Old/New Testament
Samson’s Birth
13 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight,[a] so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.
2 There was a man named Manoah from Zorah, from the Danite tribe. His wife was infertile and childless.[b] 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “You[c] are infertile and childless,[d] but you will conceive and have a son. 4 Now be careful! Do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean.[e] 5 Look, you will conceive and have a son.[f] You must never cut his hair,[g] for the child will be dedicated to God[h] from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power[i] of the Philistines.”
6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God[j] came to me! He looked like God’s angel—he was very awesome.[k] I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. 7 He said to me, ‘Look, you will conceive and have a son.[l] So now, do not drink wine or beer and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean.[m] For the child will be dedicated[n] to God from birth till the day he dies.’”
8 Manoah prayed to the Lord,[o] “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God[p] to visit[q] us again, so he can teach[r] us how we should raise[s] the child who will be born.” 9 God answered Manoah’s prayer.[t] God’s angel visited[u] the woman again while she was sitting in the field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman ran at once and told her husband,[v] “Come quickly,[w] the man who visited[x] me the other day has appeared to me!” 11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he met[y] the man, he said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”[z] He said, “Yes.”[aa] 12 Manoah said, “Now, when your announcement comes true,[ab] how should the child be raised and what should he do?”[ac] 13 The angel of the Lord told[ad] Manoah, “Your wife should pay attention to everything I told her.[ae] 14 She should not drink[af] anything that the grapevine produces. She must not drink wine or beer, and she must not eat any food that will make her ritually unclean.[ag] She should obey everything I commanded her to do.” 15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please stay here awhile,[ah] so we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.”[ai] 16 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If I stay,[aj] I will not eat your food. But if you want to make a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, you should offer it.” (He said this because Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.)[ak] 17 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Tell us your name, so we can honor you when your announcement comes true.”[al] 18 The angel of the Lord said to him, “You should not ask me my name, because you cannot comprehend it.”[am] 19 Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the Lord. The Lord’s messenger did an amazing thing as Manoah and his wife watched.[an] 20 As the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the angel of the Lord went up in it[ao] while Manoah and his wife watched. They fell facedown[ap] to the ground.
21 The angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. After all this happened Manoah realized that the visitor had been the angel of the Lord. 22 Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!”[aq] 23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us.[ar] He would not have shown us all these things, or have spoken to us like this just now.”
24 Manoah’s wife[as] gave birth to a son and named him Samson.[at] The child grew and the Lord empowered[au] him. 25 The Lord’s Spirit began to control him[av] in Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Samson’s Unconsummated Marriage
14 Samson went down to Timnah, where a Philistine girl caught his eye.[aw] 2 When he got home,[ax] he told his father and mother, “A Philistine girl in Timnah has caught my eye.[ay] Now get her for my wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Certainly you can find a wife among your relatives or among all our[az] people! You should not have to go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines.”[ba] But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me,[bb] because she is the right one for me.”[bc] 4 Now his father and mother did not realize this was the Lord’s doing,[bd] because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble with the Philistines[be] (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).
5 Samson[bf] went down to Timnah. When he approached[bg] the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him.[bh] 6 The Lord’s Spirit empowered[bi] him, and he tore the lion[bj] in two with his bare hands[bk] as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.
7 Samson continued on down to Timnah[bl] and spoke to the girl. In his opinion, she was just the right one.[bm] 8 Some time later, when he went back to marry[bn] her, he turned aside to see the lion’s remains. He saw[bo] a swarm of bees in the lion’s carcass, as well as some honey. 9 He scooped it up with his hands and ate it as he walked along. When he returned[bp] to his father and mother, he offered them some and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had scooped the honey out of the lion’s carcass.[bq]
10 Then Samson’s father accompanied him to Timnah for the marriage.[br] Samson hosted a party[bs] there, for this was customary for bridegrooms[bt] to do. 11 When the Philistines saw he had no attendants, they gave him thirty groomsmen who kept him company.[bu] 12 Samson said to them, “I will give you a riddle. If you really can solve it during the seven days the party lasts,[bv] I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets[bw] of clothes. 13 But if you cannot solve it,[bx] you will give me thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes.” They said to him, “Let us hear your riddle.”[by] 14 He said to them,
“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;
out of the strong one came something sweet.”
They could not solve the riddle for three days.
15 On the fourth[bz] day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle.[ca] If you refuse,[cb] we will burn up[cc] you and your father’s family.[cd] Did you invite us here[ce] to make us poor?”[cf] 16 So Samson’s bride cried on his shoulder[cg] and said, “You must[ch] hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men[ci] a riddle, but you have not told me the solution.” He said to her, “Look, I have not even told my father or mother. Do you really expect me to tell you?”[cj] 17 She cried on his shoulder[ck] until the party was almost over.[cl] Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much.[cm] Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle.[cn] 18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
He said to them,
“If you had not plowed with my heifer,[co]
you would not have solved my riddle!”
19 The Lord’s Spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men. He took their clothes[cp] and gave them[cq] to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home.[cr] 20 Samson’s bride was then given to his best man.[cs]
Samson Versus the Philistines
15 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest,[ct] Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride.[cu] He said to her father,[cv] “I want to sleep with[cw] my bride in her bedroom!”[cx] But her father would not let him enter. 2 Her father said, “I really thought[cy] you absolutely despised[cz] her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!”[da] 3 Samson said to them,[db] “This time I am justified in doing the Philistines harm!”[dc] 4 Samson went and captured 300 jackals[dd] and got some torches. He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair.[de] 5 He lit the torches[df] and set the jackals loose in the Philistines’ standing grain. He burned up the grain heaps and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves. 6 The Philistines asked,[dg] “Who did this?” They were told,[dh] “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because the Timnite[di] took Samson’s[dj] bride and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father.[dk] 7 Samson said to them, “Because you did this,[dl] I will get revenge against you before I quit fighting.”[dm] 8 He struck them down and defeated them.[dn] Then he went down and lived for a time in the cave in the cliff of Etam.
9 The Philistines went up and invaded[do] Judah. They arrayed themselves for battle[dp] in Lehi. 10 The men of Judah said, “Why are you attacking[dq] us?” The Philistines[dr] said, “We have come up to take Samson prisoner so we can do to him what he has done to us.” 11 So 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?” He said to them, “I have only done to them what they have done to me.” 12 They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me[ds] you will not kill[dt] me.” 13 They said to him, “We promise![du] We will only take you prisoner and hand you over to them. We promise not to kill you.” They tied him up with two brand new ropes and led him up from the cliff. 14 When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s Spirit empowered[dv] him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in[dw] fire, and they[dx] melted away from his hands. 15 He happened to see[dy] a solid[dz] jawbone of a donkey. He grabbed it[ea] and struck down[eb] 1,000 men. 16 Samson then said,
“With the jawbone of a donkey
I have left them in heaps;[ec]
with the jawbone of a donkey
I have struck down a thousand men!”
17 When he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone down[ed] and named that place Ramath Lehi.[ee]
18 He was very thirsty, so he cried out to the Lord and said, “You have given your servant[ef] this great victory. But now must I die of thirst and fall into the hands of these uncircumcised Philistines?”[eg] 19 So God split open the basin[eh] at Lehi and water flowed out from it. When he took a drink, his strength[ei] was restored and he revived. For this reason he named the spring[ej] En Hakkore.[ek] It remains in Lehi to this very day. 20 Samson led[el] Israel for twenty years during the days of Philistine prominence.[em]
27 “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies,[a] do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat[b] you. 29 To the person who strikes you on the cheek,[c] offer the other as well,[d] and from the person who takes away your coat,[e] do not withhold your tunic[f] either.[g] 30 Give to everyone who asks you,[h] and do not ask for your possessions[i] back[j] from the person who takes them away. 31 Treat others[k] in the same way that you would want them to treat you.[l]
32 “If[m] you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners[n] love those who love them.[o] 33 And[p] if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even[q] sinners[r] do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid,[s] what credit is that to you? Even sinners[t] lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full.[u] 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back.[v] Then[w] your reward will be great, and you will be sons[x] of the Most High,[y] because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people.[z] 36 Be merciful,[aa] just as your Father is merciful.
Do Not Judge Others
37 “Do[ab] not judge,[ac] and you will not be judged;[ad] do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive,[ae] and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over,[af] will be poured[ag] into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive.”[ah]
39 He also told them a parable: “Someone who is blind cannot lead another who is blind, can he?[ai] Won’t they both fall[aj] into a pit? 40 A disciple[ak] is not greater than[al] his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why[am] do you see the speck[an] in your brother’s eye, but fail to see[ao] the beam of wood[ap] in your own? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while you yourself don’t see the beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
43 “For[aq] no good tree bears bad[ar] fruit, nor again[as] does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known[at] by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered[au] from thorns, nor are grapes picked[av] from brambles.[aw] 45 The good person out of the good treasury of his[ax] heart[ay] produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury[az] produces evil, for his mouth speaks[ba] from what fills[bb] his heart.
46 “Why[bc] do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’[bd] and don’t do what I tell you?[be]
47 “Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice[bf]—I will show you what he is like: 48 He is like a man[bg] building a house, who dug down deep,[bh] and laid the foundation on bedrock. When[bi] a flood came, the river[bj] burst against that house but[bk] could not shake it, because it had been well built.[bl] 49 But the person who hears and does not put my words into practice[bm] is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When[bn] the river burst against that house,[bo] it collapsed immediately, and was utterly destroyed!”[bp]
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