161 Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot e there , and went in to her. 2 When it was told to the Gazites , saying , "Samson has come here ," they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city . And they kept silent all night , saying , "Let us wait until the morning light , then we will kill him." 3 Now Samson lay until midnight e , and at midnight e he arose and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars ; then he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite e Hebron .
4 After this it came about that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek , whose name was Delilah . 5 The lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, " Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and how we may overpower him that we may bind him to afflict him. Then we will each give you eleven e hundred pieces of silver ." 6 So Delilah said to Samson , "Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you." 7 Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried , then I will become weak and be like any other man ." 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried , and she bound him with them. 9 Now she had men lying in wait in an inner room . And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson !" But he snapped the cords as a string of tow snaps when it touches fire . So his strength was not discovered . 10 Then Delilah said to Samson , "Behold , you have deceived me and told me lies ; now please tell me how you may be bound ." 11 He said to her, "If they bind me tightly with new ropes which have not been used , then I will become weak and be like any other man ." 12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson !" For the men were lying in wait in the inner room . But he snapped the ropes from his arms like a thread . 13 Then Delilah said to Samson , "Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies ; tell me how you may be bound ." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my hair with the web [and fasten it with a pin , then I will become weak and be like any other man ." 14 So while he slept , Delilah took the seven locks of his hair and wove them into the web ]. And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson !" But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web . 15 Then she said to him, " How can you say , 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is." 16 It came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death . 17 So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, "A razor has never come on my head , for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb . If I am shaved , then my strength will leave e me and I will become weak and be like any other man ."
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart , she sent and called the lords of the Philistines , saying , "Come up once more , for he has told me all that is in his heart ." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands . 19 She made him sleep on her knees , and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair . Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him. 20 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 ." But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. 21 Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes ; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains , and he was a grinder in the prison e .
22 However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off .
23 Now the lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god , and to rejoice , for they said , "Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands ." 24 When the people saw him, they praised their god , for they said , "Our god has given our enemy into our hands , Even the destroyer of our country , Who has slain many of us." 25 It so happened when they were in high spirits , that they said , "Call for Samson , that he may amuse us." So they called for Samson from the prison e , and he entertained e them. And they made him stand between the pillars . 26 Then Samson said to the boy who was holding his 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 , and all the lords of the Philistines were there . And about 3,000 e men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was amusing them. 28 Then Samson called to the Lord and said , "O Lord GOD , please remember me and please strengthen me just this time , O God , that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes ." 29 Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested , and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left . 30 And Samson said , "Let me die with the Philistines !" And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Judges 16:1-30
Commentary on Judges 16:1-3
(Read Judges 16:1-3)
Hitherto Samson's character has appeared glorious, though uncommon. In this chapter we find him behaving in so wicked a manner, that many question whether or not he were a godly man. But the apostle has determined this, Hebrews 11:32. By adverting to the doctrines and examples of Scripture, the artifices of Satan, the deceitfulness of the human heart, and the methods in which the Lord frequently deals with his people, we may learn useful lessons from this history, at which some needlessly stumble, while others cavil and object. The peculiar time in which Samson lived may account for many things, which, if done in our time, and without the special appointment of Heaven, would be highly criminal. And there might have been in him many exercises of piety, which, if recorded, would have reflected a different light upon his character. Observe Samson's danger. Oh that all who indulge their sensual appetites in drunkenness, or any fleshly lusts, would see themselves thus surrounded, way-laid, and marked for ruin by their spiritual enemies! The faster they sleep, the more secure they feel, the greater their danger. We hope it was with a pious resolution not to return to his sin, that he rose under a fear of the danger he was in. Can I be safe under this guilt? It was bad that he lay down without such checks; but it would have been worse, if he had laid still under them.
Commentary on Judges 16:4-17
(Read Judges 16:4-17)
Samson had been more than once brought into mischief and danger by the love of women, yet he would not take warning, but is again taken in the same snare, and this third time is fatal. Licentiousness is one of the things that take away the heart. This is a deep pit into which many have fallen; but from which few have escaped, and those by a miracle of mercy, with the loss of reputation and usefulness, of almost all, except their souls. The anguish of the suffering is ten thousand times greater than all the pleasures of the sin.
Commentary on Judges 16:18-21
(Read Judges 16:18-21)
See the fatal effects of false security. Satan ruins men by flattering them into a good opinion of their own safety, and so bringing them to mind nothing, and fear nothing; and then he robs them of their strength and honour, and leads them captive at his will. When we sleep our spiritual enemies do not. Samson's eyes were the inlets of his sin, verse 1, and now his punishment began there. Now the Philistines blinded him, he had time to remember how his own lust had before blinded him. The best way to preserve the eyes, is, to turn them away from beholding vanity. Take warning by his fall, carefully to watch against all fleshly lusts; for all our glory is gone, and our defence departed from us, when our separation to God, as spiritual Nazarites, is profaned.
Commentary on Judges 16:22-24
(Read Judges 16:22-24)
Samson's afflictions were the means of bringing him to deep repentance. By the loss of his bodily sight the eyes of his understanding were opened; and by depriving him of bodily strength, the Lord was pleased to renew his spiritual strength. The Lord permits some few to wander wide and sink deep, yet he recovers them at last, and marking his displeasure at sin in their severe temporal sufferings, preserves them from sinking into the pit of destruction. Hypocrites may abuse these examples, and infidels mock at them, but true Christians will thereby be rendered more humble, watchful, and circumspect; more simple in their dependence on the Lord, more fervent in prayer to be kept from falling, and in praise for being preserved; and, if they fall, they will be kept from sinking into despair.
Commentary on Judges 16:25-31
(Read Judges 16:25-31)
Nothing fills up the sins of any person or people faster than mocking and misusing the servants of God, even thought it is by their own folly that they are brought low. God put it into Samson's heart, as a public person, thus to avenge on them God's quarrel, Israel's, and his own. That strength which he had lost by sin, he recovers by prayer. That it was not from passion or personal revenge, but from holy zeal for the glory of God and Israel, appears from God's accepting and answering the prayer. The house was pulled down, not by the natural strength of Samson, but by the almighty power of God. In his case it was right he should avenge the cause of God and Israel. Nor is he to be accused of self-murder. He sought not his own death, but Israel's deliverance, and the destruction of their enemies. Thus Samson died in bonds, and among the Philistines, as an awful rebuke for his sins; but he died repentant. The effects of his death typified those of the death of Christ, who, of his own will, laid down his life among transgressors, and thus overturned the foundation of Satan's kingdom, and provided for the deliverance of his people. Great as was the sin of Samson, and justly as he deserved the judgments he brought upon himself, he found mercy of the Lord at last; and every penitent shall obtain mercy, who flees for refuge to that Saviour whose blood cleanses from all sin. But here is nothing to encourage any to indulge sin, from a hope they shall at last repent and be saved.