SAMSON'S FINAL VICTORY
Judges 16:4-31
4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the
valley of Sorek, whose name [was] Delilah. 5 And the lords of the
Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and
see wherein his great strength [lieth], and by what [means] we may
prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we
will give thee every one of us eleven hundred [pieces] of silver.
6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy
great strength [lieth], and wherewith thou mightest be bound to
afflict thee. 7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with
seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and
be as another man. 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up
to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound
him with them. 9 Now [there were] men lying in wait, abiding with
her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines [be]
upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is
broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and
told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be
bound. 11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new
ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as
another man. 12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him
therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee,
Samson. And [there were] liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And
he brake them from off his arms like a thread. 13 And Delilah
said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies:
tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If
thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. 14 And she
fastened [it] with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines
[be] upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went
away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. 15 And she said
unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart [is]
not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not
told me wherein thy great strength [lieth]. 16 And it came to
pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him,
[so] that his soul was vexed unto death; 17 That he told her all
his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon
mine head; for I [have been] a Nazarite unto God from my mother's
womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I
shall become weak, and be like any [other] man. 18 And when
Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and
called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this
once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the
Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. 19
And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man,
and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and
she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. 20 And
she said, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out
of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before,
and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from
him. 21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and
brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and
he did grind in the prison house. 22 Howbeit the hair of his head
began to grow again after he was shaven. 23 Then the lords of the
Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice
unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath
delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 24 And when the people
saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath
delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our
country, which slew many of us. 25 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 made them sport: and they set him between the
pillars. 26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the
hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house
standeth, that I may lean upon them. 27 Now the house was full of
men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines [were] there;
and [there were] upon the roof about three thousand men and women,
that beheld while Samson made sport. 28 And Samson called unto
the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and
strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be
at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 29 And Samson
took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood,
and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and
of the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, Let me die with
the Philistines. And he bowed himself with [all his] might; and
the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that [were]
therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than
[they] which he slew in his life. 31 Then his brethren and all
the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought [him]
up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace
of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
Previous � Index of Children's Bible Stories � Next
