Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines
1Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room.” But her father would not let him go in.
2“I was so sure you hated her,” he said, “that I gave her to your companion. Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.”
3Samson said to them, “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.” 4So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, 5lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.
6When the Philistines asked, “Who did this?” they were told, “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his companion.”
So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death. 7Samson said to them, “Since you’ve acted like this, I swear that I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.” 8He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.
9The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. 10The people of Judah asked, “Why have you come to fight us?”
“We have come to take Samson prisoner,” they answered, “to do to him as he did to us.”
11Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?”
He answered, “I merely did to them what they did to me.”
12They said to him, “We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”
Samson said, “Swear to me that you won’t kill me yourselves.”
13“Agreed,” they answered. “We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. 14As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.
16Then Samson said,
“With a donkey’s jawbone
I have made donkeys of them.15:16 Or made a heap or two; the Hebrew for donkey sounds like the Hebrew for heap.
With a donkey’s jawbone
I have killed a thousand men.”
17When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.15:17 Ramath Lehi means jawbone hill.
18Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord, “You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore,15:19 En Hakkore means caller’s spring. and it is still there in Lehi.
20Samson led15:20 Traditionally judged Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
参孙向非利士人报仇
1过了些日子，在割麦的时候，参孙带着一只山羊羔去探望他妻子。他说：“我要进内室见我妻子。”他岳父却不让他进去， 2并对他说：“我以为你非常恨她，所以我把她改嫁给你的伴郎了。她妹子不是比她更美吗？你可以娶来代替她。”
3参孙说：“这次我要加害非利士人，可不能怪我了。”
4于是，他出去捉了三百只狐狸，把它们的尾巴一对一对绑起来，将火把绑在两条尾巴中间， 5然后点燃火把，把狐狸放进非利士人的麦田里，将割好的麦捆和未割的麦子、葡萄园和橄榄园都烧毁了。 6非利士人问：“这是谁干的？”有人回答说：“是亭拿人的女婿参孙干的，因为他岳父把他的妻子嫁给了他的伴郎。”非利士人就去放火烧死了参孙的妻子和岳父。 7参孙说：“你们既然这样做，我不向你们报仇誓不罢休。” 8参孙大肆击杀他们，杀死了很多人。事后，他下到以坦，住在那里的岩洞里。
9非利士人进犯犹大，在利希一带扎营。 10犹大人问他们：“你们为什么来攻打我们？”非利士人回答说：“我们来捉拿参孙，向他以报还报。” 11于是，有三千犹大人去以坦的岩洞找参孙，对他说：“难道你不知道非利士人是我们的统治者吗？你为什么连累我们？”参孙回答说：“我只是以牙还牙。” 12犹大人说：“我们来是要捉拿你，把你交给非利士人。”参孙说：“你们要起誓不会亲手杀我。” 13他们说：“我们不会杀你，只将你绑起来交给非利士人。”于是，他们用两根新绳子把参孙捆绑起来带出岩洞。
14参孙来到利希，非利士人就呐喊着迎了上去。耶和华的灵突然降在参孙身上，绑在他手臂上的绳子就像被火烧的麻线一样脱落下来。 15他看到一块还没有干的驴腮骨，就捡起来用它杀了一千个非利士人。 16参孙说：
“用这驴腮骨，我杀人成堆；
用这驴腮骨，我杀死千人。”
17说完，他扔掉了手中的驴腮骨。因此，那地方叫拉末·利希15:17 “拉末·利希”意思是“腮骨岗”。。
18参孙觉得非常口渴，便向耶和华呼求说：“你既然借着仆人的手大败敌人，难道你会让我渴死、落在这些未受割礼的人手中吗？” 19于是，上帝使利希的一处洼地裂开，涌出水来。参孙喝后恢复了精神。因此，那水泉叫隐·哈歌利15:19 “隐·哈歌利”意思是“呼求者的泉”。。那水泉今天还在利希。 20在非利士人统治期间，参孙做以色列的士师二十年。
