Judges 16

1

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 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 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 post,

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

Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose

name was Delilah.

5

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, "Tell me the secret of your great strength and

how you can be tied up and subdued."

7

Samson answered her, "If anyone ties me with seven fresh thongs that

have not been dried, I'll become as weak as any other man."

8

Then the rulers of the Philistine brought her seven fresh thongs that had

not been dried, and she tied him with them.

9

With men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson,the Philistines

are upon you!"  But he snapped the thongs 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

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

He said, "If anyone ties me secretly with new ropes that have never been

used, I'll become as weak as any other man."

12

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 then said to Samson, "Until now, 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

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

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

With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired

to death.

17

So he told her everything. "No razor has ever been used on my head,"

he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth.

If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would

become as weak as any other man."

18

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

Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the

seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength

left him.

20

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

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

in the prison.

22

But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

23

Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to

Dagon hteir 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, saying, "Our

god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste

our land and multiplied our slain."

25

While they were in high spirits, they shouted, "Bring out Samson to

entertain us." So they called Samson out of the prison, and he

for them. When they stood him among the pillars,

26

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

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 prayed to the LORD, "O Sovereign LORD, remember me.

O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one

blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes."

29

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

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 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.