15 Later, Samson went to visit his wife at the time of the wheat harvest. He took a young goat with him as a gift. He said to her father, ‘I am going into my wife's room to sleep with her.’ But her father stopped him. 2 He said, ‘I was sure that you hated my daughter. So I have given her to your special friend to be his wife. Look at her younger sister. She is more beautiful. Take her as your wife, instead.’
3 Samson said, ‘This time I will not be guilty when I punish the Philistines!’
4 So he went out and he caught 300 foxes. He tied the foxes in pairs by their tails. He tied some dry grass to each pair of tails. 5 Then he lit the grass with fire. He made the foxes run through the fields where the wheat was growing. The fire destroyed all the Philistines' crops, whether they had already cut it down or not. The fire also destroyed their vines and their olive trees.
6 The Philistines asked, ‘Who did this?’ People said to them, ‘It was Samson, the man who married the young woman in Timnah. He did it because her father gave her to Samson's special friend instead of Samson.’
So the Philistines went and burned the man and his daughter to death. 7 Samson said to them, ‘Because you have done this, I will punish you. I will not stop until your punishment is complete.’ 8 He attacked them with great strength. He killed many of them.
After that, Samson went to live in a cave in the rock of Etam.
9 The Philistine army went to attack Judah. [ a ] They made their camp near Lehi and they prepared to fight. 10 The men of Judah asked them, ‘Why have you come to attack us?’ The Philistines replied, ‘We have come to catch Samson and take him as our prisoner. We need to punish him in the same way that he has punished us.’
11 Then 3,000 men of Judah went to the cave where Samson was hiding. They said to him, ‘You know that the Philistines are our rulers. You are causing them to give us trouble.’
Samson said, ‘I have only done to them as they did to me.’
12 The men of Judah said to him, ‘We have come to tie you up as our prisoner. We must let the Philistines take you away.’
Samson said, ‘Promise me that you will not kill me yourselves.’
13 They said, ‘We agree. We will only tie you up and give you to them. We promise that we will not kill you.’
So they tied him up with two new ropes. They took him with them away from the cave.
14 When they arrived at Lehi, the Philistine soldiers shouted happily as they came towards him. But the Lord 's Spirit gave Samson great strength. The ropes that tied his arms broke in pieces. They seemed as weak as grass that burns in a fire. They fell from his hands. 15 He saw a bone from the skull of a donkey that had just died. He picked it up and he used it to kill 1,000 Philistine soldiers.
16 Then Samson sang this song:
‘I have used a donkey's skull to kill 1,000 men.
I have made them like many heaps of dead donkeys!’
17 After that, he threw away the bone from the donkey's skull. So people called that place ‘Ramath Lehi’. [ b ]
18 Samson was now very thirsty. He called out to the Lord for help. He said, ‘You have helped me to win a great battle. Should I now die because I am so thirsty? Then these Philistines would do whatever they want to me.’
19 So God caused a hole to open in the ground near Lehi. Water poured out of it. Samson drank some water and he became strong again. Samson called the spring of water ‘En Hakkore’. [ c ] It is still there in Lehi.
20 Samson led Israel for 20 years while the Philistines continued to rule the land.
15 At the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife. He took a young goat with him as a gift. He said, “I am going to my wife’s room.”
But her father would not let Samson go in. 2 He said, “I thought you hated her, so I let her marry the best man at the wedding. Her younger sister is more beautiful. Take her younger sister.”
3 But Samson said to him, “Now I have a good reason to hurt you Philistines. No one will blame me now.”
4 So Samson went out and caught 300 foxes. He took two foxes at a time and tied their tails together to make pairs. Then he tied a torch between the tails of each pair of foxes. 5 He lit the torches that were between the foxes’ tails and let them run through the grain fields of the Philistines. In this way he burned up the plants growing in their fields and the stacks of grain they had cut. He also burned up their vineyards and their olive trees.
6 The Philistines asked, “Who did this?”
Someone told them, “Samson, the son-in-law of the man from Timnah, did this. He did this because his father-in-law gave Samson’s wife to the best man at his wedding.” So the Philistines burned Samson’s wife and her father to death.
7 Then Samson said to the Philistines, “You did this bad thing to me, so now I will do bad things to you. Then I will be finished with you!”
8 Samson attacked the Philistines and killed many of them. Then he went and stayed in a cave in a place named the Rock of Etam.
9 The Philistines went to the land of Judah and stopped near a place named Lehi. Their army camped there. 10 The men of the tribe of Judah asked them, “Why have you Philistines come here to fight us?”
They answered, “We have come to get Samson. We want to make him our prisoner. We want to punish him for what he has done to our people.”
11 Then 3000 men from the tribe of Judah went to the cave near the Rock of Etam and said to Samson, “What have you done to us? Don’t you know that the Philistines rule over us?”
Samson answered, “I only punished them for what they did to me.”
12 Then they said to Samson, “We have come to tie you up. We will give you to the Philistines.”
Samson said to the men from Judah, “Promise me that you yourselves will not hurt me.”
13 The men from Judah said, “We agree. We will just tie you up and give you to the Philistines. We promise that we will not kill you.” So they tied Samson with two new ropes and led him up from the cave in the rock.
14 When Samson came to the place called Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him. They were shouting with joy. Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Samson with great power. Samson broke the ropes—they were like burned strings falling from his arms and the ropes on his hands seemed to melt away. 15 Samson found a jawbone of a dead donkey and killed 1000 Philistine men with it.
16 Then Samson said,
“With a donkey’s jawbone,
I killed 1000 men!
With a donkey’s jawbone,
I piled [ a ] them into a tall pile.”
17 When Samson finished speaking, he threw the jawbone down. So that place was named Ramath Lehi. [ b ]
18 Samson was very thirsty. So he cried to the Lord . He said, “I am your servant. You gave me this great victory. Please don’t let me die from thirst now. Please don’t let me be captured by men who are not even circumcised.”
19 There is a hole in the ground at Lehi. God made that hole crack open, and water came out. Samson drank the water and felt better. He felt strong again. So he named that water spring En Hakkore. [ c ] It is still there in the city of Lehi today.
20 Samson was a judge for the Israelites for 20 years during the time of the Philistines.
15 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.
2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.
3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.
4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.
5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.
6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.
12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.
13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.
18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord , and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.
20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
15 But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife ( A ) with a young goat, and said, “I will go in to my wife in her room.” But her father did not let him enter. 2 Her father said, “I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I ( B ) gave her to your companion. Is her younger sister not [ a ] more beautiful than she? Please let her be yours [ b ] instead.” 3 Samson then said to them, “This time I will have been blameless regarding the Philistines when I do them harm.” 4 And Samson went and caught three hundred jackals, and took torches, and turned the jackals tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between two tails. 5 When he had set fire to the torches, he released the jackals into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to both the bundled heaps and the standing grain, along with the vineyards and olive groves. 6 Then the Philistines said, “Who did this?” And some said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because [ c ] he took his wife and gave her to his companion.” So the Philistines came up and ( C ) burned her and her father to death with fire. 7 Then Samson said to them, “If this is how you act, I will certainly take revenge on you, and only after that will I stop.” 8 So he struck them [ d ] ruthlessly with a great slaughter; and afterward he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
9 Then the Philistines went up and camped in Judah, and spread out in Lehi. 10 So the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” And they said, “We have come up to bind Samson in order to do to him as he did to us.” 11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know ( D ) that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “Just as they did to me, so I have done to them.” 12 Then they said to him, “We have come down to bind you so that we may hand you over to the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not [ e ] kill me.” 13 So they said to [ f ] him, “No, but we will bind you tightly and give you into their hands; but we certainly will not kill you.” Then they bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.
14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And ( E ) the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him so that the ropes that were on his arms were like flax that has burned with fire, and his restraints [ g ] dropped from his hands. 15 Then he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out with his hand and took it, and [ h ] killed ( F ) a thousand men with it. 16 And Samson said,
“With the jawbone of a donkey,
[ i ] Heaps upon heaps,
With the jawbone of a donkey
I have [ j ] killed a thousand men.”
17 When he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place [ k ] Ramath-lehi. 18 Then he became very thirsty, and he ( G ) called to the Lord and said, “You have [ l ] handed this great [ m ] victory over to Your servant, and now [ n ] am I to die of thirst [ o ] and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi so that water came out of it. When he drank, ( H ) his [ p ] strength returned and he revived. Therefore he named it [ q ] En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. 20 So ( I ) he judged Israel for twenty years in ( J ) the days of the Philistines.
15 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 companion. ( E ) Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.”
3 Samson said to them, “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.” 4 So he went out and caught three hundred foxes ( F ) and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch ( G ) to every pair of tails, 5 lit the torches ( H ) and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks ( I ) and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.
6 When the Philistines asked, “Who did this?” they were told, “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his companion. ( J ) ”
So the Philistines went up and burned her ( K ) and her father to death. ( L ) 7 Samson said to them, “Since you’ve acted like this, I swear that I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.” 8 He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock ( M ) of Etam. ( N )
9 The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. ( O ) 10 The people of Judah asked, “Why have you come to fight us?”
“We have come to take Samson prisoner,” they answered, “to do to him as he did to us.”
11 Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? ( P ) What have you done to us?”
He answered, “I merely did to them what they did to me.”
12 They said to him, “We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”
Samson said, “Swear to me ( Q ) that you won’t kill me yourselves.”
13 “Agreed,” they answered. “We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes ( R ) and led him up from the rock. 14 As he approached Lehi, ( S ) the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. ( T ) The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, ( U ) and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men. ( V )
16 Then Samson said,
“With a donkey’s jawbone
I have made donkeys of them. [ a ] ( W )
With a donkey’s jawbone
I have killed a thousand men.”
17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi. [ b ] ( X )
18 Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord , ( Y ) “You have given your servant this great victory. ( Z ) Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. ( AA ) So the spring ( AB ) was called En Hakkore, [ c ] and it is still there in Lehi.
20 Samson led [ d ] Israel for twenty years ( AC ) in the days of the Philistines.
