And Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her.
And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, {Or, When (or, Before) the morning is light}Let be till morning light, then we will kill him.
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman {Or, by the brook}in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to {Or, humble}afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven {Or, new bowstrings}green withes that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.
Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven {Or, new bowstrings}green withes which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withes, as a string of tow is broken when it {Hebrew: smelleth.}toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
And he said unto her, If they only bind me with new ropes wherewith no work hath been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.
So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And the liers-in-wait were abiding in the inner chamber. And he brake them off his arms like a thread.
And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web.
And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death.
And he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for {Or, according to another reading, he had told her}he hath told me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought the money in their hand.
And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for {Or, the men}a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
And she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free. But he knew not that Jehovah was departed from him.
And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house.
Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
And the lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who hath slain many of us.
And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison-house; and he made sport before them. And they set him between the pillars:
and Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house resteth, that I may lean upon them.
Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
And Samson called unto Jehovah, and said, O Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may {Or, be avenged…for one of my two eyes}be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house rested, and leaned upon them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left.
And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than they that he slew in his life.
Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
Querverweise zu Richter 16,30 Ri 16,30
For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.
That the triumphing of the wicked is short,And the joy of the godless but for a moment?
And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and smote thirty men of them, and took their {Or, apparel}spoil, and gave the changes of raiment unto them that declared the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.
But I hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, {Or, in comparison of accomplishing my course }so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the {Or, good tidings}gospel of the grace of God.
Is it not calamity to the unrighteous,And disaster to the workers of iniquity?
And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
Then Paul answered, What do ye, weeping and breaking my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
How long will ye set upon a man, {Or, as otherwise read. Ye shall be slain &c.}That ye may slay him, all of you,Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?
And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and smote a thousand men therewith.
Yea, and if I am {Greek: poured out as a drink-offering.}offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all:
For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall {Or, lie in wait for}bruise thy head, and thou shalt {Or, lie in wait for}bruise his heel.
because for the work of {Many ancient authorities read the Lord.}Christ he came nigh unto death, hazarding his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.
For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.
Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every {Or, encumbrance}weight, and the sin which {Or, doth closely cling to us Or, is admired of many}doth so easily beset us, and let us run with {Or, stedfastness}patience the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus the {Or, captain}author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners against {Many ancient authorities read themselves. Compare Numbers 16:38.}himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls.
Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin:
and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the {Greek: presence.}coming of the Son of man.
{Or, having put off from himself the principalities &c.}having despoiled the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Since then the children are sharers in {Greek: blood and flesh. Ephesians 6:12}flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he {Or, may}might bring to nought him that {Or, hath}had the power of death, that is, the devil;
and {Or, may}might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.