma Onyankopɔn onipa no nsane mmra yɛn nkyɛn na ɔmmɛkyerɛ yɛn nhyehyɛeɛ a ɛfa abarimaa a yɛbɛwo noɔ no ho.”
9Onyankopɔn tiee Manoa. Ɔbɔfoɔ no yii ne ho adi kyerɛɛ no bio wɔ ɛberɛ a ɔwɔ afuom. Nanso, na ne kunu Manoa nka ne ho wɔ hɔ. 10Ɔbaa no yɛɛ ntɛm kɔbɔɔ ne kunu amaneɛ sɛ, “Ɔbarima a ɔyii ne ho adi kyerɛɛ me ɛda no no asane aba bio!”
11Manoa yɛɛ ntɛm dii ne yere akyi. Ɔduruu ɔbarima no ho no, ɔbisaa no sɛ, “Wo na wokaa biribi kyerɛɛ me yere no anaa?”
Ɔbuaa sɛ, “Aane, ɛyɛ me.”
12Enti, Manoa bisaa no sɛ, “Sɛ nsɛm a woaka no ba mu a, mmara bɛn na ɛwɔ hɔ ma abarimaa no asetena ne nʼadwumayɛ?”
13Awurade ɔbɔfoɔ no buaa sɛ, “Hwɛ sɛ wo yere bɛdi nhyehyɛeɛ a mekyerɛɛ noɔ no so. 14Ɛnsɛ sɛ ɔdi bobe anaa biribiara a ɛfiri bobe mu. Ɛnsɛ sɛ ɔnom bobesa anaa nsã a ano yɛ den. Ɛnsɛ sɛ ɔdi aduane biara a ɛyɛ akyiwadeɛ.”
15Enti, Manoa ka kyerɛɛ Awurade ɔbɔfoɔ no sɛ, “Mesrɛ wo, tena ha kɔsi sɛ yɛbɛsiesie abirekyie ba bi ama woadi ansa na woakɔ.”
16Awurade ɔbɔfoɔ no buaa sɛ, “Mɛtena, nanso, merenni biribiara. Mmom, motumi siesie ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ sɛ afɔrebɔdeɛ de ma Awurade.” (Na Manoa anhunu sɛ ɔyɛ Awurade ɔbɔfoɔ.)
17Afei, Manoa bisaa Awurade ɔbɔfoɔ no sɛ, “Wo din de sɛn? Sɛ nsɛm yi nyinaa ba mu a, yɛpɛ sɛ yɛhyɛ wo animuonyam.”
18Awurade ɔbɔfoɔ no bisaa no sɛ, “Adɛn enti na wobisa me din? Sɛ mebɔ me din kyerɛ wo a, worente aseɛ.”
19Afei, Manoa faa abirekyie ba no ne aduane afɔrebɔdeɛ de bɔɔ afɔdeɛ wɔ ɔbotan bi so maa Awurade. Na Manoa ne ne yere rehwɛ no, Awurade yɛɛ anwanwadeɛ bi. 20Egyadɛreɛ a ɛwɔ afɔrebukyia no mu no tene kɔɔ ewiem no, Awurade ɔbɔfoɔ no faa mu foro kɔeɛ. Na Manoa ne ne yere hunuu saa no, wɔde wɔn anim butubutuu fam.
21Ɔbɔfoɔ no anyi ne ho adi bio ankyerɛ Manoa ne ne yere. Afei, Manoa hunuu sɛ ɛyɛ Awurade ɔbɔfoɔ, 22na ɔka kyerɛɛ ne yere sɛ, “Yɛbɛwuwu, ɛfiri sɛ, yɛahunu Onyankopɔn!”
23Nanso, ne yere kaa sɛ, “Sɛ Awurade bɛkum yɛn a, anka wannye yɛn ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ ne aduane afɔdeɛ no. Anka ɔrenyi ne ho adi nkyerɛ yɛn, nka anwanwasɛm nkyerɛ yɛn, nyɛ saa anwanwadeɛ yi nso.”
24Ɔbaa no woo ne babarima no, wɔtoo ne din Samson. Na abɔfra no renyini no, Awurade hyiraa no. 25Na ɛberɛ a ɔwɔ Mahane Dan a ɛwɔ Sora ne Estaol ntam no, Awurade Honhom hyɛɛ aseɛ baa ne so.
The Birth of Samson
1Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
2A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. 3The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. 5You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
6Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.’ ”
8Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”
9God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!”
11Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”
“I am,” he said.
12So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?”
13The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”
15Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.”
16The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the Lord.)
17Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”
18He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.13:18 Or is wonderful” 19Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. 21When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord.
22“We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!”
23But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”
24The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, 25and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
