1 B ut 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.

But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat. He said, “I will go in to my wife’s room.” But her father wouldn’t allow him to go in.

2 H er 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.”

Her father said, “I most certainly thought that you utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Isn’t her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her, instead.”

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

Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in the case of the Philistines, when I harm them.”

4 S o 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.

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

5 T hen 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.

When he had set the torches on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and the standing grain, and also the olive groves.

6 T he 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.

Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” They said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to his companion.” The Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

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

Samson said to them, “If you behave like this, surely I will take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.”

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

He struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cave in Etam’s rock.

9 T he Philistines went and set up their tents in Judah, and spread out in Lehi.

Then the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.

10 T he 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.”

The men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.”

11 T hen 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.”

Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in Etam’s rock, and said to Samson, “Don’t you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” He said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.”

12 T hey 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.”

They said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.”

13 S o 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.

They spoke to him, saying, “No; but we will bind you securely, and deliver you into their hands; but surely we will not kill you.” They bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.

14 W hen 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.

When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. Then Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.

15 S amson found a jawbone of a donkey and took it in his hand. He killed 1, 000 men with it.

He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, put out his hand, took it, and struck a thousand men with it.

16 T hen 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.”

Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps; with the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men.”

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

When he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramath Lehi.

18 T hen 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?”

He was very thirsty, and called on Yahweh, 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 B ut 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.

But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out of it. When he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived. Therefore its name was called En Hakkore, which is in Lehi, to this day.

20 S amson ruled Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

He judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.