14One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye.H8123H3381H8553H7200H802H8553H1323H6430 2When he returned home, he told his father and mother, "A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me."H5927H5046H1H517H559H7200H802H8553H1323H6430H3947H802 3His father and mother objected. "Isn't there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?" they asked. "Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?" But Samson told his father, "Get her for me! She looks good to me."H1H517H559H369H802H1323H251H5971H1980H3947H802H6189H6430H8123H559H1H3947H3474H5869 4His father and mother didn't realize the LORD was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time.H1H517H3045H3068H1245H8385H6430H6256H6430H4910H3478 5As Samson and his parents were going down to Timnah, a young lion suddenly attacked Samson near the vineyards of Timnah.H3381H8123H3381H1H517H8553H935H3754H8553H3715H738H7580H7125 6At that moment the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he ripped the lion's jaws apart with his bare hands. He did it as easily as if it were a young goat. But he didn't tell his father or mother about it.H7307H3068H6743H8156H8156H1423H3972H3027H5046H1H517H6213 7When Samson arrived in Timnah, he talked with the woman and was very pleased with her.H3381H1696H802H3474H8123H3474H5869 8Later, when he returned to Timnah for the wedding, he turned off the path to look at the carcass of the lion. And he found that a swarm of bees had made some honey in the carcass.H3117H7725H3947H5493H7200H4658H738H5712H1682H1706H1472H738 9He scooped some of the honey into his hands and ate it along the way. He also gave some to his father and mother, and they ate it. But he didn't tell them he had taken the honey from the carcass of the lion.H7287H3709H3212H398H1980H1H517H5414H398H5046H7287H1706H1472H738 10As his father was making final arrangements for the marriage, Samson threw a party at Timnah, as was the custom for elite young men.H1H3381H802H8123H6213H4960H970H6213 11When the bride's parents saw him, they selected thirty young men from the town to be his companions.H7200H3947H7970H4828 12Samson said to them, "Let me tell you a riddle. If you solve my riddle during these seven days of the celebration, I will give you thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing.H8123H559H2330H2420H5046H5046H7651H3117H4960H4672H5414H7970H5466H7970H2487H899 13But if you can't solve it, then you must give me thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing." "All right," they agreed, "let's hear your riddle."H3201H5046H5414H7970H5466H7970H2487H899H559H2330H2420H8085 14So he said: "Out of the one who eats came something to eat; out of the strong came something sweet." Three days later they were still trying to figure it out.H559H398H3318H3978H5794H3318H4966H3201H7969H3117H5046H2420 15On the fourth day they said to Samson's wife, "Entice your husband to explain the riddle for us, or we will burn down your father's house with you in it. Did you invite us to this party just to make us poor?"H7637H3117H559H8123H802H6601H376H5046H2420H8313H1H1004H784H7121H3423 16So Samson's wife came to him in tears and said, "You don't love me; you hate me! You have given my people a riddle, but you haven't told me the answer." "I haven't even given the answer to my father or mother," he replied. "Why should I tell you?"H8123H802H1058H559H8130H157H2330H2420H1121H5971H5046H559H5046H1H517H5046 17So she cried whenever she was with him and kept it up for the rest of the celebration. At last, on the seventh day he told her the answer because she was tormenting him with her nagging. Then she explained the riddle to the young men.H1058H7651H3117H4960H1961H7637H3117H5046H6693H5046H2420H1121H5971 18So before sunset of the seventh day, the men of the town came to Samson with their answer: "What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?" Samson replied, "If you hadn't plowed with my heifer, you wouldn't have solved my riddle!"H582H5892H559H7637H3117H2775H935H4966H1706H5794H738H559H3884H2790H5697H4672H2420 19Then the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him. He went down to the town of Ashkelon, killed thirty men, took their belongings, and gave their clothing to the men who had solved his riddle. But Samson was furious about what had happened, and he went back home to live with his father and mother.H7307H3068H6743H3381H831H5221H7970H376H3947H2488H5414H2487H5046H2420H639H2734H5927H1H1004 20So his wife was given in marriage to the man who had been Samson's best man at the wedding.H8123H802H4828H7462
15Later on, during the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat as a present to his wife. He said, "I'm going into my wife's room to sleep with her," but her father wouldn't let him in.H3117H3117H2406H7105H8123H6485H802H1423H5795H559H935H802H2315H1H5414H935 2"I truly thought you must hate her," her father explained, "so I gave her in marriage to your best man. But look, her younger sister is even more beautiful than she is. Marry her instead."H1H559H559H559H8130H8130H5414H4828H6996H269H2896 3Samson said, "This time I cannot be blamed for everything I am going to do to you Philistines."H8123H559H6471H5352H6430H6213H7451 4Then he went out and caught 300 foxes. He tied their tails together in pairs, and he fastened a torch to each pair of tails.H8123H3212H3920H7969H3967H7776H3947H3940H6437H2180H2180H7760H259H3940H8432H8147H2180 5Then he lit the torches and let the foxes run through the grain fields of the Philistines. He burned all their grain to the ground, including the sheaves and the uncut grain. He also destroyed their vineyards and olive groves.H1197H3940H784H7971H7054H6430H1197H1430H7054H3754H2132 6"Who did this?" the Philistines demanded. "Samson," was the reply, "because his father-in-law from Timnah gave Samson's wife to be married to his best man." So the Philistines went and got the woman and her father and burned them to death.H6430H559H6213H559H8123H2860H8554H3947H802H5414H4828H6430H5927H8313H1H784 7"Because you did this," Samson vowed, "I won't rest until I take my revenge on you!"H8123H559H518H6213H2063H5358H310H2308 8So he attacked the Philistines with great fury and killed many of them. Then he went to live in a cave in the rock of Etam.H5221H7785H5921H3409H1419H4347H3381H3427H5585H5553H5862 9The Philistines retaliated by setting up camp in Judah and spreading out near the town of Lehi.H6430H5927H2583H3063H5203H3896 10The men of Judah asked the Philistines, "Why are you attacking us?" The Philistines replied, "We've come to capture Samson. We've come to pay him back for what he did to us."H376H3063H559H5927H559H631H8123H5927H6213H6213 11So 3,000 men of Judah went down to get Samson at the cave in the rock of Etam. They said to Samson, "Don't you realize the Philistines rule over us? What are you doing to us?" But Samson replied, "I only did to them what they did to me."H7969H505H376H3063H3381H5585H5553H5862H559H8123H3045H6430H4910H6213H559H6213H6213 12But the men of Judah told him, "We have come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines." "All right," Samson said. "But promise that you won't kill me yourselves."H559H3381H631H5414H3027H6430H8123H559H7650H6293 13"We will only tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines," they replied. "We won't kill you." So they tied him up with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.H559H559H631H631H5414H3027H4191H4191H631H8147H2319H5688H5927H5553 14As Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines came shouting in triumph. But the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon Samson, and he snapped the ropes on his arms as if they were burnt strands of flax, and they fell from his wrists.H935H3896H6430H7321H7125H7307H3068H6743H5688H2220H6593H1197H784H612H4549H3027 15Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it.H4672H2961H3895H2543H7971H3027H3947H5221H505H376 16Then Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, I've piled them in heaps! With the jawbone of a donkey, I've killed a thousand men!"H8123H559H3895H2543H2565H2565H3895H2543H5221H505H376 17When he finished his boasting, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was named Jawbone Hill.H3615H1696H7993H3895H3027H7121H4725H7437 18Samson was now very thirsty, and he cried out to the LORD, "You have accomplished this great victory by the strength of your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of these pagans?"H3966H6770H7121H3068H559H5414H1419H8668H3027H5650H4191H6772H5307H3027H6189 19So God caused water to gush out of a hollow in the ground at Lehi, and Samson was revived as he drank. Then he named that place "The Spring of the One Who Cried Out," and it is still in Lehi to this day.H430H1234H4388H3895H3318H4325H8354H7307H7725H2421H7121H8034H5875H3896H3117 20Samson judged Israel for twenty years during the period when the Philistines dominated the land.H8199H3478H3117H6430H6242H8141
16One day Samson went to the Philistine town of Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute.H3212H8123H5804H7200H802H2181H9352Word soon spread that Samson was there, so the men of Gaza gathered together and waited all night at the town gates. They kept quiet during the night, saying to themselves, "When the light of morning comes, we will kill him."H5841H559H8123H935H5437H693H3915H8179H5892H2790H3915H559H1242H216H20263But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors of the town gate, including the two posts, and lifted them up, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them all the way to the top of the hill across from Hebron.H8123H7901H2677H3915H6965H2677H3915H270H1817H8179H5892H8147H4201H5265H1280H7760H3802H5927H7218H2022H6440H22754Some time later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the valley of Sorek.H310H157H802H5158H7796H8034H18075The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, "Entice Samson to tell you what makes him so strong and how he can be overpowered and tied up securely. Then each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver."H5633H6430H5927H559H6601H7200H1419H3581H3201H631H6031H5414H376H505H3967H37016So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me what makes you so strong and what it would take to tie you up securely."H1807H559H8123H5046H1419H3581H631H60317Samson replied, "If I were tied up with seven new bowstrings that have not yet been dried, I would become as weak as anyone else."H8123H559H631H7651H3892H3499H2717H2470H259H1208So the Philistine rulers brought Delilah seven new bowstrings, and she tied Samson up with them.H5633H6430H5927H7651H3892H3499H2717H6319She had hidden some men in one of the inner rooms of her house, and she cried out, "Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!" But Samson snapped the bowstrings as a piece of string snaps when it is burned by a fire. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.H693H3427H2315H559H6430H8123H5423H3499H6616H5296H5423H7306H784H3581H304510Afterward Delilah said to him, "You've been making fun of me and telling me lies! Now please tell me how you can be tied up securely."H1807H559H8123H2048H1696H3577H5046H63111Samson replied, "If I were tied up with brand-new ropes that had never been used, I would become as weak as anyone else."H559H631H631H2319H5688H4399H6213H2470H259H12012So Delilah took new ropes and tied him up with them. The men were hiding in the inner room as before, and again Delilah cried out, "Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!" But again Samson snapped the ropes from his arms as if they were thread.H1807H3947H2319H5688H631H559H6430H8123H693H3427H2315H5423H2220H233913Then Delilah said, "You've been making fun of me and telling me lies! Now tell me how you can be tied up securely." Samson replied, "If you were to weave the seven braids of my hair into the fabric on your loom and tighten it with the loom shuttle, I would become as weak as anyone else." So while he slept, Delilah wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric.H1807H559H8123H2008H2048H1696H3577H5046H631H559H707H7651H4253H7218H454514Then she tightened it with the loom shuttle. Again she cried out, "Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!" But Samson woke up, pulled back the loom shuttle, and yanked his hair away from the loom and the fabric.H8628H3489H559H6430H8123H3364H8142H5265H3489H708H454515Then Delilah pouted, "How can you tell me, 'I love you,' when you don't share your secrets with me? You've made fun of me three times now, and you still haven't told me what makes you so strong!"H559H349H559H157H3820H2048H7969H6471H5046H1419H358116She tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it.H6693H3117H1697H509H5315H7114H419117Finally, Samson shared his secret with her. "My hair has never been cut," he confessed, "for I was dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as anyone else."H5046H3820H559H5927H4177H7218H5139H430H517H990H1548H3581H5493H2470H12018Delilah realized he had finally told her the truth, so she sent for the Philistine rulers. "Come back one more time," she said, "for he has finally told me his secret." So the Philistine rulers returned with the money in their hands.H1807H7200H5046H3820H7971H7121H5633H6430H559H5927H6471H5046H3820H5633H6430H5927H5927H3701H302719Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him.H3462H1290H7121H376H1548H7651H4253H7218H2490H6031H3581H549320Then she cried out, "Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!" When he woke up, he thought, "I will do as before and shake myself free." But he didn't realize the LORD had left him.H559H6430H8123H3364H8142H559H3318H6471H5287H3045H3068H549321So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.H6430H270H5365H5869H3381H5804H631H5178H2912H631H100422But before long, his hair began to grow back.H8181H7218H2490H6779H834H154823The Philistine rulers held a great festival, offering sacrifices and praising their god, Dagon. They said, "Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!"H5633H6430H622H2076H1419H2077H1712H430H8057H559H430H5414H8123H341H302724When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, "Our god has delivered our enemy to us! The one who killed so many of us is now in our power!"H5971H7200H1984H430H559H430H5414H3027H341H2717H776H2491H723525Half drunk by now, the people demanded, "Bring out Samson so he can amuse us!" So he was brought from the prison to amuse them, and they had him stand between the pillars supporting the roof.H3820H2896H559H7121H8123H7832H7121H8123H631H1004H6440H6711H5975H598226Samson said to the young servant who was leading him by the hand, "Place my hands against the pillars that hold up the temple. I want to rest against them."H8123H559H5288H2388H3027H3240H4184H3237H5982H1004H3559H817227Now the temple was completely filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there, and there were about 3,000 men and women on the roof who were watching as Samson amused them.H1004H4390H582H802H5633H6430H1406H7969H505H376H802H7200H8123H783228Then Samson prayed to the LORD, "Sovereign LORD, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes."H8123H7121H3068H559H136H3069H2142H2388H6471H430H259H5358H5359H6430H8147H586929Then Samson put his hands on the two center pillars that held up the temple. Pushing against them with both hands,H8123H3943H8147H8432H5982H1004H3559H5564H259H3225H259H804030he prayed, "Let me die with the Philistines." And the temple crashed down on the Philistine rulers and all the people. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime.H8123H559H4191H5315H6430H5186H3581H1004H5307H5633H5971H4191H4191H4194H7227H4191H241631Later his brothers and other relatives went down to get his body. They took him back home and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, where his father, Manoah, was buried. Samson had judged Israel for twenty years.H251H1004H1H3381H5375H5927H6912H6881H847H6913H4495H1H8199H3478H6242H8141
Dublin, OH
saw him, they selected thirty young men from the town to be his companions.H7200
