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 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 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.”

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

Samson said to him, “This time I will be without blame when I hurt the Philistines.”

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.

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 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 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 has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” So the Philistines came up and burned 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 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.”

Samson said to them, “For sure I will punish you for acting like this. After that I will stop.”

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.

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

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

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 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 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 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.”

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 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.

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 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.

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 H e found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed 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 a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey 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 so it was, when he had finished speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand, and called that place Ramath Lehi.

When he was done speaking, he threw the bone from his hand. And he called that place Ramath-lehi.

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?”

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 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.

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 twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

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