1 S amson went to Gaza and saw a woman who sold the use of her body there. He went in to her.

And Samson went to Gazah, and saw there a harlot, and went in to her.

2 T he Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” So they gathered around the place and waited for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait until the morning light. Then we will kill him.”

the Gazathites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they surrounded, and laid wait for him all night at the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning light we will kill him.

3 B ut Samson lay until late at night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the pieces that held them. He pulled them up together with the locks and put them on his shoulders. And he carried them up to the top of the mountain beside Hebron.

And Samson lay till midnight; and he arose at midnight, and seized the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and tore them up with the bar, and put upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.

4 A fter this Samson loved a woman in the valley of Sorek. Her name was Delilah.

And it came to pass afterwards that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

5 T he leaders of the Philistines came to her, saying, “Tempt Samson to tell you the secret of his powerful strength. Find out how we can get power over him so we can tie him and hold him. Then we will each give you 1, 100 pieces of silver.”

And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Persuade him, and see in what his great strength is, and with what we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to overpower him; and we will each give thee eleven hundred silver-pieces.

6 S o Delilah said to Samson, “I beg you. Tell me the secret of your powerful strength. Tell me how one can get power over you and tie you up and hold you.”

Then Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, in what is thy great strength, and with what thou mightest be bound to overpower thee.

7 S amson said to her, “They must tie me with seven new ropes that have not been dried. Then I will become weak and be like any other man.”

And Samson said to her, If they should bind me with seven fresh cords which have not been dried, then should I be weak, and be as another man.

8 S o the leaders of the Philistines brought her seven new ropes that had not been dried. And Delilah tied Samson with them.

Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

9 S he had men hiding and waiting in another room. She said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he broke the ropes like a string breaks when it touches fire. So they did not find the secret of his strength.

Now she had liers in wait abiding in the chamber; and she said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he broke the cords, as a thread of tow is broken when it touches the fire; and his strength was not known.

10 D elilah said to Samson, “See, you have fooled me and told me lies. Now tell me, I beg you, how can you be tied?”

And Delilah said to Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me and told me lies. Now tell me, I pray thee, with what thou mightest be bound.

11 S amson said to her, “They must tie me with new ropes which have never been used. Then I will become weak and be like any other man.”

And he said to her, If they should bind me fast with new ropes, with which no work has been done, then should I be weak, and be as another man.

12 S o Delilah took new ropes, tied Samson with them, and said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” Men were hiding and waiting in another room. But Samson broke the ropes from his arms like a string.

And Delilah took new ropes, and bound him with them, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! Now there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he broke them from off his arms like a thread.

13 T hen Delilah said to Samson, “You have fooled me and told me lies until now. Tell me how you can be tied.” Samson said to her, “You must work the seven strings of my hair into the cloth you are making and hold it there with a nail. Then I will become weak and be like any other man.”

And Delilah said to Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me and told me lies. Tell me with what thou mightest be bound. And he said to her, If thou shouldest weave the seven locks of my head with the web.

14 S o while Samson slept, Delilah took the seven strings of his hair and worked them into the cloth. She held it in place with the nail. Then she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the nail, the cloth maker and the cloth.

And she fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep, and tore out the pin of the beam, and the web.

15 D elilah said to Samson, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have lied to me these three times. You have not told me the secret of your powerful strength.”

Then she said to him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? these three times hast thou mocked me, and hast not told me in what is thy great strength.

16 S he asked him day after day until his soul was troubled to death.

And it came to pass when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death;

17 S o he told her all that was in his mind. He said to her, “My hair has never been cut. For I have been a Nazirite to God from the time I was born. If my hair is cut, my strength will leave me. I will become weak and be like any other man.”

and he told her all his heart, and said to her, There has not come a razor upon my head; for I am a Nazarite of God from my mother's womb; if I should be shaven, then my strength would go from me, and I should be weak, and be like all mankind.

18 D elilah saw that Samson had told her the truth. She sent and called the leaders of the Philistines, saying, “Come once again. For he has told me all he knows.” So the leaders of the Philistines came to her. And they brought the money in their hands.

And Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, and she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this time, for he has told me all his heart. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand.

19 S he made Samson sleep on her knees. Then she called for a man to cut off the seven parts of Samson’s hair. She began to hurt Samson, and his strength left him.

And she made him sleep upon her knees, and called a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to overpower him, and his strength went from him.

20 S he said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” He awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as I have at other times. I will shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

And she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep, and thought, I will go out as at other times before, and disengage myself. And he knew not that Jehovah had departed from him.

21 T he Philistines took hold of him and cut out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and tied him with brass chains. Samson was made to grind grain in the prison.

And the Philistines seized him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gazah, and bound him with fetters of bronze; and he had to grind in the prison-house.

22 B ut the hair of his head started to grow again after it was cut off. The Death of Samson

But the hair of his head began to grow after he was shaved.

23 N ow the leaders of the Philistines gathered to give a large gift to their god Dagon. They were happy, for they said, “Our god has given us Samson, the man who has fought against us.”

Then the lords of the Philistines gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands.

24 T he people praised their god when they saw Samson. They said, “Our god has given us the one who fought against us, destroyed our country, and killed many of us.”

And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god has given into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, even him who multiplied our slain.

25 A fter the people had had much to drink, they said, “Bring Samson here so we can have some fun with him.” So they called Samson out of prison and made fun of him. They made him stand between the stone pillars that held up the building.

And it came to pass when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison-house, and he played before them; and they set him between the pillars.

26 S amson said to the boy who was holding his hand, “Let me feel the tall pillars that hold up the building. I want to rest against them.”

And Samson said to the lad that held him by the hand, Let loose of me, and suffer me to feel the pillars upon which the house stands, that I may lean upon them.

27 N ow the building was full of men and women. All the leaders of the Philistines were there, and there were about 3, 000 men and women on the roof looking down and laughing at Samson.

Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and upon the roof there were about three thousand men and women, who looked on while Samson made sport.

28 T hen Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, I beg You. Remember me. Give me strength only this once, O God. So I may now punish the Philistines for my two eyes.”

And Samson called to Jehovah, and said, Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may take one vengeance upon the Philistines for my two eyes.

29 S amson took hold of the two center pillars that held up the building. He pushed against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other.

And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood (and he supported himself upon them), the one with his right hand and the other with his left.

30 S amson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his strength so that the building fell on the leaders and all the people in it. He killed more at his death than he killed in his life.

And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines! And he bowed himself with might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than those whom he had slain in his life.

31 T hen his brothers and all those of his father’s house came and took him. They brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the grave of his father Manoah. Samson had ruled Israel for twenty years.

And his brethren came down, and all the house of his father, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zoreah and Eshtaol in the sepulchre of Manoah his father. And he had judged Israel twenty years.