Judges 13:1-10 ▼

1 Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.

2 And there was a man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was infertile and had not given birth to any children.

3 Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are infertile and have not given birth; but you will conceive and give birth to a son.

4 And now, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing.

5 For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he will begin to save Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. So I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name.

7 But he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”

8 Then Manoah pleaded with the LORD and said, “Lord, please let the man of God whom You have sent come to us again so that he may teach us what we are to do for the boy who is to be born.”

9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her.

10 So the woman hurried and ran, and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came the other day has appeared to me!”