Judges 16 Parallel Bible Translations

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1 Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and slept with her. Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her.
2 The people of Gaza were told, |Samson's here!| So they surrounded the place and waited all night at the city gate to ambush him. They were quiet all night. They thought, |We'll kill him at dawn.| The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn we’ll kill him.”
3 But Samson was in bed [with the prostitute] only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors, door posts, and bar of the city gate and pulled them out. He carried them on his shoulders to the top of the hill facing Hebron. But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron. But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
4 After [leaving Gaza], he fell in love with a woman in the Sorek Valley. Her name was Delilah. After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.
5 The Philistine rulers came to her and said, |Trick him, and find out what makes him so strong. Find out how we can overpower him. We want to tie him up in order to torture him. Each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.| And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, |Please tell me what makes you so strong. How can you be tied up so that someone could torture you?| So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
7 Samson told her, |If someone ties me up with seven new bowstrings that are not dried out, I will be like any other man.| Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
8 The Philistine rulers brought her seven new bowstrings that were not dried out. She tied Samson up with them. Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them.
9 Some men were hiding in the bedroom waiting for her [to tie him up]. Then she said to him, |Samson, the Philistines are attacking!| Samson snapped the bowstrings as a thread snaps when it touches fire. So no one found out why he was so strong. Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known. With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
10 Delilah told Samson, |Look, you're making fun of me by telling me lies. Now, tell me how you can be tied up.| Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound.” Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.”
11 Samson told her, |If someone ties me up tightly with new ropes that have never been used, I will be like any other man.| And he said to her, “If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
12 So Delilah took some new ropes and tied him up with them. Then she said to him, |Samson, the Philistines are attacking!| Some men were in her bedroom waiting to ambush him. But Samson tore the ropes off his arms as though they were strings. So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread. So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.
13 Delilah told Samson, |You're still making fun of me by telling me lies. Tell me how you can be tied up.| Samson replied, |Just weave the seven braids of my hair with the other threads in the loom.| Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.” He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric
14 So Delilah tied his braids to the loom shuttle. Then she said to him, |Samson, the Philistines are attacking!| But Samson woke up and tore his braids and the threads out of the loom shuttle. So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web. and tightened it with the pin. Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.
15 Delilah said to Samson, |How can you say that you love me when your heart isn't mine? You've made fun of me three times now, but you still haven't told me what makes you so strong.| And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.” Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.”
16 Every day she made his life miserable with her questions. She pestered him until he wished he were dead. And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.
17 Finally, he told her the truth. He told her, |Because I'm a Nazirite, no one has ever cut the hair on my head. I was dedicated to God before I was born. If my hair is ever shaved off, my strength will leave me. Then I'll be like any other man.| And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.” So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
18 When Delilah realized that he had told her everything, she sent a message to the Philistine rulers, |Come here once more.| (She did this because Samson had told her everything.) So the Philistine rulers arrived with the money in their hands. When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands.
19 Delilah put Samson to sleep on her lap. She called for a man to shave off his seven braids. Then she began to torture him because his strength had left him. She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.
20 She said, |Samson, the Philistines are attacking!| Samson woke up. He thought, |I'll get out of this as usual and shake myself free.| (He didn't realize that the LORD had left him.) And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him. Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.
21 The Philistines grabbed him. They poked out his eyes and took him to the prison in Gaza. They tied him up with double chains and made him grind grain in the mill there. And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison.
22 But his hair started to grow back as soon as it was shaved off. But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved. But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
23 Now, the Philistine rulers gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon and to celebrate. They said, |Our god handed Samson, our enemy, over to us.| Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.” Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”
24 When the people saw him, they praised their god. They said, |Our god gave our enemy, destroyer of our land and killer of so many, into our very hand!| And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.” When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain.”
25 When all the Philistines were enjoying themselves, they said, |Call Samson in to entertain us.| Samson was called from the prison, and he made them laugh. They made him stand between two columns. And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. While they were in high spirits, they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them. When they stood him among the pillars,
26 Samson told the young man who was leading him by the hand, |Let me rest. Let me touch the columns on which the building stands so that I can lean against them.| And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.”
27 The building was filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there. On the roof there were about three thousand men and women who watched Samson entertain them. Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained. Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.
28 Then Samson called to the LORD, |Almighty LORD, please remember me! God, give me strength just one more time! Let me get even with the Philistines for at least one of my two eyes.| Then Samson called to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “Sovereign LORD, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.”
29 Samson felt the two middle columns on which the building stood. With his right hand on one column and his left on the other, he pushed hard against them. And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other,
30 |Let me die with the Philistines,| he said. With that, he pushed with all his might, and the building fell on the rulers and everyone in it. So he killed more Philistines when he died than he had when he was alive. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.
31 Then his relatives and his father's whole family went to Gaza. They took Samson and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. Samson had judged Israel for 20 years. Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years. Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel twenty years.
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