Samson at Gaza

161 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 light of the morning—then we have slain him.' 3 And Samson lieth down till the middle of the night, and riseth in the middle of the night, and layeth hold on the doors of the gate of the city, and on the two side posts, and removeth them with the bar, and putteth on his shoulders, and taketh them up unto the top of the hill, which 'is' on the front of Hebron.

Samson and Delilah

4 And it cometh to pass afterwards that he loveth a woman in the valley of Sorek, and her name 'is' Delilah, 5 and the princes of the Philistines come up unto her, and say to her, 'Entice him, and see wherein his great power 'is', and wherein we are able for him—and we have bound him to afflict him, and we—we give to thee, each one, eleven hundred silverlings.' 6 And Delilah saith unto Samson, 'Declare, I pray thee, to me, wherein thy great power 'is', and wherewith thou art bound, to afflict thee.' 7 And Samson saith unto her, 'If they bind me with seven green withs which have not been dried, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.' 8 And the princes of the Philistines bring up to her seven green withs which have not been dried, and she bindeth him with them. 9 And the ambush is abiding with her in an inner chamber, and she saith unto him, 'Philistines 'are' upon thee, Samson;' and he breaketh the withs as a thread of tow is broken in its smelling fire, and his power hath not been known. 10 And Delilah saith unto Samson, 'Lo, thou hast played upon me, and speakest unto me lies; now, declare, I pray thee, to me, wherewith thou art bound.' 11 And he saith unto her, 'If they certainly bind me with thick bands, new ones, by which work hath not been done, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.' 12 And Delilah taketh thick bands, new ones, and bindeth him with them, and saith unto him, 'Philistines 'are' upon thee, Samson;' and the ambush is abiding in an inner chamber, and he breaketh them from off his arms as a thread. 13 And Delilah saith unto Samson, 'Hitherto thou hast played upon me, and dost speak unto me lies; declare to me wherewith thou art bound.' And he saith unto her, 'If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.' 14 And she fixeth 'it' with the pin, and saith unto him, 'Philistines 'are' upon thee, Samson;' and he awaketh out of his sleep, and journeyeth with the pin of the weaving machine, and with the web. 15 And she saith unto him, 'How dost thou say, I have loved thee, and thy heart is not with me? these three times thou hast played upon me, and hast not declared to me wherein thy great power 'is'.' 16 And it cometh to pass, because she distressed him with her words all the days, and doth urge him, and his soul is grieved to death, 17 that he declareth to her all his heart, and saith to her, 'A razor hath not gone up on my head, for a Nazarite to God I 'am' from the womb of my mother; if I have been shaven, then hath my power turned aside from me, and I have been weak, and have been as any of the human race.'

18 And Delilah seeth that he hath declared to her all his heart, and she sendeth and calleth for the princes of the Philistines, saying, 'Come up this time, for he hath declared to me all his heart;' and the princes of the Philistines have come up unto her, and bring up the money in their hand. 19 and she maketh him sleep on her knees, and calleth for a man, and shaveth the seven locks of his head, and beginneth to afflict him, and his power turneth aside from off him; 20 and she saith, 'Philistines 'are' upon thee, Samson;' and he awaketh out of his sleep, and saith, 'I go out as time by time, and shake myself;' and he hath not known that Jehovah hath turned aside from off him. 21 And the Philistines seize him, and pick out his eyes, and bring him down to Gaza, and bind him with two brazen fetters; and he is grinding in the prison-house.

22 And the hair of his head beginneth to shoot up, when he hath been shaven,

The Death of Samson

23 and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, 'Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.' 24 And the people see him, and praise their god, for they said, 'Our god hath given in our hand our enemy, and he who is laying waste our land, and who multiplied our wounded.' 25 And it cometh to pass, when their heart 'is' glad, that they say, 'Call for Samson, and he doth play before us;' and they call for Samson out of the prison-house, and he playeth before them, and they cause him to stand between the pillars. 26 And Samson saith unto the young man who is keeping hold on his hand, 'Let me alone, and let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, and I lean upon them.' 27 And the house hath been full of men and of women, and thither 'are' all the princes of the Philistines, and on the roof 'are' about three thousand men and women, who are looking on the playing of Samson. 28 And Samson calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this time, O God; and I am avenged—vengeance at once—because of my two eyes, on the Philistines.' 29 And Samson turneth aside 'to' the two middle pillars, on which the house is established, and on which it is supported, 'to' the one with his right hand, and one with his left; 30 and Samson saith, 'Let me die with the Philistines,' and he inclineth himself powerfully, and the house falleth on the princes, and on all the people who 'are' in it, and the dead whom he hath put to death in his death are more than those whom he put to death in his life. 31 And his brethren come down, and all the house of his father, and lift him up, and bring him up, and bury him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the burying-place of Manoah his father; and he hath judged Israel twenty years.

Micah's Images and His Priest

171 And there is a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name 'is' Micah, 2 and he saith to his mother, 'The eleven hundred silverlings which have been taken of thine, and 'of which' thou hast sworn, and also spoken in mine ears; lo, the silver 'is' with me, I have taken it;' and his mother saith, 'Blessed 'is' my son of Jehovah.' 3 And he giveth back the eleven hundred silverlings to his mother, and his mother saith, 'I had certainly sanctified the silver to Jehovah, from my hand, for my son, to make a graven image, and a molten image; and now, I give it back to thee.' 4 And he giveth back the money to his mother, and his mother taketh two hundred silverlings, and giveth them to a refiner, and he maketh them a graven image, and a molten image, and it is in the house of Micah. 5 As to the man Micah, he hath a house of gods, and he maketh an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrateth the hand of one of his sons, and he is to him for a priest; 6 in those days there is no king in Israel, each that which is right in his own eyes doth.

7 And there is a young man of Beth-Lehem-Judah, of the family of Judah, and he 'is' a Levite, and he 'is' a sojourner there. 8 And the man goeth out of the city, out of Beth-Lehem-Judah, to sojourn where he doth find, and cometh to the hill-country of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, to work his way. 9 And Micah saith to him, 'Whence comest thou?' and he saith unto him, 'A Levite 'am' I, of Beth-Lehem-Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I do find.' 10 And Micah saith to him, 'Dwell with me, and be to me for a father and for a priest, and I give to thee ten silverlings for the days, and a suit of garments, and thy sustenance;' and the Levite goeth 'in'. 11 And the Levite is willing to dwell with the man, and the young man is to him as one of his sons. 12 And Micah consecrateth the hand of the Levite, and the young man is to him for a priest, and he is in the house of Micah, 13 and Micah saith, 'Now I have known that Jehovah doth good to me, for the Levite hath been to me for a priest.'

Micah and the Danites

181 In those days there is no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Danite is seeking for itself an inheritance to inhabit, for 'that' hath not fallen to it unto that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel by inheritance. 2 And the sons of Dan send, out of their family, five men of them, men, sons of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to traverse the land, and to search it, and they say unto them, 'Go, search the land;' and they come into the hill-country of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, and lodge there. 3 They 'are' with the household of Micah, and they have discerned the voice of the young man, the Levite, and turn aside there, and say to him, 'Who hath brought thee hither? and what art thou doing in this 'place?' and what to thee here?' 4 And he saith unto them, 'Thus and thus hath Micah done to me; and he hireth me, and I am to him for a priest.' 5 And they say to him, 'Ask, we pray thee, at God, and we know whether our way is prosperous on which we are going.' 6 And the priest saith to them, 'Go in peace; over-against Jehovah 'is' your way in which ye go.'

7 And the five men go, and come in to Laish, and see the people which 'is' in its midst, dwelling confidently, according to the custom of Zidonians, quiet and confident; and there is none putting to shame in the land in 'any' thing, possessing restraint, and they 'are' far off from the Zidonians, and have no word with 'any' man. 8 And they come in unto their brethren, at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren say to them, 'What—ye?' 9 And they say, 'Rise, and we go up against them, for we have seen the land, and lo, very good; and ye are keeping silent! be not slothful to go—to enter to possess the land. 10 When ye go, ye come in unto a people confident, and the land 'is' large on both hands, for God hath given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything which 'is' in the land.' 11 And there journey thence, of the family of the Danite, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with weapons of war. 12 And they go up and encamp in Kirjath-Jearim, in Judah, therefore they have called that place, 'Camp of Dan,' till this day; lo, behind Kirjath-Jearim. 13 And they pass over thence 'to' the hill-country of Ephraim, and come in unto the house of Micah.

14 And the five men, those going to traverse the land of Laish, answer and say unto their brethren, 'Have ye known that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and graven image, and molten image? and now, know what ye do.' 15 And they turn aside thither, and come in unto the house of the young man the Levite, the house of Micah, and ask of him of welfare,— 16 (and the six hundred men girded with their weapons of war, who 'are' of the sons of Dan, are standing at the opening of the gate),— 17 yea, the five men, those going to traverse the land, go up—they have come in thither—they have taken the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image—and the priest is standing at the opening of the gate, and the six hundred men who are girded with weapons of war— 18 yea, these have entered the house of Micah, and take the graven image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest saith unto them, 'What are ye doing?' 19 and they say to him, 'Keep silent, lay thy hand on thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us for a father and for a priest: is it better thy being a priest to the house of one man, or thy being priest to a tribe and to a family in Israel?' 20 And the heart of the priest is glad, and he taketh the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and goeth into the midst of the people, 21 and they turn and go, and put the infants, and the cattle, and the baggage, before them. 22 They have been far off from the house of Micah—and the men who 'are' in the houses which 'are' near the house of Micah have been called together, and overtake the sons of Dan, 23 and call unto the sons of Dan, and they turn round their faces, and say to Micah, 'What—to thee that thou hast been called together?' 24 And he saith, 'My gods which I made ye have taken, and the priest, and ye go; and what to me more? and what 'is' this ye say unto me, What—to thee!' 25 And the sons of Dan say unto him, 'Let not thy voice be heard with us, lest men bitter in soul fall upon you, and thou hast gathered thy life, and the life of thy household;' 26 and the sons of Dan go on their way, and Micah seeth that they are stronger than he, and turneth, and goeth back unto his house.

27 And they have taken that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and come in against Laish, against a people quiet and confident, and smite them by the mouth of the sword, and the city have burnt with fire, 28 and there is no deliverer, for it 'is' far off from Zidon, and they have no word with 'any' man, and it 'is' in the valley which 'is' by Beth-Rehob; and they build the city, and dwell in it, 29 and call the name of the city Dan, by the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; and yet Laish 'is' the name of the city at the first. 30 And the sons of Dan raise up for themselves the graven image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons have been priests to the tribe of the Danite, till the day of the removal of 'the people' of the land. 31 And they appoint for them the graven image of Micah, which he had made, all the days of the house of God being in Shiloh.

A Centurion's Servant Healed

71 And when he completed all his sayings in the ears of the people, he went into Capernaum; 2 and a certain centurion's servant being ill, was about to die, who was much valued by him, 3 and having heard about Jesus, he sent unto him elders of the Jews, beseeching him, that having come he might thoroughly save his servant. 4 And they, having come near unto Jesus, were calling upon him earnestly, saying—'He is worthy to whom thou shalt do this, 5 for he doth love our nation, and the synagogue he did build to us.' 6 And Jesus was going on with them, and now when he is not far distant from the house the centurion sent unto him friends, saying to him, 'Sir, be not troubled, for I am not worthy that under my roof thou mayest enter; 7 wherefore not even myself thought I worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word, and my lad shall be healed; 8 for I also am a man placed under authority, having under myself soldiers, and I say to this 'one', Go, and he goeth; and to another, Be coming, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doth 'it'.' 9 And having heard these things Jesus wondered at him, and having turned to the multitude following him, he said, 'I say to you, not even in Israel so much faith did I find;' 10 and those sent, having turned back to the house, found the ailing servant in health.

Jesus Raises the Widow's Son at Nain

11 And it came to pass, on the morrow, he was going on to a city called Nain, and there were going with him many of his disciples, and a great multitude, 12 and as he came nigh to the gate of the city, then, lo, one dead was being carried forth, an only son of his mother, and she a widow, and a great multitude of the city was with her. 13 And the Lord having seen her, was moved with compassion towards her, and said to her, 'Be not weeping;' 14 and having come near, he touched the bier, and those bearing 'it' stood still, and he said, 'Young man, to thee I say, Arise;' 15 and the dead sat up, and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother; 16 and fear took hold of all, and they were glorifying God, saying—'A great prophet hath risen among us,' and—'God did look upon His people.' 17 And the account of this went forth in all Judea about him, and in all the region around.

The Messengers from John the Baptist

18 And the disciples of John told him about all these things,

19 and John having called near a certain two of his disciples, sent unto Jesus, saying, 'Art thou he who is coming, or for another do we look?' 20 And having come near to him, the men said, 'John the Baptist sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he who is coming, or for another do we look?' 21 And in that hour he cured many from sicknesses, and plagues, and evil spirits, and to many blind he granted sight. 22 And Jesus answering said to them, 'Having gone on, report to John what ye saw and heard, that blind men do see again, lame do walk, lepers are cleansed, deaf do hear, dead are raised, poor have good news proclaimed; 23 and happy is he whoever may not be stumbled in me.' 24 And the messengers of John having gone away, he began to say unto the multitudes concerning John: 'What have ye gone forth to the wilderness to look on? a reed by the wind shaken? 25 but what have ye gone forth to see? a man in soft garments clothed? lo, they in splendid apparellings, and living in luxury, are in the houses of kings! 26 'But what have ye gone forth to see? a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and much more than a prophet: 27 this is he concerning whom it hath been written, Lo, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee; 28 for I say to you, a greater prophet, among those born of women, than John the Baptist there is not; but the least in the reign of God is greater than he.' 29 And all the people having heard, and the tax-gatherers, declared God righteous, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees, and the lawyers, the counsel of God did put away for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Luke 7:1-30

Commentary on Luke 7:1-10

(Read Luke 7:1-10)

Servants should study to endear themselves to their masters. Masters ought to take particular care of their servants when they are sick. We may still, by faithful and fervent prayer, apply to Christ, and ought to do so when sickness is in our families. The building places for religious worship is a good work, and an instance of love to God and his people. Our Lord Jesus was pleased with the centurion's faith; and he never fails to answer the expectations of that faith which honours his power and love. The cure soon wrought and perfect.

Commentary on Luke 7:11-18

(Read Luke 7:11-18)

When the Lord saw the poor widow following her son to the grave, he had compassion on her. See Christ's power over death itself. The gospel call to all people, to young people particularly, is, Arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light and life. When Christ put life into him, it appeared by the youth's sitting up. Have we grace from Christ? Let us show it. He began to speak: whenever Christ gives us spiritual life, he opens the lips in prayer and praise. When dead souls are raised to spiritual life, by Divine power going with the gospel, we must glorify God, and look upon it as a gracious visit to his people. Let us seek for such an interest in our compassionate Saviour, that we may look forward with joy to the time when the Redeemer's voice shall call forth all that are in their graves. May we be called to the resurrection of life, not to that of damnation.

Commentary on Luke 7:19-35

(Read Luke 7:19-35)

To his miracles in the kingdom of nature, Christ adds this in the kingdom of grace, To the poor the gospel is preached. It clearly pointed out the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom, that the messenger he sent before him to prepare his way, did it by preaching repentance and reformation of heart and life. We have here the just blame of those who were not wrought upon by the ministry of John Baptist or of Jesus Christ himself. They made a jest of the methods God took to do them good. This is the ruin of multitudes; they are not serious in the concerns of their souls. Let us study to prove ourselves children of Wisdom, by attending the instructions of God's word, and adoring those mysteries and glad tidings which infidels and Pharisees deride and blaspheme.