Judges 15 - The Message (MSG)

15 1-2 Later on—it was during the wheat harvest—Samson visited his bride, bringing a young goat. He said, “Let me see my wife—show me her bedroom.”

But her father wouldn’t let him in. He said, “I concluded that by now you hated her with a passion, so I gave her to your best man. But her little sister is even more beautiful. Why not take her instead?”

3 Samson said, “That does it. This time when I wreak havoc on the Philistines, I’m blameless.”

4-5 Samson then went out and caught three hundred jackals. He lashed the jackals’ tails together in pairs and tied a torch between each pair of tails. He then set fire to the torches and let them loose in the Philistine fields of ripe grain. Everything burned, both stacked and standing grain, vineyards and olive orchards—everything.

6 The Philistines said, “Who did this?”

They were told, “Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite who took his bride and gave her to his best man.”

The Philistines went up and burned both her and her father to death.

7 Samson then said, “If this is the way you’re going to act, I swear I’ll get even with you. And I’m not quitting till the job’s done!”

8 With that he tore into them, ripping them limb from limb—a huge slaughter. Then he went down and stayed in a cave at Etam Rock.

* * *

9-10 The Philistines set out and made camp in Judah, preparing to attack Lehi (Jawbone). When the men of Judah asked, “Why have you come up against us?” they said, “We’re out to get Samson. We’re going after Samson to do to him what he did to us.”

11 Three companies of men from Judah went down to the cave at Etam Rock and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines already bully and lord it over us? So what’s going on with you, making things even worse?”

He said, “It was tit for tat. I only did to them what they did to me.”

12 They said, “Well, we’ve come down here to tie you up and turn you over to the Philistines.”

Samson said, “Just promise not to hurt me.”

13 “We promise,” they said. “We will tie you up and surrender you to them but, believe us, we won’t kill you.” They proceeded to tie him with new ropes and led him up from the Rock.

14-16 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him, shouting in triumph. And then the Spirit of God came on him with great power. The ropes on his arms fell apart like flax on fire; the strips of leather slipped off his hands. He spotted a fresh donkey jawbone, reached down and grabbed it, and with it killed the whole company. And Samson said,

With a donkey’s jawbone
I made heaps of donkeys of them.
With a donkey’s jawbone
I killed an entire company.

17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone. He named that place Ramath Lehi (Jawbone Hill).

18-19 Now he was suddenly very thirsty. He called out to God, “You have given your servant this great victory. Are you going to abandon me to die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” So God split open the rock basin in Lehi; water gushed out and Samson drank. His spirit revived—he was alive again! That’s why it’s called En Hakkore (Caller’s Spring). It’s still there at Lehi today.

20 Samson judged Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

* * *

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15 And it cometh to pass, after [some] days, in the days of wheat-harvest, that Samson looketh after his wife, with a kid of the goats, and saith, `I go in unto my wife, to the inner chamber;' and her father hath not permitted him to go in, 2 and her father saith, I certainly said, that thou didst c...
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Judges 15 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

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Judges 15 - World English Bible (WEB)

15 But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat. He said, “I will go in to my wife’s room.”But her father wouldn’t allow him to go in. 2 Her father said, “I most certainly thought that you utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Isn’t...
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Judges 15 - The Voice (VOICE)

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Judges 15 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Victory with a Jawbone15 But after a while, during the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat. “I am going to my wife in her room,” he said.But her father would not let him enter. 2 “I thought for sure you had utterly hated her,” her father said, “so I gave her to your bes...
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Judges 15 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Samson Defeats the Philistines15 After a while, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with a kid; and he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in. 2 And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her; so I gave ...
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Judges 15 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Samson Defeats the Philistines15 After a while, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with a kid; and he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in. 2 And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her; so I gave ...
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Judges 15 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Samson Defeats the Philistines15 After a while, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing along a kid. He said, “I want to go into my wife’s room.” But her father would not allow him to go in. 2 Her father said, “I was sure that you had rejected her; so I gave her to...
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Judges 15 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Samson Defeats the Philistines15 After a while, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing along a kid. He said, ‘I want to go into my wife’s room.’ But her father would not allow him to go in. 2 Her father said, ‘I was sure that you had rejected her; so I gave her to...
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Judges 15 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Samson Defeats the Philistines15 After a while, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing along a kid. He said, “I want to go into my wife’s room.” But her father would not allow him to go in. 2 Her father said, “I was sure that you had rejected her, so I gave her to ...
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Judges 15 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines15 Later 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. 2 “I truly thought you must hate her,” her father explained, “so I gave her i...
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Judges 15 - New Life Version (NLV)

Samson Wins over the Philistines15 But later Samson visited his wife during grain gathering time with a young goat. Samson said, “I will go in to my wife in her room.” But her father did not let him go in. 2 Her father said, “I thought you hated her. So I gave her to your friend. Is not her younger...
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Judges 15 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Samson Defeats the Philistines15 After a while, in the time of wheat harvest, it happened that Samson visited his wife with a (A)young goat. And he said, “Let me go in to my wife, into her room.” But her father would not permit him to go in. 2 Her father said, “I really thought that you thoroughly (...
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Judges 15 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Samson’s vengeance on the Philistines15 Later 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...
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Judges 15 - New International Version (NIV)

Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines15 Later on, at the time of wheat harvest,(A) Samson(B) took a young goat(C) and went to visit his wife. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room.”(D) 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 companio...
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Judges 15 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Samson Gets Even With the Philistines15 Later on, Samson went to visit his wife. He took a young goat with him. He went at the time the wheat was being gathered. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room.” But her father wouldn’t let him go in. 2 Her father said, “I was sure you hated her. So I gave her...
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Judges 15 - New English Translation (NET)

Samson Versus the Philistines15 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest,[a] Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride.[b] He said to her father,[c] “I want to sleep with[d] my bride in her bedroom!”[e] But her father would not let him enter. 2 Her father said, “I really though...
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