1 ¶ But it came to pass within some days in the time of wheat harvest that Samson visited his wife with a kid, and he said, I will go in to my wife into the 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 was persuaded that thou didst utterly hate her; therefore, I gave her to thy companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

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 replied unto them, Now I shall be blameless before the Philistines if I do them injury.

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

4 A nd Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turning them tail to tail, he put a torch between every two 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 T hen, setting the torches on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines and burnt up both the shocks and also the standing grain with the vineyards and oliveyards.

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 answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up and burnt 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 unto them, Though ye have done this, yet I will be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

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 with a great slaughter, and he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock Etam.

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

9 ¶ Then the Philistines went up and pitched camp 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 ye 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 three thousand men of Judah went to the cleft of the rock Etam and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? What is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto 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 unto him, We have come to bind thee that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me that ye 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 answered him, saying, No, we will bind thee fast and deliver thee into their hands; but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords 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 unto Lehi, the Philistines received him with shouts; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from 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 new jawbone of an ass and put forth his hand and took it and slew a thousand 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 T hen Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, one heap, two heaps; with the jaw of an ass I have slain a thousand 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 had finished speaking, he cast away the jawbone out of his hand and called that place Ramathlehi.

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

18 ¶ And he was sore athirst and called on the LORD and said, Thou hast given this great salvation by the hand of thy slave; and now shall I die for thirst and fall into the hand 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 T hen God broke a tooth that was in the jaw, and water came out there; and he drank, and recovered his spirit, and he lived. Therefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto 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 he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

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