1 A fter a while, in the time of wheat harvest, it happened that Samson visited his wife with a young goat. And he said, “Let me go in to my wife, into her room.” But her father would not permit him to go in.

¶ 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.

2 H er father said, “I really thought that you thoroughly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please, take her instead.”

And 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.

3 A nd Samson said to them, “This time I shall be blameless regarding the Philistines if I harm them!”

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

4 T hen Samson went and caught three hundred foxes; and he took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails.

And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turning them tail to tail, he put a torch between every two tails.

5 W hen he had set the torches on fire, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.

Then, 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.

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

Then 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.

7 S amson said to them, “Since you would do a thing like this, I will surely take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.”

And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet I will be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

8 S o he attacked them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; then he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter, and he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock Etam.

9 N ow the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and deployed themselves against Lehi.

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

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

And 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.

11 T hen three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? What is this you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”

Then 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.

12 B ut they said to him, “We have come down to arrest you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.” Then Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.”

And 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.

13 S o they spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will tie you securely and deliver you into their hand; but we will surely not kill you.” And they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

And 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.

14 W hen he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands.

And 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.

15 H e found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it.

And he found a new jawbone of an ass and put forth his hand and took it and slew a thousand men with it.

16 T hen Samson said: “With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men!”

Then Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, one heap, two heaps; with the jaw of an ass I have slain a thousand men.

17 A nd so it was, when he had finished speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand, and called that place Ramath Lehi.

And when he had finished speaking, he cast away the jawbone out of his hand and called that place Ramathlehi.

18 T hen he became very thirsty; so he cried out 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 hand of the uncircumcised?”

¶ 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?

19 S o God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out, and he drank; and his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he called its name En Hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.

Then 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.

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

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