1 B ut some days later, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, taking along a kid; and he said, I will go unto my wife in the inner chamber. But her father would not allow him to go in.

But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat, and said, “I will go in to my wife in her room.” But her father did not let him enter.

2 A nd her father said, I truly thought you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is her younger sister not fairer than she? Take her, I pray you, instead.

Her father said, “I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please let her be yours instead.”

3 A nd Samson said of them, This time shall I be blameless as regards the Philistines, though I do them evil.

Samson then said to them, “This time I shall be blameless in regard to the Philistines when I do them harm.”

4 S o Samson went and caught 300 foxes or jackals and took torches and turning the foxes tail to tail, he put a torch between each pair of tails.

Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned the foxes tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between two tails.

5 A nd when he had set the torches ablaze, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and he burned up the shocks and the standing grain, along with the olive orchards.

When he had set fire to the torches, he released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines, thus burning up both the shocks and the standing grain, along with the vineyards and groves.

6 T hen the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they were told, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and has given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.

Then the Philistines said, “Who did this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion.” So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.

7 A nd Samson said to them, If this is the way you act, surely I will take revenge on you, and after that I will quit.

Samson said to them, “Since you act like this, I will surely take revenge on you, but after that I will quit.”

8 A nd he smote them hip and thigh, a great slaughter; and he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

He struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

9 T hen the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and spread themselves in Lehi.

Then the Philistines went up and camped in Judah, and spread out in Lehi.

10 A nd the men of Judah said, Why have you come up against us? And they answered, We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.

The men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” And they said, “We have come up to bind Samson in order to do to him as he did to us.”

11 T hen 3, 000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock Etam and said to Samson, Have you not known that the Philistines are rulers over us? What is this that you have done to us? He said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.

Then 3, 000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”

12 A nd they said to him, We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hands of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Swear to me that you will not fall upon me yourselves.

They said to him, “We have come down to bind you so that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not kill me.”

13 A nd they said to him, No, we will bind you fast and give you into their hand; but surely we will not kill you. So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

So they said to him, “No, but we will bind you fast and give you into their hands; yet surely we will not kill you.” Then they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

14 A nd when he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon, and the ropes on his arms became as flax that had caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands.

When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds dropped from his hands.

15 A nd he found a still moist jawbone of a donkey and reached out and took it and slew 1, 000 men with it.

He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out and took it and killed a thousand men with it.

16 A nd Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain 1, 000 men!

Then Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have killed a thousand men.”

17 A nd when he stopped speaking, he cast the jawbone from his hand; and that place was called Ramath-lehi.

When he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi.

18 S amson was very thirsty, and he prayed to the Lord and said, You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant, and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?

Then he became very thirsty, and he called to the Lord and said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant, and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”

19 A nd God split open the hollow place that was at Lehi, and water came out of it. And when he drank, his spirit returned and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore, which is at Lehi to this day.

But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi so that water came out of it. When he drank, his strength returned and he revived. Therefore he named it En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.

20 A nd judged (defended) Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

So he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.