Judges 16 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Samson and Delilah

16 Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a harlot, and he went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here,” and they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” 3 But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is before Hebron.

4 After this he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Deli′lah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her, “Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to subdue him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.” 6 And Deli′lah said to Samson, “Please tell me wherein your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.” 7 And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings which have not been dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now she had men lying in wait in an inner chamber. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a string of tow snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

10 And Deli′lah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies; please tell me how you might be bound.” 11 And he said to her, “If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” 12 So Deli′lah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And the men lying in wait were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.

13 And Deli′lah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me, and told me lies; tell me how you might be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” 14 So while he slept, Deli′lah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web.[a] And she made them tight with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.

15 And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me wherein your great strength lies.” 16 And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 17 And he told her all his mind, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I be shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

18 When Deli′lah saw that he had told her all his mind, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up this once, for he has told me all his mind.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hands. 19 She made him sleep upon her knees; and she called a man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.” And he did not know that the Lord had left him. 21 And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with bronze fetters; and he ground at the mill in the prison. 22 But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Samson’s Death

23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.” 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has slain many of us.” 25 And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may make sport for us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he made sport before them. They made him stand between the pillars; 26 and Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” 27 Now the house was full of men and women; all the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about three thousand men and women, who looked on while Samson made sport.

28 Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be avenged upon the Philistines for one of my two eyes.” 29 And Samson grasped the two middle pillars upon which the house rested, and he leaned his weight upon them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. 30 And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people that were in it. So the dead whom he slew at his death were more than those whom he had slain during his life. 31 Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Esh′ta-ol in the tomb of Mano′ah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 16:14 Compare Gk: Heb lacks and make it tight . . . into the web

You Might Also Like:

Judges 16 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

16 And Samson goeth to Gaza, and seeth there a woman, a harlot, and goeth in unto her; 2 [it is told] to the Gazathites, saying, `Samson hath come in hither;' and they go round and lay wait for him all the night at the gate of the city, and keep themselves silent all the night, saying, `Till the lig...
Read More

Judges 16 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

16 Also Samson went into Gaza, and he saw there a woman whore, and he entered to her. (And one day Samson went to Gaza, and he saw a whore-woman there, and he slept with her.) 2 And when the Philistines had seen this, and it was published among them, that Samson had entered into the city, they compa...
Read More

Judges 16 - World English Bible (WEB)

16 Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a prostitute, and went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told, “Samson is here!” They surrounded him and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, “Wait until morning light; then we will kill him.” 3 Samson lay unti...
Read More

Judges 16 - The Voice (VOICE)

16 When Samson went to Gaza, he saw a prostitute there who pleased him, so he went in to be with her. 2 Word went out to the men of Gaza that Samson had arrived. So they surrounded the house and waited quietly for him at the city gate, thinking, “When morning comes, we will strike him down.” 3 But...
Read More

Judges 16 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Delilah Betrays Samson16 Once Samson went to Gaza and eyed a prostitute there, so he went to her. 2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” So they surrounded him, lay in ambush for him all night at the gate of the city, and kept quiet all night saying, “When morning light comes, then we kil...
Read More

Judges 16 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Samson and Delilah16 Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a harlot, and he went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here,” and they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the...
Read More

Judges 16 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Samson and Delilah16 Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a harlot, and he went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here,” and they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the...
Read More

Judges 16 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Samson and Delilah16 Once Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told,[a] “Samson has come here.” So they circled around and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night, thinking, “Let us wait until the light of the mornin...
Read More

Judges 16 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Samson and Delilah16 Once Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told,[a] ‘Samson has come here.’ So they encircled the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night, thinking, ‘Let us wait until the light of the m...
Read More

Judges 16 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Samson and Delilah16 Once Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told,[a] “Samson has come here.” So they circled around and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night, thinking, “Let us wait[b] until the light of the morn...
Read More

Judges 16 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Samson Carries Away Gaza’s Gates16 One day Samson went to the Philistine town of Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute. 2 Word soon spread[a] 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 themselve...
Read More

Judges 16 - New Life Version (NLV)

Samson and Delilah16 Samson went to Gaza and saw a woman who sold the use of her body there. He went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” So they gathered around the place and waited for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait un...
Read More

Judges 16 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Samson and Delilah16 Now Samson went to (A)Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her. 2 When the Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they (B)surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “In the morning, when it is da...
Read More

Judges 16 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Samson and Delilah16 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The 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 daw...
Read More

Judges 16 - New International Version (NIV)

Samson and Delilah16 One day Samson(A) went to Gaza,(B) where he saw a prostitute.(C) He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The 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.(D) They made no move during the night, sayi...
Read More

Judges 16 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Samson and Delilah16 One day Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place. They hid and waited for him at the city gate all night long. They didn’t make any move against him dur...
Read More

Judges 16 - New English Translation (NET)

Samson’s Downfall16 Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and slept with her.[a] 2 The Gazites were told,[b] “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town[c] and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave.[d] They relaxed[e] all night, thinking,[f] “He will not leave[g]...
Read More