13 The Israelites again did things that the Lord saw were evil. So he put them under the power of the Philistines for 40 years.
2 There was a man who belonged to Dan's tribe. His name was Manoah and he lived in Zorah. His wife had no children and she could not give birth. 3 The Lord 's angel appeared to her. He said, ‘You have not been able to give birth to any children until now. But you will become pregnant and you will give birth to a son. 4 You must not drink any wine or any beer. You must not eat any food that is unclean. 5 Yes, you will give birth to a son. You must never cut the boy's hair. He is to be a Nazirite. [ a ] He will belong to God from the time that he is born. He will begin to rescue the Israelites from the power of the Philistines.’
6 The woman went quickly to tell her husband. She said, ‘A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel that God had sent with a message. I was afraid of him. I did not ask where he came from. He did not tell me his name. 7 He said to me, “You will become pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You must not drink any wine or beer. You must not eat any food that is unclean. The boy will belong to me as a Nazirite from his birth until the day that he dies!” ’
8 Manoah prayed to the Lord , ‘Lord, please send the man of God to come to us again. Let him teach us how we should take care of this boy who will be born.’
9 God did what Manoah had asked. The angel came again to visit Manoah's wife. She was resting in the fields and her husband was not with her. 10 She ran to tell her husband, ‘Come quickly! The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me again!’
11 Manoah got up and he followed his wife. When he met the man, he asked him, ‘Are you the man who talked to my wife?’ The man said, ‘Yes, I am.’
12 Then Manoah asked him, ‘When what you promised happens, how should the boy live? What kind of work will he do?’
13 The Lord 's angel answered, ‘Your wife must be careful to do everything that I told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from vines. [ b ] She must not drink wine or beer. She must not eat any food that is unclean. She must obey everything that I have commanded her to do.’
15 Manoah said to the Lord 's angel, ‘Please stay here with us. We would like to cook a young goat for you to eat.’
16 The angel replied, ‘Even if I stay with you, I will not eat your food. But you may prepare a burnt offering as a sacrifice to the Lord .’ The angel said that because Manoah had not realized that he was the Lord 's angel.
17 Then Manoah asked the Lord 's angel, ‘What is your name? When what you have promised happens, we will want to give you honour.’ 18 The angel replied, ‘You should not ask what my name is. It is too great for you to understand.’
19 Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering. He offered them on a rock as a sacrifice to the Lord . While Manoah and his wife watched, the Lord surprised them with a miracle. 20 As the flames of fire rose up from the sacrifice to the sky, the Lord 's angel went up in the flames. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell down with their faces towards the ground.
21 The Lord 's angel did not appear to them again. Manoah then realized that their visitor was the Lord 's own angel. 22 He said to his wife, ‘We are sure to die! We have seen God!’
23 But his wife said to him, ‘The Lord accepted our burnt offering and our grain offering. He would not have done that if he wanted to kill us. He would not have shown us all these great things. He would not have told us about what will happen to us.’
24 Manoah's wife gave birth to a son. She gave him the name ‘Samson’. The child grew to become a man, and the Lord blessed him. 25 The Lord 's Spirit began to give Samson strength when he was living in Mahaneh Dan. That place was between Zorah and Eshtaol.
13 Again the people started doing what the Lord said was wrong. So the Lord allowed the Philistines to rule over them for 40 years.
2 There was a man named Manoah from the city of Zorah. He was from the tribe of Dan. Manoah had a wife, but she was not able to have any children. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “You have not been able to have children. But you will become pregnant and have a son. 4 Don’t drink any wine or any other strong drink. Don’t eat any food that is unclean, 5 because you are pregnant, and you will have a son. He will be dedicated to God in a special way. He will be a Nazirite. So you must never cut his hair. He will be God’s special person from before he is born. He will save the Israelites from the power of the Philistines.”
6 Then the woman went to her husband and told him what had happened. She said, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the angel of God. He frightened me. I didn’t ask him where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You are pregnant and will have a son. Don’t drink any wine or other strong drink. Don’t eat any food that is unclean, because the boy will be dedicated to God in a special way. The boy will be God’s special person from before he is born until the day he dies.’”
8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord . He said, “Lord, I beg you to send the man of God to us again. We want him to teach us what we should do for the boy who will soon be born.”
9 God heard Manoah’s prayer. The angel of God came to the woman again. She was sitting in a field and her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 So the woman ran to tell her husband, “The man is back! The man who came to me the other day is here.”
11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the same man who spoke to my wife before?”
The angel said, “I am.”
12 So Manoah said, “May what you say happen. Tell me, what kind of life will the boy live? What will he do?”
13 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Your wife must do everything I told her. 14 She must not eat anything that grows on a grapevine. She must not drink any wine or strong drink. She must not eat any food that is unclean. She must do everything that I have commanded her to do.”
15 Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord , “We would like for you to stay a while. We want to cook a young goat for you to eat.”
16 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Even if you keep me from leaving, I will not eat your food. But if you want to prepare something, offer a burnt offering to the Lord .” (Manoah did not understand that the man was really the angel of the Lord .)
17 Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord , “What is your name? We want to know so that we can honor you when what you have said really happens.”
18 The angel of the Lord said, “Why do you ask my name? It is too amazing for you to believe. [ a ] ”
19 Then Manoah sacrificed a young goat on a rock. He offered the goat and a grain offering as a gift to the Lord and to the One Who Does Amazing Things. [ b ] 20 Manoah and his wife were watching what happened. As the flames went up to the sky from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up to heaven in the fire.
When Manoah and his wife saw that, they bowed down with their faces to the ground. 21 He finally understood that the man was really the angel of the Lord . The angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah and his wife again. 22 Manoah said to his wife, “We have seen God. Surely we will die because of this.”
23 But his wife said to him, “The Lord does not want to kill us. If he wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He would not have shown us all these things or told us this.”
24 So the woman had a boy. She named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him. 25 The Spirit of the Lord began to work in Samson while he was in the city of Mahaneh Dan. That city is between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol.
13 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord ; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
3 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
8 Then Manoah intreated the Lord , and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.
10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.
11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.
12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
13 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord , I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.
16 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord . For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the Lord .
17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord , What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?
18 And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord : and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
21 But the angel of the Lord did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the Lord .
22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
23 But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.
24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
13 Now the sons of Israel ( A ) again did evil in the sight of the Lord , and the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.
2 And there was a man of ( B ) Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was infertile and had not given birth to any children . 3 ( C ) Then the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are infertile and have not given birth; but you will conceive and give birth to a son. 4 And now, be careful ( D ) not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any [ a ] unclean thing. 5 ( E ) For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a ( F ) Nazirite to God from the womb; and he will begin to save Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” 6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “ ( G ) A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. So I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any [ b ] unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”
8 Then Manoah pleaded with the Lord and said, “Lord, please let ( H ) the man of God whom You have sent come to us again so that he may teach us what we are to do for the boy who is to be born.” 9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah; and ( I ) the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 So the woman hurried and ran, and told her [ c ] husband, “Behold, ( J ) the man who [ d ] came the other day has appeared to me!” 11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he said to him, “Are you ( K ) the man who spoke to the woman?” And he said, “I am.” 12 Then Manoah said, “Now when your words [ e ] are fulfilled, what shall be the boy’s way of life and his vocation?” 13 And ( L ) the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “ ( M ) The woman shall pay attention [ f ] to all that I said. 14 She shall not eat anything that comes from the ( N ) vine nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; she shall keep all that I commanded.”
15 Then Manoah said to ( O ) the angel of the Lord , “Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a young goat for you.” 16 But the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain me, ( P ) I will not eat your [ g ] food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord .” For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord . 17 And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord , “ ( Q ) What is your name, so that when your words [ h ] are fulfilled, we may honor you?” 18 But the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, for it is [ i ] ( R ) wonderful?” 19 So ( S ) Manoah took the young goat along with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the Lord ; and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. 20 For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this , they ( T ) fell on their faces to the ground.
21 Now the angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. ( U ) Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord . 22 So Manoah said to his wife, “ ( V ) We will certainly die, for we have seen God.” 23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have ( W ) shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time.”
24 So the woman gave birth to a son, and named him Samson; and the ( X ) child grew up and the Lord blessed him. 25 And ( Y ) the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him when he was in [ j ] ( Z ) Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
13 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord , so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines ( A ) for forty years. ( B )
2 A certain man of Zorah, ( C ) named Manoah, ( D ) from the clan of the Danites, ( E ) had a wife who was childless, ( F ) unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the Lord ( G ) appeared to her ( H ) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. ( I ) 4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink ( J ) and that you do not eat anything unclean. ( K ) 5 You will become pregnant and have a son ( L ) whose head is never to be touched by a razor ( M ) because the boy is to be a Nazirite, ( N ) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead ( O ) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
6 Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God ( P ) came to me. He looked like an angel of God, ( Q ) very awesome. ( R ) I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine ( S ) or other fermented drink ( T ) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death. ( U ) ’”
8 Then Manoah ( V ) prayed to the Lord : “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God ( W ) you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”
9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me ( X ) the other day!”
11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”
“I am,” he said.
12 So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?”
13 The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink ( Y ) nor eat anything unclean. ( Z ) She must do everything I have commanded her.”
15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord , “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat ( AA ) for you.”
16 The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, ( AB ) offer it to the Lord .” (Manoah did not realize ( AC ) that it was the angel of the Lord .)
17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord , “What is your name, ( AD ) so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”
18 He replied, “Why do you ask my name? ( AE ) It is beyond understanding. [ a ] ” 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock ( AF ) to the Lord . And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20 As the flame ( AG ) blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. ( AH ) 21 When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized ( AI ) that it was the angel of the Lord .
22 “We are doomed ( AJ ) to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen ( AK ) God!”
23 But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.” ( AL )
24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. ( AM ) He grew ( AN ) and the Lord blessed him, ( AO ) 25 and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir ( AP ) him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, ( AQ ) between Zorah and Eshtaol.
