Samson's Vengeance on the Philistines
1
Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and
went to visit his wife. He said, "I'm going to my wife's room."
But her father would not let him go in.
2
"I was so sure you thoroughly hated her," he said, "that I gave her
to your friend. Isn't her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead."
3
Samson said to them, "This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines;
I will really harm them."
4
So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail
in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails,
5
lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Phiistines.
He burned up the shocks and stadning grain, together with the vineyards
and olive groves.
6
When the Philistines asked, "Who did this?" they were told,
"Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, because his wife was given to his frend."
So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.
7
Samson said to them, "Since you've acted like this,
I won't stop until I get my revenge on you."
8
He attaced them viciously and slaughtered man of them.
Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.
9
The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi.
10
The men of Judah asked, "Why have you come to fight us?"
We have come to take Samson prisoner," they answered,
"to do to him as he did to us."
11
Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam
and said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us?
What have you done to us?" He answered,
"I merely did to them what they did to me."
12
They said to him, "We've come to tie you up and hand you over
to the Philistines." Samson said, "Swear to me that you won't kill me yourselves."
13
"Agreed," they answered. "We will only tie you up and hand you over to them.
We will not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes and
led him up from the rock.
14
As he approached Lehi, the Philispines came toward him shouting.
The Spriit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms
became like charred flax, and the bindings dripped from this hands.
15
Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.
16
Then Samson said, "With a donkey's jawbone I have made donkeys of them.
With a donkey's jawbone I have killed a thousand men."
17
When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone;
and the place was called Ramath Lehi.
18
Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD,
'you have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst
and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"
19
Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it.
When Samson drank, his srength returned and he revived.
So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi.
20
Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.