16 One day, Samson went to Gaza. He met a prostitute there and he slept with her. 2 The people of Gaza heard that Samson was in their city. The men met together and they waited for Samson to leave. They hid themselves all night at the gate of the city. They waited there quietly and they thought, ‘We will kill him at dawn when he tries to leave the city.’ [ a ]
3 But Samson only stayed with the woman until the middle of the night. Then he got up and he went to leave through the city gate. He took hold of its doors and the two posts that held them. He pulled them all down together, with the metal bar that locked them. He carried them all in one piece on his shoulders. He left them at the top of the hill near Hebron.
4 Some time later, Samson met a woman who was called Delilah. She lived in Sorek valley. Samson loved her. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went to visit Delilah. They said to her, ‘Do something clever to discover what makes Samson so strong. We want to find a way to take hold of him and tie him up. If you do that, we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.’
6 So Delilah said to Samson, ‘Please tell me what makes you so strong. How could someone tie you up so that you become helpless?’
7 Samson replied, ‘Someone would have to use seven new strings for bows. The strings must not have become dry. If they use those strings to tie me up, I will become weak, like other men.’
8 So the Philistine rulers gave Delilah seven new strings for bows. She used them to tie Samson up while he was asleep. 9 Some Philistine men hid in a room of her house. Then she shouted, ‘Samson, the Philistines are here!’ But he broke the seven strings very easily. They were like thin cotton that a fire burns. So they did not discover the secret about his strength.
10 Delilah said to Samson, ‘You have deceived me as if I was a fool! Tell me the truth! How can someone really make you weak?’
11 Samson said to her, ‘They would have to use new ropes that no one has used. If they tie me up with those, I will become weak, like other men.’
12 So Delilah took some new ropes and she tied Samson up with them. Some Philistine men were hiding in the room, as they did before. Then she shouted, ‘Samson, the Philistines are here!’ But he broke the ropes off his arms, as if they were thin string.
13 Then Delilah said to Samson, ‘You have deceived me again as if I was a fool. Now you must tell me the truth. Tell me how someone can make you weak.’
Samson replied, ‘You see that my long hair is tied in seven tails. You must tie them into the cloth that is on the loom. Fix them there very strongly. If you do that, I will become weak, like other men.’ 14 Delilah did this while Samson was asleep. She took the seven tails of his hair and she tied them into the cloth on the loom. She fixed them with a strong peg. Then she shouted, ‘Samson, the Philistines are here!’ He woke up and he pulled out the peg. He tore his hair away from the cloth on the loom so that he was free. [ b ]
15 Then Delilah said to him, ‘I realize that you do not really love me, because you will not tell me your secret. You have deceived me three times, as if I was a fool. You have refused to tell me what makes you so strong.’ 16 She continued to say the same thing to Samson many times. Her words made Samson very upset. He felt that he wanted to die.
17 Finally, Samson told her his secret. He said to her, ‘No one has ever cut my hair. Even before I was born, I belonged to God as a Nazirite. If someone cuts off my hair, I would have no more strength. I would become as weak as any other man.’
18 Delilah realized that Samson had told her the truth. So she sent a message to the rulers of the Philistines. She told them, ‘Samson has now told me his secret. So come back once more.’ So the Philistine rulers went to visit Delilah again. They took their pieces of silver with them. 19 Delilah made Samson sleep with his head on her knees. She called a man to come and he cut off the seven tails of Samson's hair. This made Samson helpless, so that he had no more strength.
20 Then Delilah shouted, ‘Samson, the Philistines are here!’ He woke up and he thought, ‘I will make myself free as I have always done before.’ But he did not realize that the Lord had gone away from him.
21 The Philistines took hold of Samson. They cut out his eyes. They tied him up with bronze chains. They made him do hard work as their prisoner. He had to push a heavy stone to make grain into flour.
22 But after they had cut off Samson's hair, it began to grow again.
23 One day, the rulers of the Philistines met together to have a big feast. They offered a great sacrifice to their god, Dagon. They said, ‘Dagon has put our enemy, Samson, under our power.’
24 When the people saw what had happened to Samson, they praised their god. They said, ‘Our god has let us catch our enemy. He was the enemy who destroyed our land and who killed many of us.’
25 The people were very happy at the feast. They shouted, ‘Bring Samson here for us to see him! He can help us to enjoy our party.’
So they brought Samson out of the prison. The people were happy to see him. They made him stand between the pillars of the temple. 26 A young man held Samson's hand to lead him. Samson said to him, ‘Put me where I can touch the pillars which hold up the temple's roof. I want to rest my body on them.’
27 The temple was full of men and women, as well as all the Philistine rulers. About 3,000 people were on the roof as they watched Samson. They were laughing at him. 28 Samson prayed to the Lord , ‘Remember me, Almighty Lord . Please make me strong again one more time. I want to punish the Philistines because they cut out my two eyes.’
29 Then Samson put his hands on the two pillars in the centre of the building. He put his right hand on one pillar and his left hand on the other pillar. He got ready to push. 30 Samson shouted out, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’ Then he pushed the pillars with all his strength. The temple fell down on the rulers and all the other people in it. In that way, Samson killed more people as he died than he had killed while he lived.
31 Then his brothers and all his father's family came to get his body. They carried it back home. They buried him in the grave of his father, Manoah. That was between Zorah and Eshtaol. Samson had led Israel for 20 years.
16 One day Samson went to the city of Gaza. He saw a prostitute there and went in to stay the night with her. 2 Someone told the people of Gaza, “Samson has come here.” They wanted to kill him, so they surrounded the city. They hid near the city gate and waited all night for him. They were very quiet all night long. They had said to each other, “When morning comes, we will kill Samson.”
3 But Samson only stayed with the prostitute until midnight. Then he got up and grabbed the doors of the city gate and pulled them loose from the wall. He pulled down the doors, the two posts, and the bars that lock the doors shut. He put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill near the city of Hebron.
4 Later, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who was from Sorek Valley.
5 The rulers of the Philistines went to Delilah and said, “We want to know what makes Samson so strong. Try to trick him into telling you his secret. Then we will know how to capture him and tie him up. Then we will be able to control him. If you do this, each one of us will give you 28 pounds [ a ] of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me why you are so strong. How could someone tie you up and make you helpless?”
7 Samson answered, “Someone would have to tie me up with seven fresh, new bowstrings. [ b ] If someone did that, I would be as weak as any other man.”
8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought seven fresh, new bowstrings to Delilah, and she tied Samson with the bowstrings. 9 Some men were hiding in the next room. Delilah said to Samson, “Samson, the Philistine men are going to capture you!” But Samson easily broke the bowstrings. They snapped like a string when it comes too close to a flame. So the Philistines did not find out the secret of Samson’s strength.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You lied to me. You made me look foolish. Please tell me the truth. How could someone tie you up?”
11 Samson said, “Someone would have to tie me up with new ropes. They would have to tie me with ropes that have not been used before. If someone did that, I would become as weak as any other man.”
12 So Delilah took some new ropes and tied up Samson. Some men were hiding in the next room. Then Delilah called out to him, “Samson, the Philistine men are going to capture you!” But he broke the ropes easily as if they were threads.
13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You lied to me again. You made me look foolish. Now, tell me how someone could tie you up.”
Samson said, “If you use the loom to weave the seven braids of hair on my head and tighten it with a pin, I will become as weak as any other man.”
14 Later, Samson went to sleep, so Delilah used the loom to weave the seven braids of hair on his head. [ c ] Then Delilah fastened the loom to the ground with a tent peg. Again she called out to him, “Samson, the Philistine men are going to capture you!” Samson pulled up the tent peg, the loom, and the shuttle. [ d ]
15 Then Delilah said to Samson, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you don’t even trust me? You refuse to tell me your secret. This is the third time you made me look foolish. You haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” 16 She kept bothering Samson day after day. He got so tired of her asking him about his secret that he felt like he was going to die. 17 Finally, Samson told Delilah everything. He said, “I have never had my hair cut. I was dedicated to God before I was born. If someone shaved my head, I would lose my strength. I would become as weak as any other man.”
18 Delilah saw that Samson had told her his secret. She sent a message to the rulers of the Philistines. She said, “Come back again. Samson has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines came back and brought the money that they had promised to give her.
19 Delilah got Samson to go to sleep with his head lying in her lap. Then she called in a man to shave off the seven braids of Samson’s hair. In this way she made Samson weak, and his strength left him. 20 Then Delilah called out to him, “Samson, the Philistine men are going to capture you!” He woke up and thought, “I will escape as I did before and free myself.” But Samson did not know that the Lord had left him.
21 The Philistine men captured Samson. They tore out his eyes and took him down to the city of Gaza. Then they put chains on him to keep him from running away. They put him in prison and made him work grinding grain. 22 But his hair began to grow again.
23 The Philistine rulers came together to celebrate. They were going to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They said, “Our god helped us defeat Samson our enemy.” 24 When the Philistines saw Samson, they praised their god. They said,
“This man destroyed our people!
He killed many of our people!
But our god helped us
take our enemy!”
25 The people were having a good time at the celebration. So they said, “Bring Samson out. We want to make fun of him.” So they brought Samson from the prison and made fun of him. They made him stand between the columns in the temple of the god Dagon. 26 A servant was holding his hand. Samson said to him, “Put me where I can feel the columns that hold this temple up. I want to lean against them.”
27 The temple was crowded with men and women. All the Philistine rulers were there. There were about 3000 men and women on the roof of the temple. They were laughing and making fun of Samson. 28 Then Samson said a prayer to the Lord , “Lord God , remember me. God, please give me strength one more time. Let me do this one thing to punish these Philistines for tearing out both of my eyes!” 29 Then Samson took hold of the two columns in the center of the temple that supported the whole temple. He braced himself between the two columns. One column was at his right side and the other at his left side. 30 Samson said, “Let me die with these Philistines!” Then he pushed as hard as he could, and the temple fell on the rulers and everyone in it. In this way Samson killed many more Philistines when he died than when he was alive.
31 Samson’s brothers and all the people in his father’s family went down to get his body. They brought him back and buried him in his father’s tomb, which is between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol. Samson was a judge for the Israelites for 20 years.
16 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.
2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.
3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.
4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.
13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.
21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.
25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.
27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
28 And Samson called unto the Lord , and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
16 Now Samson went to ( A ) Gaza and saw a prostitute there, and had relations with her. 2 When it was reported to the Gazites, saying, “Samson has come here,” they ( B ) 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’s wait until the morning light, then we will kill him.” 3 Now Samson lay asleep until midnight, and at midnight he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two doorposts, 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 Hebron.
4 After this it came about that he was in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 So the ( C ) governors of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “ ( D ) Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and [ a ] how we can overpower him so that we may bind him to humble him. Then we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies , and [ b ] how you can be bound to humble you.” 7 And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh [ c ] animal tendons that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” 8 Then the governors of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh [ d ] animal tendons that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now she had men prepared for an ambush in an inner room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he tore the tendons to pieces just like a thread of flax is torn apart when it [ e ] comes too close to fire. So his strength was not discovered.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have toyed with me and told me lies; now please tell me [ f ] how you may be bound.” 11 Then He said to her, “If they bind me tightly with new ropes [ g ] 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 in the ambush were waiting in the inner room. But he tore [ h ] the ropes from his arms like thread.
13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have toyed with me and told me lies; tell me [ i ] how you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my [ j ] hair with the [ k ] web [ l ] [and fasten it with the pin, then I will be weak like any other man.” 14 So while he slept, Delilah wove the seven locks of his [ m ] hair with 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, “ ( E ) How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have toyed with me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is.” 16 And it came about, when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was [ n ] 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 ( F ) Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave 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 word and called the governors of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.” Then the governors of the Philistines came up to her and brought up the money in their hands. 19 And she made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to humble 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 ( G ) 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 restrained him with bronze chains, and he became a grinder in the prison. 22 However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.
23 Now the governors of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to ( H ) Dagon their god, and to celebrate, for they said,
“Our god has handed Samson our enemy over to us.”
24 When the people saw him, ( I ) they praised their god, for they said,
“Our god has handed our enemy over to us,
Even the destroyer of our country,
Who has killed many of us.”
25 It so happened when [ o ] they were in high spirits, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may amuse us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he [ p ] entertained them. And they made him stand between the pillars. 26 Then Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, “ [ q ] Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, so that I may lean against them.” 27 Now the house was full of men and women, and all the governors of the Philistines were there. And about three thousand men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was entertaining them .
28 ( J ) Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “Lord [ r ] God , please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once ( K ) take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 Then 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 [ s ] me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed outwards powerfully, so that the house fell on the governors and all the people who were in it. And the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed during his lifetime. 31 Then his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. ( L ) So he had judged Israel for twenty years.
16 One day Samson ( A ) went to Gaza, ( B ) where he saw a prostitute. ( C ) He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. ( D ) They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn ( E ) we’ll kill him.”
3 But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron. ( F )
4 Some time later, he fell in love ( G ) with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. ( H ) 5 The rulers of the Philistines ( I ) went to her and said, “See if you can lure ( J ) him into showing you the secret of his great strength ( K ) and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels [ a ] of silver.” ( L )
6 So Delilah ( M ) said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
7 Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men hidden in the room, ( N ) she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” ( O ) But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me; ( P ) you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.”
11 He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes ( Q ) that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” ( R ) But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.
13 Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.”
He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric 14 and [ b ] tightened it with the pin.
Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” ( S ) He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.
15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ ( T ) when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time ( U ) you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength. ( V ) ” 16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.
17 So he told her everything. ( W ) “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite ( X ) dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines ( Y ) , “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. ( Z ) 19 After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. [ c ] And his strength left him. ( AA )
20 Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” ( AB )
He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. ( AC )
21 Then the Philistines ( AD ) seized him, gouged out his eyes ( AE ) and took him down to Gaza. ( AF ) Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain ( AG ) in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
23 Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon ( AH ) their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”
24 When the people saw him, they praised their god, ( AI ) saying,
“Our god has delivered our enemy
into our hands, ( AJ )
the one who laid waste our land
and multiplied our slain.”
25 While they were in high spirits, ( AK ) they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.
When they stood him among the pillars, 26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” 27 Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof ( AL ) were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. 28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord , ( AM ) “Sovereign Lord , remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge ( AN ) on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, 30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.
31 Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah ( AO ) his father. He had led [ d ] ( AP ) Israel twenty years. ( AQ )
