The Birth of Samson
(Numbers 6:1–21)

1And the children of Israel began agayne to comitte wickednesse in the sight of the lord, and the Lorde deliuered them into the handes of the Philistines fourtie yeres.

2And there was a man in Zaraah of the kinred of Dan, named Manoah, whose wife was barren, and bare not. 3And the angell of the Lord appeared vnto the woman, & sayde vnto her: Beholde, nowe thou art barren, & bearest not, but thou shalt conceaue, and beare a sonne. 4And nowe therfore beware that thou drinke no wyne, nor strong drinke, neither eate any vncleane thing: 5For lo, thou shalt conceaue and beare a sonne, And ther may no rasor come on his head, for ye ladde shalbe a Nazarite vnto God euen from his byrth: And he shal beginne to saue Israel out of the handes of the Philistines. 6Then the wife came, & tolde her husbande, saying: A man of God came vnto me, and the fashion of him was lyke the fashion of an angell of God, exceeding fearful: But I asked him not whence he was, neither tolde he me his name: 7But sayde vnto me, behold, thou shalt be with childe and beare a sonne, & now drinke no wyne nor strong drinke, neither eate any vncleane thing, for the ladde shalbe an abstayner to God, euen from his byrth to the day of his death.

8Then Manoah made intercession to the Lorde, and sayde: I pray thee my Lorde, let the man of God whiche thou sendedst, come agayne vnto vs, & teache vs what we shal do vnto the ladde whe he is borne. 9And God heard the voyce of Manoah: and the angel of God came agayne vnto the wife as she sate in the felde: but Manoah her husbad was not with her. 10And the wife made haste, and ranne & shewed her husbande, & sayde vnto him: behold, the man appeared vnto me that came vnto me to day. 11And Manoah arose & went after his wife, and came to the man, and sayde vnto him: Art thou the ma that spakest vnto the woman? And he sayde: I am. 12Manoah sayde, Nowe let thy saying come to passe: Howe shall we order the childe, and do vnto him? 13And the angell of the Lord sayd vnto Manoah: The woman must absteyne from all that I sayde vnto her: 14She may eate of nothing that cometh of the vine tree, nor drinke wine or strong drinke, nor eate any vncleane thing: but must obserue all that I bad her.

15Manoah sayde vuto the angell of the Lorde: I pray thee let vs retayne thee vntill we haue made redy a kyd before thee. 16And the angel of the Lord sayde vnto Manoah: Though thou make me abide, I wil not eate of thy bread: And if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it vnto the Lorde. For Manoah wist not that it was an angell of the Lorde. 17And Manoah sayde agayne vnto the angell of the Lord: What is thy name, that when thy saying is come to passe, we may do thee worshippe? 18And the angel of the Lorde sayde vnto him: Why askest thou thus after my name, which is secrete? 19And so Manoah toke a kyd, with a meat offring, and offred it vpon a rocke vnto the Lorde: And the angell did wonderously, Manoah and his wife lokyng vpon. 20And whe the flambe came vp toward heauen from the aulter, the angell of the Lorde ascended vp in the flambe of the aulter: And Manoah and his wyfe loked vpon it, and fell on their faces vnto the grounde.

21(But the angel of the Lord did no more appeare vnto Manoah and his wyfe:) And then Manoah knewe that it was an angel of the Lorde, 22And sayd vnto his wyfe: We shal surely dye, because we haue seene God. 23But his wyfe sayde vnto him: Yf the Lord would kyll vs, he would not haue receaued a burnt offering and a meate offering of our handes, neither woulde he haue shewed vs al these thinges, nor woulde nowe haue tolde vs any suche.

24And the wyfe bare a sonne, and called his name Samson: And ye ladde grewe, and the Lorde blessed him. 25And the spirite of the Lorde began to strengthen him in the hoast of Dan, betweene Zaraah and Esthaol.