Judges 15 – NIV & CCBT

New International Version

Judges 15:1-20

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.

Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)

士師記 15:1-20

參孫向非利士人報仇

1過了些日子,在割麥的時候,參孫帶著一隻山羊羔去探望他妻子。他說:「我要進內室見我妻子。」他岳父卻不讓他進去, 2並對他說:「我以為你非常恨她,所以我把她改嫁給你的伴郎了。她妹子不是比她更美麗嗎?你可以娶來代替她。」

3參孫說:「這次我要加害非利士人,可不能怪我了。」

4於是,他出去捉了三百隻狐狸,把牠們的尾巴一對一對綁起來,將火把綁在兩條尾巴中間, 5然後點燃火把,把狐狸放進非利士人的麥田裡,將割好的麥捆和未割的麥子、葡萄園和橄欖園都燒毀了。 6非利士人問:「這是誰幹的?」有人回答說:「是亭拿人的女婿參孫幹的,因為他岳父把他的妻子嫁給了他的伴郎。」非利士人就去放火燒死了參孫的妻子和岳父。 7參孫說:「你們既然這樣做,我不向你們報仇誓不甘休。」 8參孫大肆擊殺他們,殺死了很多人。事後,他下到以坦,住在那裡的岩洞裡。

9非利士人進犯猶大,在利希一帶紮營。 10猶大人問他們:「你們為什麼來攻打我們?」非利士人回答說:「我們來捉拿參孫,向他以報還報。」 11於是,有三千猶大人去以坦的岩洞找參孫,對他說:「難道你不知道非利士人是我們的統治者嗎?你為什麼連累我們?」參孫回答說:「我只是以牙還牙。」 12猶大人說:「我們來是要捉拿你,把你交給非利士人。」參孫說:「你們要保證你們不會親手殺我。」 13他們說:「我們不會殺你,只將你綁起來交給非利士人。」於是,他們用兩根新繩子把參孫捆綁起來帶出岩洞。

14非利士人看見參孫來到利希,就呐喊著迎了上去。耶和華的靈降在參孫身上,綁在他手臂上的繩子就像被火燒的麻線一樣脫落下來。 15他看到一塊還沒有乾的驢腮骨,就撿起來用它殺了一千個非利士人。 16參孫說:

「用這驢腮骨,我殺人成堆;

用這驢腮骨,我殺戮千人。」

17說完,他扔掉了手中的驢腮骨。因此,那地方叫拉末·利希15·17 拉末·利希」意思是「腮骨崗」。

18參孫覺得非常口渴,便向耶和華呼求說:「你既然藉著僕人的手大敗敵人,難道你會讓我渴死、落在這些未受割禮的人手中嗎?」 19於是,上帝使利希的一處窪地裂開,湧出水來。參孫喝後恢復了精神。因此,那水泉叫隱哈·歌利15·19 隱哈·歌利」意思是「呼求者的泉」。。那水泉今天還在利希20非利士人統治期間,參孫以色列的士師二十年。