ሳምሶንና ደሊላ
1አንድ ቀን ሳምሶን ወደ ጋዛ ሄደ፤ እዚያም አንዲት ዝሙት ዐዳሪ አየ፤ አብሯት ለማደርም ገባ። 2የጋዛ ሰዎች፣ “ሳምሶን እዚህ ነው!” የሚል ወሬ ደረሳቸው፤ ስለዚህም ሰዎቹ ቦታውን ከብበው፤ ሌሊቱን በሙሉ በከተማዪቱ ቅጥር በር ላይ አድፍጠው ጠበቁት፤ “በማለዳ እንገድለዋለን” በማለትም ሌሊቱን በሙሉ እንዳደፈጡ ዐደሩ።
3ነገር ግን ሳምሶን እዚያ የተኛው እስከ እኩለ ሌሊት ብቻ ነበር፤ ተነሥቶም የከተማዪቱን ቅጥር በር ከሁለት መቃኖቹ ጋር መወርወሪያውንና ማያያዣውን ጭምር በሙሉ ነቅሎ በትከሻው ላይ ካደረገ በኋላ፣ በኬብሮን ፊት ለፊት እስካለው ኰረብታ ጫፍ ድረስ ተሸክሞት ወጣ።
4ከጥቂት ጊዜ በኋላ ሳምሶን በሶሬቅ ሸለቆ የምትኖር ደሊላ የምትባል አንዲት ሴት ወደደ። 5የፍልስጥኤማውያን ገዦች ወደ እርሷ ሄደው፣ “እርሱን አስረን በቍጥጥራችን ሥር በማዋል ልናሸንፈው እንዴት እንደምንችልና የብርታቱ ታላቅነት ምስጢር ምን እንደ ሆነ እንዲያሳይሽ እስቲ አባብዪው፤ ይህን ካደረግሽ እያንዳንዳችን አንድ ሺሕ አንድ መቶ ሰቅል16፥5 13 ኪሎ ግራም ያህል ነው። ጥሬ ብር እንሰጥሻለን” አሏት።
6ስለዚህም ደሊላ ሳምሶንን፣ “የብርታትህን ታላቅነት ምስጢርና ታስረህ በቍጥጥር ሥር የምትውለው እንዴት እንደ ሆነ እባክህ ንገረኝ” አለችው።
7ሳምሶንም፣ “ማንም ባልደረቁ ሰባት እርጥብ ጠፍሮች16፥7 በዚህ እንዲሁም በቍጥር 8 እና 9 ላይ የቀስት አውታር ቢያስረኝ እንደ ማንኛውም ሰው ደካማ እሆናለሁ” አላት።
8ከዚያም የፍልስጥኤማውያን ገዦች ያልደረቁ ሰባት እርጥብ ጠፍሮች አመጡላት፤ እርሷም አሰረችው። 9ሰዎች በጓዳ ውስጥ ተደብቀው ነበር፤ እርሷም፣ “ሳምሶን ፍልስጥኤማውያን መጡብህ” አለችው፤ ሳምሶን ግን ፈትል እሳት ሲነካው እንደሚበጣጠስ ጠፍሮቹን በቀላሉ በጣጠሳቸው። ስለዚህ የብርታቱ ምስጢር ምን እንደ ሆነ ሊታወቅ አልቻለም።
10ደሊላም ሳምሶንን፣ “አሞኝተኸኛል፤ ዋሽተኸኛል፤ እባክህ አሁንም አንተን እንዴት ማሰር እንደሚቻል ንገረኝ” አለችው።
11እርሱም፣ “ሥራ ላይ ባልዋሉ አዳዲስ ገመዶች ቢያስሩኝ እንደ ማንኛውም ሰው ደካማ እሆናለሁ” አላት።
12ደሊላም አዳዲስ ገመዶች ወስዳ አሰረችው፤ ሰዎች በጓዳ ውስጥ ተደብቀው ነበር፤ እርሷም፣ “ሳምሶን ፍልስጥኤማውያን መጡብህ” አለችው። እርሱ ግን ክንዱ የታሰረባቸውን ገመዶች እንደ ፈትል ክር በጣጠሳቸው።
13ደግሞም ደሊላ ሳምሶንን፣ “እስካሁን አሞኝተኸኛል፤ ዋሽተኸኛል። እባክህን አንተን ማሰር የሚቻለው እንዴት እንደ ሆነ ንገረኝ” አለችው።
እርሱም መልሶ፣ “የራስ ጠጕሬን ሰባት ቈንዳላዎች ከድር ጋር ጐንጕነሽ በችካል ብትቸክዪው፣ እንደ ማንኛውም ሰው ደካማ እሆናለሁ” አላት። ደሊላም መተኛቱን አይታ ሰባቱን ቈንዳላዎቹን ከድር ጋር ጐነጐነችው፤ 14ከችካልም ጋር ቸከለችው።
እንደ ገናም፣ “ሳምሶን! ፍልስጥኤማውያን መጡብህ” አለችው። ሳምሶን ከእንቅልፉ ነቃ፤ ችካሉን ከነድሩ፣ ከነቈንዳላው ነቀለው።
15ከዚያም፣ “ሳታምነኝ እንዴት ‘እወድሻለሁ’ ትለኛለህ? ስታታልለኝና የኀይልህንም ታላቅነት ምስጢር ስትደብቀኝ ይህ ሦስተኛ ጊዜህ ነው” አለችው። 16በሕይወት መኖሩን እስኪጠላ ድረስ ዕለት ዕለት በመጨቅጨቅ አሰለቸችው።
17ስለዚህ ሁሉንም ነገር ነገራት፤ እንዲህም አለ፤ “ከተወለድሁ ጀምሮ ናዝራዊ በመሆን ለእግዚአብሔር የተለየሁ ስለሆንሁ ራሴን ምላጭ ነክቶት አያውቅም፤ የራሴ ጠጕር ቢላጭ ግን ኀይሌ ተለይቶኝ እንደ ማንኛውም ሰው ደካማ እሆናለሁ” አላት።
18ደሊላ ሁሉንም ነገር እንደ ነገራት በተረዳች ጊዜ፣ ለፍልስጥኤማውያን ገዦች “ሁሉንም ነገር ነግሮኛልና ተመልሳችሁ ኑ” ብላ ላከችባቸው፤ የፍልስጥኤማውያን ገዦችም ብሩን ይዘው ተመልሰው መጡ። 19ደሊላ፣ ሳምሶንን በጭኗ ላይ አስተኝታ እንቅልፍ እንዲወስደው ካደረገች በኋላ አንድ ሰው ጠርታ ሰባቱን የጠጕር ቈንዳላዎቹን አስላጨቻቸው፤ እርሷም ታስጨንቀው16፥19 ዕብራይስጡ ከዚህ ጋር ሲስማማ አንዳንድ የሰብዓ ሊቃናት ትርጕሞች ግን ታዳክመው ጀመር ይላሉ። ጀመር፤ ኀይሉም ተለየው።
20እርሷም፣ “ሳምሶን፤ ፍልስጥኤማውያን መጡብህ!” አለችው።
ሳምሶን ከእንቅልፉ ነቅቶ፣ “እንደ ወትሮው አደርጋለሁ” አለ፤ ነገር ግን እግዚአብሔር እንደ ተወው አላወቀም ነበር።
21ከዚያም ፍልስጥኤማውያን ያዙት፤ ዐይኖቹን አውጥተው ወደ ጋዛ ይዘውት ወረዱ፤ በናስ ሰንሰለት አስረውም እስር ቤት ውስጥ እህል እንዲፈጭ አደረጉት። 22ነገር ግን ከተላጨ በኋላ ጠጕሩ እንደ ገና ማደግ ጀመረ።
የሳምሶን አሟሟት
23በዚህ ጊዜ የፍልስጥኤማውያን ገዦች፣ “አምላካችን ዳጎን፣ ጠላታችን ሳምሶንን በእጃችን አሳልፎ ሰጥቶናል” ብለው በመደሰት ለአምላካቸው ለዳጎን ታላቅ መሥዋዕት ለማቅረብ ተሰበሰቡ።
24ሕዝቡም ሳምሶንን ባዩት ጊዜ፣ አምላካቸውን ዳጎንን በማመስገን፣
“ምድራችንን ያጠፋውን፣
ብዙ ሰው የገደለብንን፣ ጠላታችንን፣
አምላካችን በእጃችን አሳልፎ ሰጠን” አሉ።
25እጅግ ደስ ባላቸው ጊዜ፣ “እንዲያዝናናን ሳምሶንን አምጡት” አሉ፤ ስለዚህ ሳምሶንን ከእስር ቤት ጠርተው አስመጡት፤ በፊታቸውም ተጫወተ።
በምሰሶዎቹ መካከል ባቆሙት ጊዜ፣ 26ሳምሶን እጁን ይዞ የሚመራውን ልጅ፣ “ቤተ ጣዖቱን ደግፈው ወደ ያዙት ምሰሶዎች አስጠጋኝና ልደገፋቸው” አለው። 27በዚህ ጊዜ ወንዶችና ሴቶች ቤተ ጣዖቱን ሞልተውት ነበር፤ የፍልስጥኤማውያን ገዦችም በሙሉ በዚያ ነበሩ፤ ሳምሶን ሲጫወት ለማየት ሦስት ሺሕ ያህል ወንዶችና ሴቶች በጣራው ላይ ነበሩ። 28ሳምሶንም ወደ እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ሲል ጸለየ፤ “ልዑል እግዚአብሔር ሆይ፤ አስበኝ። አምላክ ሆይ፤ እባክህን አንድ ጊዜ ብቻ ብርታት ስጠኝና ስለ ጠፉት ዐይኖቼ ፍልስጥኤማውያንን አንዴ ልበቀላቸው።” 29ከዚያም ቤተ ጣዖቱን መካከል ላይ ደግፈው የያዙትን ሁለት ምሰሶዎች አንዱን በቀኙ፣ አንዱን በግራ እጁ ዐቅፎ በመያዝ፣ 30“ከፍልስጥኤማውያን ጋር አብሬ ልሙት” በማለት ባለ ኀይሉ ሲገፋው፣ ቤተ ጣዖቱ በገዦቹና በውስጡ በነበሩት በሌሎቹ ሰዎች ሁሉ ላይ ወደቀባቸው። ስለዚህ በሕይወት ከኖረበት ጊዜ ይልቅ በሞቱ ጊዜ ብዙ ሰው ገደለ።
31ወንድሞቹና መላው የአባቱ ቤተ ሰብ ሬሳውን ለማምጣት ወደዚያ ወረዱ፤ አምጥተውም የአባቱ የማኑሄ መቃብር ባለበት በጾርዓና በኤሽታኦል መካከል ቀበሩት። ሳምሶን በእስራኤል ላይ ሃያ ዓመት ፈራጅ16፥31 በትውፊት መሳፍንት ይባላል። ሆነ።
Samson and Delilah
1One day Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. 2The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place. They hid and waited for him at the city gate all night long. They didn’t make any move against him during the night. They said, “Let’s wait until the sun comes up. Then we’ll kill him.”
3But Samson stayed there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up. He took hold of the doors of the city gate. He also took hold of the two doorposts. He tore them loose, together with their metal bar. He picked them up and put them on his shoulders. Then he carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
4Some time later, Samson fell in love again. The woman lived in the Valley of Sorek. Her name was Delilah. 5The rulers of the Philistines went to her. They said, “See if you can get him to tell you the secret of why he’s so strong. Find out how we can overpower him. Then we can tie him up. We can bring him under our control. Each of us will give you 28 pounds of silver.”
6So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of why you are so strong. Tell me how you can be tied up and controlled.”
7Samson answered her, “Let someone tie me up with seven new bowstrings. They must be strings that aren’t completely dry. Then I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
8So the Philistine rulers brought seven new bowstrings to her. They weren’t completely dry. Delilah tied Samson up with them. 9Men were hiding in the room. She called out to him, “Samson! The Philistines are attacking you!” But he snapped the bowstrings easily. They were like pieces of string that had come too close to a flame. So the secret of why he was so strong wasn’t discovered.
10Delilah spoke to Samson again. “You have made me look foolish,” she said. “You told me a lie. Come on. Tell me how you can be tied up.”
11Samson said, “Let someone tie me tightly with new ropes. They must be ropes that have never been used. Then I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
12So Delilah got some new ropes. She tied him up with them. Men were hiding in the room. She called out to him, “Samson! The Philistines are attacking you!” But he snapped the ropes off his arms. They fell off just as if they were threads.
13Delilah spoke to Samson again. “All this time you have been making me look foolish,” she said. “You have been telling me lies. This time really tell me how you can be tied up.”
He replied, “Weave the seven braids of my hair into the cloth on a loom. Then tighten the cloth with a pin. If you do, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while Samson was sleeping, Delilah took hold of the seven braids of his hair. She wove them into the cloth on a loom. 14Then she tightened the cloth with a pin.
Again she called out to him, “Samson! The Philistines are attacking you!” He woke up from his sleep. He pulled up the pin and the loom, together with the cloth.
15Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you’? You won’t even share your secret with me. This is the third time you have made me look foolish. And you still haven’t told me the secret of why you are so strong.” 16She continued to pester him day after day. She nagged him until he was sick and tired of it.
17So he told her everything. He said, “My hair has never been cut. That’s because I’ve been a Nazirite since the day I was born. A Nazirite is set apart to God. If you shave my head, I won’t be strong anymore. I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
18Delilah realized he had told her everything. So she sent a message to the Philistine rulers. She said, “Come back one more time. He has told me everything.” So the rulers returned. They brought the silver with them. 19Delilah got Samson to go to sleep on her lap. Then she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair. That’s how she began to bring Samson under her control. And he wasn’t strong anymore.
20She called out, “Samson! The Philistines are attacking you!”
He woke up from his sleep. He thought, “I’ll go out just as I did before. I’ll shake myself free.” But he didn’t know that the Lord had left him.
21Then the Philistines grabbed him. They poked his eyes out. They took him down to Gaza. They put bronze chains around him. Then they made him grind grain in the prison. 22His head had been shaved. But the hair on it began to grow again.
Samson Dies
23The rulers of the Philistines gathered together. They were going to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They were going to celebrate. They said, “Our god has handed our enemy Samson over to us.”
24When the people saw Samson, they praised their god. They said,
“Our god has handed our enemy over to us.
Our enemy has destroyed our land.
He has killed large numbers of our people.”
25After they had drunk a lot of wine, they shouted, “Bring Samson out. Let him put on a show for us.” So they called Samson out of the prison. He put on a show for them.
They had him stand near the temple pillars. 26Then he spoke to the servant who was holding his hand. He said, “Put me where I can feel the pillars. I’m talking about the ones that hold up the temple. I want to lean against them.” 27The temple was crowded with men and women. All the Philistine rulers were there. About 3,000 men and women were on the roof. They were watching Samson put on a show. 28Then he prayed to the Lord. Samson said, “Lord and King, show me that you still have concern for me. Please, God, make me strong just one more time. Let me pay the Philistines back for what they did to my two eyes. Let me do it with only one blow.” 29Then Samson reached toward the two pillars that were in the middle of the temple. They were the ones that held up the temple. He put his right hand on one of them. He put his left hand on the other. He leaned hard against them. 30Samson said, “Let me die together with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might. The temple came down on the rulers. It fell on all the people in it. So Samson killed many more Philistines when he died than he did while he lived.
31Then his brothers went down to get him. So did his father’s whole family. All of them brought Samson back home. They buried him in the tomb of his father Manoah. It’s between Zorah and Eshtaol. Samson had led Israel for 20 years.
