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.

The Nations Left to Test Israel

31 And these 'are' the nations which Jehovah left, to try Israel by them, all who have not known all the wars of Canaan; 2 (only for the sake of the generations of the sons of Israel's knowing, to teach them war, only those who formerly have not known them)— 3 five princes of the Philistines, and all the Canaanite, and the Zidonian, and the Hivite inhabiting mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath; 4 and they are to prove Israel by them, to know whether they obey the commands of Jehovah that He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 And the sons of Israel have dwelt in the midst of the Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, 6 and take their daughters to them for wives, and their daughters have given to their sons, and they serve their gods;

Othniel Delivers Israel from Chushan-rishathaim

7 and the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and forget Jehovah their God, and serve the Baalim and the shrines.

8 And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He selleth them into the hand of Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram-Naharaim, and the sons of Israel serve Chushan-Rishathaim eight years; 9 and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth a saviour to the sons of Israel, and he saveth them—Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother; 10 and the Spirit of Jehovah is upon him, and he judgeth Israel, and goeth out to battle, and Jehovah giveth unto his hand Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram, and strong is his hand against Chushan-Rishathaim; 11 and the land resteth forty years. And Othniel son of Kenaz dieth,

Ehud Delivers Israel from Moab

12 and the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah; and Jehovah strengtheneth Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because that they have done the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah; 13 and he gathereth unto him the Bene-Ammon and Amalek, and goeth and smiteth Israel, and they possess the city of palms; 14 and the sons of Israel serve Eglon king of Moab eighteen years. 15 And the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth to them a saviour, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjamite (a man—shut of his right hand), and the sons of Israel send by his hand a present to Eglon king of Moab; 16 and Ehud maketh for himself a sword, and it hath two mouths (a cubit 'is' its length), and he girdeth it under his long robe on his right thigh; 17 and he bringeth near the present to Eglon king of Moab, and Eglon 'is' a very fat man. 18 And it cometh to pass, when he hath finished to bring near the present, that he sendeth away the people bearing the present, 19 and he himself hath turned back from the graven images which 'are' at Gilgal, and saith, 'A secret word I have unto thee, O king;' and he saith, 'Hush!' and go out from him do all those standing by him. 20 And Ehud hath come unto him, and he is sitting in the upper chamber of the wall which he hath for himself, and Ehud saith, 'A word of God I have unto thee;' and he riseth from off the throne; 21 and Ehud putteth forth his left hand, and taketh the sword from off his right thigh, and striketh it into his belly; 22 and the haft also goeth in after the blade, and the fat shutteth on the blade, that he hath not drawn the sword out of his belly, and it goeth out at the fundament. 23 And Ehud goeth out at the porch, and shutteth the doors of the upper chamber upon him, and hath bolted 'it'; 24 and he hath gone out, and his servants have come in, and look, and lo, the doors of the upper chamber are bolted, and they say, 'He is only covering his feet in the inner chamber of the wall.' 25 And they stay till confounded, and lo, he is not opening the doors of the upper chamber, and they take the key, and open, and lo, their lord is fallen to the earth—dead. 26 And Ehud escaped during their tarrying, and hath passed by the images, and is escaped to Seirath. 27 And it cometh to pass, in his coming in, that he bloweth with a trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim, and go down with him do the sons of Israel from the hill-country, and he before them; 28 and he saith unto them, 'Pursue after me, for Jehovah hath given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand;' and they go down after him, and capture the passages of the Jordan towards Moab, and have not permitted a man to pass over. 29 And they smite Moab at that time, about ten thousand men, all robust, and every one a man of valour, and not a man hath escaped, 30 and Moab is humbled in that day under the hand of Israel; and the land resteth eighty years.

Shamgar Delivers Israel from the Philistines

31 And after him hath been Shamgar son of Anath, and he smiteth the Philistines—six hundred men—with an ox-goad, and he saveth—he also—Israel.