| Chapter
16 |
| 1 | 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 withes 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 withes 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 withes, 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 showed 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. |
