1But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in. 2And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.15.2 take…: Heb. let her be thine
3¶ And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.15.3 more…: or, blameless from the Philistines though, etc 4And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.15.4 firebrands: or, torches 5And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.
6¶ Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
7¶ And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease. 8And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
9¶ Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. 10And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us. 11Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.15.11 went: Heb. went down 12And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. 13And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
14¶ And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.15.14 loosed: Heb. were melted 15And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.15.15 new: Heb. moist 16And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.15.16 heaps upon…: Heb. an heap, two heaps 17And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi.15.17 Ramath-lehi: that is, the lifting up of the jawbone, or, casting away of the jawbone
18¶ And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? 19But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.15.19 En-hakkore: that is, the well of him that called or, cried15.19 the jaw: or, Lehi, as called in this chapter 20And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
A vingança de Sansão sobre os filisteus
1Mais tarde, durante a ceifa do trigo, Sansão trouxe um cabrito ainda novo, como presente para a mulher de Timna, com a intenção de passar a noite com ela. Mas o pai da rapariga não o deixou entrar.
2“Pensei que a odiavas”, explicou-lhe. “Por isso, casei-a com o teu companheiro que tinha servido de mestre de cerimónias. Mas repara, a irmã dela é mais nova e mais bonita. Casa antes com ela.”
3Sansão ficou furioso: “Se é assim, não me poderão censurar pelo que venha a fazer!” 4Então retirou-se; apanhou trezentas raposas, atou-lhes as caudas duas a duas e prendeu-lhes uma tocha. 5Depois pegou fogo às tochas e largou as raposas nos campos dos filisteus, o que fez incendiar as searas e os molhos já atados, assim como as vinhas e os olivais.
6“Quem foi que fez isto?”, perguntavam os filisteus. “Sansão!”, era a resposta. “Por causa do sogro ter dado a mulher a outro.” Então os filisteus pegaram fogo à casa da rapariga que morreu, ela e o pai.
7“Pois agora vou vingar-me de vocês!”, prometeu Sansão. 8Então atacou-os com fúria e matou um grande número deles. Depois foi viver numa gruta na rocha de Etã.
9Os filisteus, por seu lado, enviaram uma vasta companhia de soldados contra Judá e atacaram Laí. 10“Porque estão a atacar-nos?”, perguntou a população de Judá. Os filisteus responderam: “Pretendemos capturar Sansão e fazer-lhe tanto como nos fez a nós.”
11Dessa forma, foram mandados 3000 homens de Judá para capturar Sansão na rocha de Etã.
“Tu não vês como estás a prejudicar-nos?”, perguntaram-lhe. “Não te dás conta de que são os filisteus que nos dominam?” Mas Sansão replicou-lhes: “Apenas me vinguei daquilo que me fizeram.” 12“Pois, por isso, viemos capturar-te e entregar-te aos filisteus.” Ao que ele replicou: “Prometam que não me matarão!” 13E eles responderam: “Prometemos que não faremos uma coisa dessas!” Então amarraram-no com duas cordas novas e mandaram-no seguir à frente.
14Quando chegaram a Laí, os filisteus gritaram de contentamento. Nessa altura, a força do Senhor apoderou-se de Sansão e ele rebentou as cordas que o amarravam, que lhe caíram dos pulsos como se fossem fios de linho queimados pelo fogo! 15Pegou então na queixada dum jumento que ali estava no chão e matou com ela 1000 filisteus.
16Sansão, na sua alegria, fez o seguinte poema:
“Eles vão caindo uns sobre os outros, aos montões!
Tudo com uma queixada de jumento!
Matei mil homens,
tudo com uma queixada de jumento!”
17Quando terminou, deitou fora a queixada. Aquele lugar ficou conhecido como Ramat-Laí (Colina da Queixada).15.17 Localidade perto do território filisteu.
18Depois, estando com muita sede, orou ao Senhor: “Deste grande vitória por intermédio do teu servo! Será que irei agora morrer de sede e ficar à mercê destes pagãos?”
19Então Deus fez sair água duma rocha. Sansão bebeu e ficou com as forças renovadas. Em consequência, passou a chamar-se àquele lugar En-Hacoré (a Fonte Daquele que Clama). Essa fonte ainda lá está hoje.
20Sansão foi juiz de Israel durante 20 anos, mas os filisteus ainda controlavam a terra.
