The Judges & Ruth

And the Philistines say, `Who hath done this?' And they say, `Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because he hath taken away his wife, and giveth her to his companion;' and the Philistines go up, and burn her and her father with fire.

And Samson saith to them, `Though ye do thus, nevertheless I am avenged on you, and afterwards I cease!'

And he smiteth them hip and thigh--a great smiting, and goeth down and dwelleth in the cleft of the rock Etam.

And the Philistines go up, and encamp in Judah, and are spread out in Lehi,

and the men of Judah say, `Why have ye come up against us?' and they say, `To bind Samson we have come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.'

And three thousand men of Judah go down unto the cleft of the rock Etam, and say to Samson, `Hast thou now known that the Philistines are rulers over us? and what is this thou hast done to us?' And he saith to them, `As they did to me, so I did to them.'

And they say to him, `To bind thee we have come down--to give thee into the hand of the Philistines.' And Samson saith to them, `Swear to me, lest ye fall upon me yourselves.'

And they speak to him, saying, No, but we certainly bind thee, and have given thee into their hand, and we certainly do not put thee to death;' and they bind him with two thick bands, new ones, and bring him up from the rock.

He hath come unto Lehi--and the Philistines have shouted at meeting him--and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and the thick bands which are on his arms are as flax which they burn with fire, and his bands are wasted from off his hands,

and he findeth a fresh jaw-bone of an ass, and putteth forth his hand and taketh it, and smiteth with it--a thousand men.

And Samson saith, `With a jaw-bone of the ass--an ass upon asses--with a jaw-bone of the ass I have smitten a thousand men.'

And it cometh to pass when he finisheth speaking, that he casteth away the jaw-bone out of his hand, and calleth that place Ramath-Lehi;

and he thirsteth exceedingly, and calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, `Thou--Thou hast given by the hand of Thy servant this great salvation; and now, I die with thirst, and have fallen into the hand of the uncircumcised.'

And God cleaveth the hollow place which is in Lehi, and waters come out of it, and he drinketh, and his spirit cometh back, and he reviveth; therefore hath one called its name `The fountain of him who is calling,' which is in Lehi unto this day.

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

And Samson goeth to Gaza, and seeth there a woman, a harlot, and goeth in unto her;

it is told to the Gazathites, saying, `Samson hath come in hither;' and they go round and lay wait for him all the night at the gate of the city, and keep themselves silent all the night, saying, `Till the light of the morning--then we have slain him.'

And Samson lieth down till the middle of the night, and riseth in the middle of the night, and layeth hold on the doors of the gate of the city, and on the two side posts, and removeth them with the bar, and putteth on his shoulders, and taketh them up unto the top of the hill, which is on the front of Hebron.

And it cometh to pass afterwards that he loveth a woman in the valley of Sorek, and her name is Delilah,

and the princes of the Philistines come up unto her, and say to her, `Entice him, and see wherein his great power is , and wherein we are able for him--and we have bound him to afflict him, and we--we give to thee, each one, eleven hundred silverlings.'

And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Declare, I pray thee, to me, wherein thy great power is , and wherewith thou art bound, to afflict thee.'

And Samson saith unto her, `If they bind me with seven green withs which have not been dried, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.'

And the princes of the Philistines bring up to her seven green withs which have not been dried, and she bindeth him with them.

And the ambush is abiding with her in an inner chamber, and she saith unto him, `Philistines are upon thee, Samson;' and he breaketh the withs as a thread of tow is broken in its smelling fire, and his power hath not been known.

And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Lo, thou hast played upon me, and speakest unto me lies; now, declare, I pray thee, to me, wherewith thou art bound.'