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 later Samson visited his wife during grain gathering time with a young goat. Samson said, “I will go in to my wife in her room.” But her father did not let him go in.

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 thought you hated her. So I gave her to your friend. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? 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 said to him, “This time I will be without blame when I hurt the Philistines.”

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.

So Samson went and caught 300 foxes. He tied them together tail to tail. And he put a fire stick between the tails of every two foxes.

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.

Then he set fire to the sticks and let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines. So the standing grain and cut grain and vines and olive trees were burned up.

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.

The Philistines said, “Who did this?” And they were told, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because the Timnite took his wife and gave her to his friend.” So the Philistines came 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, “For sure I will punish you for acting like this. After that I will stop.”

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 killed many of them without mercy. Then Samson went down and lived in the opening of the rock of Etam.

9 ¶ Then the Philistines went up and pitched camp in Judah and spread themselves in Lehi.

The Philistines went and set up their tents 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?” The Philistines said, “We have come to take Samson and 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 opening of the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? What is this that you have done to us?” Samson said to them, “I have done to them as they did to me.”

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 to take you and give you to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise 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, we will only tie you up and give you to them. We will not kill you.” So they tied 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 Samson came to Lehi, the Philistines came with a loud noise to meet him. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson with power. The ropes on his arms became as weak as a burning plant, and fell 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.

Samson found a jawbone of a donkey and took it in his hand. He killed 1, 000 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 bone of a donkey there are bodies upon bodies. With the bone of a donkey I have killed 1, 000 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 was done speaking, he threw the bone from his hand. And he called 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 Samson became very thirsty. He called to the Lord and said, “You have taken us away from trouble by the hand of Your servant. Now must I die of thirst and fall into the hands of those who have not gone through our religious act?”

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 broke open a place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned. He received new life. So he called the place En-hakkore. It is in Lehi to this day.

20 A nd he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

Samson ruled Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.