Samson and Delilah

Judges 16:1-22

Bible Stories

Judges 16:1 He also went into Gaza. And there he saw a harlot woman, and he entered to her.

Judges 16:2 And when the Philistines had heard of this, and it had become well known among them, that Samson had entered the city, they surrounded him, placing guards at the gate of the city. And there they were keeping watch all night in silence, so that, in the morning, they might kill him as he was going out.

Judges 16:3 But Samson slept until the middle of the night, and rising up from there, he took both doors from the gate, with their posts and bars. And laying them upon his shoulders, he carried them to the top of the hill that looks toward Hebron.

Judges 16:4 After these things, he loved a woman who was living in the valley of Sorek. And she was called Delilah.

Judges 16:5 And the leaders of the Philistines went to her, and they said: “Deceive him, and learn from him wherein lies his great strength, and how we may be able to overcome him and to impose restraints on him. And if you will do this, each one of us will give you one thousand one hundred silver coins.”

Judges 16:6 Therefore, Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me, I beg you, wherein lies your very great strength, and with what might you be bound, so that you could not break free?”

Judges 16:7 And Samson answered her, “If I will be bound with seven cords, made of sinews not yet dry, but still damp, I will be weak like other men.”

Judges 16:8 And the princes of the Philistines brought to her seven cords, such as he had described. And she bound him with these.

Judges 16:9 And so, those hiding in ambush with her, in the bedroom, were expecting the end of the matter. And she cried out to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he broke the cords, as one would break a thread of flax, twisted for cutting and singed by fire. And so it was not known wherein lay his strength.

Judges 16:10 And Delilah said to him: “Behold, you have mocked me, and you have spoken a falsehood. But at least now, tell me with what you may be bound.”

Judges 16:11 And he answered her, “If I will be bound with new cords, which have never been used, I will be weak and like other men.”

Judges 16:12 Again, Delilah tied him with these, and she cried out, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” For an ambush had been prepared in the bedroom. But he broke the bindings like the filaments of a web.

Judges 16:13 And Delilah spoke to him again: “How long will you deceive me and tell me falsehoods? Reveal with what you ought to be bound.” And Samson responded to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with a loom, and if you tie these around a spike and fix it to the ground, I will be weak.”

Judges 16:14 And when Delilah had done this, she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson.” And arising from sleep, he withdrew the spike with the hairs and the weaving.

Judges 16:15 And Delilah said to him: “How can you say that you love me, when your soul is not with me? You have lied to me on three occasions, and you are not willing to reveal wherein lies your very great strength.”

Judges 16:16 And when she had been very troublesome to him, and over many days had continually stayed nearby, giving him no time to rest, his soul was faint, and he was weary, even unto death.

Judges 16:17 Then disclosing the truth of the matter, he said to her: “Iron has never been drawn across my head, for I am a Nazirite, that is, I have been consecrated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head will be shaven, my strength will depart from me, and I will be faint and will be like other men.”

Judges 16:18 Then, seeing that he had confessed to her his whole soul, she sent to the leaders of the Philistines and ordered: “Come up just once more. For now he has opened his heart to me.” And they went up, taking with them the money that they had promised.

Judges 16:19 But she made him sleep upon her knees, and recline his head upon her bosom. And she called a barber, and he shaved his seven locks of hair. And she began to push him away, and to repel him from herself. For immediately his strength departed from him.

Judges 16:20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And awaking from sleep, he said in his mind, “I will break away and shake myself free, just as I did before.” For he did not know that the Lord had withdrawn from him.

Judges 16:21 And when the Philistines had seized him, they immediately plucked out his eyes. And they led him, bound in chains, to Gaza. And enclosing him in a prison, they made him work a millstone.

Judges 16:22 And now his hair began to grow back.