The Birth of Samson
(Numbers 6:1–21)

1And the children of Israel wroughte more euell before the LORDE, & the LORDE gaue them ouer into the hades of the Philistynes fortye yeares.

2But there was a man at Zarga, of one of ye kynreds of the Danites, named Manoah, and his wife was vnfrutefull & bare him no children. 3And the angell of the LORDE appeared vnto ye woman, & sayde vnto her: Beholde, thou art baren, & bearest not: but thou shalt conceaue, & beare a sonne. 4Take hede therfore, yt thou drynke no wyne ner stronge drynke, and yt thou eate no vncleane thinge, 5for thou shalt conceaue, and beare a sonne, vpo whose heade there shal come no rasoure: for ye childe shal be a Nazaree of God, euen from his mother wombe, and shall begynne to delyuer Israel out of the hande of the Philistynes. 6Then came ye woman and tolde hir husbande, & sayde: There came a ma of God vnto me, & his proporcion was to loke vpon as an angell of God, very terrible, so yt I axed him not whence he came, & whither he wolde: nether tolde he me his name. 7But he sayde vnto me: beholde, thou shalt conceaue & beare a sonne: drynke no wyne therfore ner stroge drynke, & eate no vncleane thinge: for the childe shal be called a Nazaree of God, euen fro his mother wombe vnto his death.

8Then Manoah prayed the LORDE, & sayde: Oh LORDE, let ye man of God whom thou hast sent, come to vs agayne, yt he maye enfourme vs what we shall do vnto the childe which shalbe borne. 9And God herde the voyce of Manoah, & the angell of God came to his wife agayne. But she sat in ye felde, and his husbade Manoah was not wt her. 10The ranne she in all the haist, & tolde hir husbande, & saide vnto him: beholde, ye man hath appeared vnto me, yt came to me to daye. 11Manoah gat him vp, & wente after his wife, and came to the man, and sayde vnto him: Art thou ye man that spake to the woman? He sayde: Yee. 12And Manoah sayde: wha it commeth to passe that thou hast sayde, what shal be the maner and worke of ye childe: 13The angell of the LORDE sayde vnto Manoah: He shal kepe him from all that I tolde the woman: 14he shal not eate that which commeth of the vyne, and shal drynke no wyne ner stronge drynke, and eate no vncleane thinge: & all that I haue comaunded her, shal he kepe.

15Manoah sayde vnto ye angell of the LORDE: let vs holde the here (I praye the) we will prepare a kydd for the. 16Neuertheles ye angell of the LORDE answered Manoah: Though thou kepest me here, yet wyll I not eate of thy bred. But yf thou wilt make a burntofferynge vnto the LORDE, thou mayest offre it. (For Manoah wist not that it was an angell of the LORDE.) 17And Manoah sayde vnto the angell of the LORDE: What is thy name, that we maye prayse ye, whan it commeth now to passe, that thou hast sayde? 18But the angell of the LORDE sayde vnto him: Why axest thou after my name, which is wonderfull? 19Then toke Manoah a kyd and a meatofferynge, & layed it vpo a rocke vnto the LORDE, which doth ye wonders him selfe. But Manoah and his wife behelde it. 20And wha the flamme wente vp from ye altare towarde heauen, the angell of the LORDE asceded vp in the flamme of the altare. Whan Manoah & his wife sawe yt, they fell downe to ye earth vpo their faces.

21And the angell of ye LORDE appeared nomore vnto Manoah & his wife. The knewe Manoah, that it was an angell of the LORDE, 22and he sayde vnto his wife: We must dye the death, because we haue sene God. 23But his wife answered him: Yf the LORDE wolde haue slaine vs, he had not receaued the burtnofferynge and meatofferynge of oure handes: nether had he shewed vs all these thinges, ner letten vs heare soch as is now come to passe.

24And the woman broughte forth a sonne, and called his name Samson. And the childe grewe, and the LORDE blessed him. 25And the sprete of the LORDE begane to be wt him in the tentes of Dan, betwene Zarga and Esthaol.