Samson and Delilah
1
Samson went to z Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her.
2
The Gazites were told, "Samson has come here." And they a 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."
3
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.
4
After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5
And b the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, c "Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to d humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver."
6
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could d subdue you."
7
Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, e then I shall become weak and be like any other man."
8
Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9
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.
10
Then Delilah said to Samson, "Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound."
11
And he said to her, "If they bind me with f new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man."
12
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.
13
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."
14
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.
15
And she said to him, g "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."
16
And h when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death.
17
And he told her all his heart, and said to her, i "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."
18
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 j the money in their hands.
19
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 k to torment him, and his strength left him.
20
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 l the Lord had left him.
21
And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. m And he ground at the mill in the prison.
22
But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
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Cross References
Joshua 15:47
Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; to the Brook of Egypt, and the Great Sea with its coastline.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 23:26
Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.
Psalms 118:10 - 12
All nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
Acts 9:24
But their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him.
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Cross References
Joshua 13:3
(from the Shihor, which is east of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron, it is counted as Canaanite; there are five rulers of the Philistines, those of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron), and those of the Avvim.
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Cross References
Judges 14:15
On the fourth day they said to Samson's wife, "Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?
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Cross References
Judges 16:19
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.
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Cross References
Judges 16:5
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.
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Cross References
Judges 16:11
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.
Judges 16:17
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.
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Cross References
Judges 15:13 - 14
They said to him, "No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
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Cross References
Judges 14:16
And Samson's wife wept over him and said, "You only hate me; you do not love me. You have put a riddle to my people, and you have not told me what it is." And he said to her, "Behold, I have not told my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?
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Cross References
Judges 14:17
She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted, and on the seventh day he told her, because she pressed him hard. Then she told the riddle to her people.
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Cross References
Judges 13:5
For 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.
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Cross References
Judges 16:5
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.
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Cross References
Judges 16:5 - 6
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.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 28:15 - 16
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.
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Cross References
Exodus 11:5
And every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.
Matthew 24:41
Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.