| English Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. | 1The Israelites again did what was evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines 40 years. |
| 2There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. | 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. |
| 3And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. | 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. |
| 4Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, | 4Now please be careful not to drink wine or beer, or to eat anything unclean; |
| 5for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” | 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." |
| 6Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, | 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. |
| 7but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’” | 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.'" |
| 8Then Manoah prayed to the LORD and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.” | 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." |
| 9And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her. | 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. |
| 10So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” | 10The woman ran quickly to her husband and told him, "The man who came to me today has just come back!" |
| 11And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.” | 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. |
| 12And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child’s manner of life, and what is his mission?” | 12Then Manoah asked, "When Your words come true, what will the boy's responsibilities and mission be?" |
| 13And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. | 13The Angel of the LORD answered Manoah, "Your wife needs to do everything I told her. |
| 14She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.” | 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."" |
| 15Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.” | 15Please stay here," Manoah told Him, "and we will prepare a young goat for You." |
| 16And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.) | 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." For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD. |
| 17And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” | 17Then Manoah said to Him, "What is Your name, so that we may honor You when Your words come true?"" |
| 18And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” | 18Why do you ask My name," the Angel of the LORD asked him, "since it is wonderful." |
| 19So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the LORD, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching. | 19Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD, and He did a wonderful thing while Manoah and his wife were watching. |
| 20And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground. | 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. |
| 21The angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. | 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." |
| 22And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” | 22We're going to die," he said to his wife, "because we have seen God!" |
| 23But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.” | 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 now like this." |
| 24And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the LORD blessed him. | 24So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him. |
| 25And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. | 25Then the Spirit of the LORD began to direct him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. |
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