16 ¶ Then Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there and went in unto her.
2 And it was told unto those of Gaza, Samson is come here. And they compassed him in and laid in wait for him all night in the gate of the city and were quiet all that night, saying, In the morning when it is light, we shall kill him.
3 And Samson slept until midnight and arose at midnight and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
4 ¶ And it came to pass afterward that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5 And the cardinals of the Philistines came up unto her and said unto her, Entice him and see what gives him his great strength and by what means we may overcome him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and each one of us will give thee eleven hundred pieces of silver.
6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, what gives thee thy great strength and how might thou be bound to afflict thee.
7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green wicker strands that were never dried, then I shall become weak and be as any other man.
8 Then the cardinals of the Philistines brought up to her seven green wicker strands which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9 Now there were men lying in wait in a chamber of her house. And she said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he broke the wicker strands as a thread of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
10 Then Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me and told me lies; now tell me, I pray thee, how thou might be bound.
11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then I shall become weak and be as any other man.
12 Delilah therefore took new ropes and bound him with them and said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And there were men lying in wait abiding in a chamber. But he broke them from off his arms like a thread.
13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Until now thou hast mocked me, and told me lies. Tell me, therefore, now, how thou might be bound. Then he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the cloth.
14 And she fastened it with the stake and said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep and went away with the stake of the loom and with the cloth.
15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? Thou hast mocked me these three times and hast not yet told me what gives thee thy great strength.
16 And it came to pass that, pressing and grinding him daily with her words, his soul was reduced unto mortal anguish.
17 Therefore, he told her all his heart and said unto her, A razor has never come upon my head, for I am a Nazarite of God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.
18 ¶ And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the cardinals of the Philistines, saying, Come up this time, for he has showed me all his heart. Then the cardinals of the Philistines came up unto her and brought the money in their hand.
19 And she caused him to sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
20 And she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep and said, This time I will go out like before and escape; not knowing that the LORD had departed from him.
21 But the Philistines took hold of him and put out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with fetters of iron that he should grind in the prison house.
22 ¶ And the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
23 Then the cardinals of the Philistines gathered themselves together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god and to rejoice, for they said, Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.
24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the destroyer of our country, who slew many of us.
25 And it came to pass when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson that he may make us laugh. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport, and they set him between the pillars.
26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Bring me near and let me feel the pillars upon which the house stands that I may lean upon them.
27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the cardinals of the Philistines were there, and upon the roof there were about three thousand men and women that beheld while Samson was mocked.
28 Then Samson called unto the LORD and said, O Lord GOD, remember me now and strengthen me now only this once, O God, that I may take vengeance at once of the Philistines for my two eyes.
29 Then Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood and on which it was borne up, and leaned upon them, on the one with his right hand and on the other with his left.
30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he pushed with all his might, and the house fell upon the cardinals and upon all the people that were in it. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than those which he slew in his life.
31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the sepulchre of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.