Samson and Delilah
1One day Samson went to Gaza, where 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 and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn we’ll kill him.”
3But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
4Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. 5The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels16:5 That is, about 28 pounds or about 13 kilograms of silver.”
6So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
7Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
8Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
10Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.”
11He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
12So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.
13Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.”
He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric 14and16:13,14 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew replied, “I can if you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom.” 14 So she tightened it with the pin.
Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.
15Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” 16With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.
17So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
18When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.16:19 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and he began to weaken And his strength left him.
20Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”
He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
21Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. 22But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
The Death of Samson
23Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”
24When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying,
“Our god has delivered our enemy
into our hands,
the one who laid waste our land
and multiplied our slain.”
25While they were in high spirits, they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.
When they stood him among the pillars, 26Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” 27Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. 28Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, 30Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.
31Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led16:31 Traditionally judged Israel twenty years.
參孫和大利拉
1一天，參孫去迦薩，看見一個妓女，就與她親近。 2迦薩人得知參孫來了，便包圍那地方，整夜埋伏在城門口，沒有動手，心想：「等天一亮，我們就殺掉他。」 3可是，參孫睡到半夜就起來，把城門的門扇連門框和門閂一同拆下，扛到希伯崙對面的山頂上。
4後來，參孫在梭烈谷愛上一位名叫大利拉的女子。 5非利士人的首領就上去見這女子，對她說：「請你哄參孫說出他為何有這麼大力氣，我們怎樣才能制伏他，把他綁起來。事後，我們每人會給你一千一百塊銀子。」 6於是，大利拉問參孫：「求你告訴我，你為什麼有這麼大力氣？用什麼辦法才能把你綁起來制伏你？」
7參孫說：「如果他們用七根還沒乾的青繩子綁住我，我就會像普通人一樣軟弱。」 8非利士人的首領便把七根還沒乾的青繩子交給大利拉，她用那些繩子把參孫綁起來。 9有人已預先埋伏在她的內室，於是她喊道：「參孫，非利士人來捉你了！」但參孫掙斷了繩子，就像掙斷火燒過的麻線一樣。因此，仍然沒有人知道他為何力氣過人。
10大利拉對參孫說：「你說謊捉弄我。現在請你告訴我，用什麼方法才能綁住你？」 11參孫回答說：「如果他們用從未用過的新繩子綁住我，我就會像普通人一樣軟弱。」 12於是，大利拉讓人埋伏在內室，她用七根新繩子綁住參孫，然後喊道：「參孫，非利士人來捉你了！」結果，參孫掙斷了手臂上的繩子，就像掙斷一根線一樣。
13大利拉對參孫說：「到現在你還是說謊捉弄我。請你告訴我，用什麼方法才能綁住你？」參孫說：「你把我的七根髮辮和織布機的線編在一起，用梭子扎緊，我就會像普通人一樣軟弱。」 14於是，大利拉把他的髮辮和織布機的線編在一起，用梭子扎緊，然後喊道：「參孫，非利士人來捉你了！」參孫醒來，掙脫了織布機的梭子和線。
15大利拉對參孫說：「你既然不跟我說真心話，還說什麼愛我！你捉弄了我三次，沒告訴我你為何力氣過人。」 16大利拉天天在他跟前嘮叨不停，以致他煩得要死， 17就把秘密告訴了她。他說：「我從不剃髮，因為我一出生就獻給上帝做拿細耳人了。如果剃掉我的頭髮，我就會失去力氣，像普通人一樣軟弱。」
18大利拉見他說出了心中的秘密，就派人去通知非利士人的首領，說：「你們再來一次吧，他已經把秘密告訴我了。」於是，他們帶著銀子去了。 19大利拉哄參孫枕著她的腿睡覺，然後叫人來剃掉他的七根髮辮，使他力氣盡失，無力反抗。 20她喊道：「參孫，非利士人來捉你了！」參孫醒來，心想：「我要像前幾次一樣掙脫捆綁。」他卻不知道耶和華已經離開他了。 21非利士人拿住他，剜了他的眼睛，把他帶到迦薩，用銅鏈鎖住他，讓他在監牢裡推磨。 22後來，他的頭髮又漸漸長出來了。
參孫之死
23非利士人的首領聚在一起向他們的神明大袞獻大祭，歡呼說：「我們的神把仇敵參孫交在我們手中了。」 24眾人看見參孫，就讚美他們的神明，說：「我們的神把仇敵交在我們手中了，他曾毀壞我們的田地，殺死我們許多人。」 25他們都興高采烈，並喊道：「把參孫帶來讓我們消遣消遣。」於是，有人把參孫從監牢裡提出來供他們消遣，他們讓他站在兩根柱子中間。 26參孫對拉著他手的童僕說：「帶我到支撐這廟宇的柱子那裡，我想靠一靠。」 27那時，廟裡擠滿了男男女女，非利士人的首領們都在場，房頂上還有三千男女看參孫的熱鬧。
28參孫呼求耶和華，說：「主耶和華啊，求你眷顧我！上帝啊，求你再賜給我一次力量，使我向非利士人報剜眼之仇。」 29參孫就抱住廟宇中央的兩根柱子，一手抱一根， 30然後喊道：「我要跟非利士人同歸於盡！」於是，他用盡全力推柱子，廟宇倒塌，壓住裡面的首領和民眾。參孫死時殺的人比他活著時殺的還多。 31參孫的兄弟和家人取走他的屍體，葬在瑣拉和以實陶之間他父親瑪挪亞的墓地裡。參孫做以色列的士師二十年。
