| Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1The Israelites again did what was evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines forty years. | 1Again the Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines, who oppressed them for forty years. |
| 2There was a certain man from Zorah, from the family of Dan, whose name was Manoah; his wife was unable to conceive and had no children. | 2In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant, and they had no children. |
| 3The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "It is true that you are unable to conceive and have no children, but you will conceive and give birth to a son. | 3The angel of the LORD appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. |
| 4Now please be careful not to drink wine or beer, or to eat anything unclean; | 4So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. |
| 5for indeed, you will conceive and give birth to a son. You must never cut his hair, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth, and he will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines." | 5You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.” |
| 6Then the woman went and told her husband, "A man of God came to me. He looked like the awe-inspiring angel of God. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. | 6The woman ran and told her husband, “A man of God appeared to me! He looked like one of God’s angels, terrifying to see. I didn’t ask where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. |
| 7He said to me, 'You will conceive and give birth to a son. Therefore, do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth until the day of his death.'" | 7But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. For your son will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the moment of his birth until the day of his death.’” |
| 8Manoah prayed to the LORD and said, "Please, Lord, let the man of God you sent come again to us and teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born." | 8Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, saying, “Lord, please let the man of God come back to us again and give us more instructions about this son who is to be born.” |
| 9God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field, and her husband Manoah was not with her. | 9God answered Manoah’s prayer, and the angel of God appeared once again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But her husband, Manoah, was not with her. |
| 10The woman ran quickly to her husband and told him, "The man who came to me the other day has just come back!" | 10So she quickly ran and told her husband, “The man who appeared to me the other day is here again!” |
| 11So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, "Are you the man who spoke to my wife?" "I am," he said. | 11Manoah ran back with his wife and asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife the other day?” “Yes,” he replied, “I am.” |
| 12Then Manoah asked, "When your words come true, what will be the boy's responsibilities and work?" | 12So Manoah asked him, “When your words come true, what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work?” |
| 13The angel of the LORD answered Manoah, "Your wife needs to do everything I told her. | 13The angel of the LORD replied, “Be sure your wife follows the instructions I gave her. |
| 14She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine or drink wine or beer. And she must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must do everything I have commanded her." | 14She must not eat grapes or raisins, drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, or eat any forbidden food.” |
| 15"Please stay here," Manoah told him, "and we will prepare a young goat for you." | 15Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “Please stay here until we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.” |
| 16The angel of the LORD said to him, "If I stay, I won't eat your food. But if you want to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD." (Manoah did not know he was the angel of the LORD.) | 16“I will stay,” the angel of the LORD replied, “but I will not eat anything. However, you may prepare a burnt offering as a sacrifice to the LORD.” (Manoah didn’t realize it was the angel of the LORD.) |
| 17Then Manoah said to him, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?" | 17Then Manoah asked the angel of the LORD, “What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you.” |
| 18"Why do you ask my name," the angel of the LORD asked him, "since it is beyond understanding." | 18“Why do you ask my name?” the angel of the LORD replied. “It is too wonderful for you to understand.” |
| 19Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD, who did something miraculous while Manoah and his wife were watching. | 19Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered it on a rock as a sacrifice to the LORD. And as Manoah and his wife watched, the LORD did an amazing thing. |
| 20When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD went up in its flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown on the ground. | 20As the flames from the altar shot up toward the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the fire. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell with their faces to the ground. |
| 21The angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD. | 21The angel did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Manoah finally realized it was the angel of the LORD, |
| 22"We're certainly going to die," he said to his wife, "because we have seen God!" | 22and he said to his wife, “We will certainly die, for we have seen God!” |
| 23But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had intended to kill us, he wouldn't have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us, and he would not have shown us all these things or spoken to us like this." | 23But his wife said, “If the LORD were going to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He wouldn’t have appeared to us and told us this wonderful thing and done these miracles.” |
| 24So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him. | 24When her son was born, she named him Samson. And the LORD blessed him as he grew up. |
| 25Then the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. | 25And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he lived in Mahaneh-dan, which is located between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol. |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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