Samson is denied his wife. JUDGES, XV, XVI. Samson slayeth the Philistines. to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men] B. C. 1161. of them, and took their 6 spoil, and gave change of garments unto them or, appare!. which expounded the riddle. And t ch.15.2. his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house. 20 But Samson's wife was given t to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.u CHAPTER XV. u Jer.9.4. Mi.7.5. Jno.3.29. are rulers ƒ over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them. 12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson (CHAP. 15.) said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. a ch.14.20. let her be thine. UT it came to pass within a 2 or, blamewhile after, in the time of less from. wheat harvest, that Samson visited 3 or, torches. his wife with a kid; and he said, 1b 2Sa. 14.30. will go in to my wife into the c ch.14.15. chamber. But her father would not d ver. 19. suffer him to go in. 4 went down. 2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly e ch. 14.4. hated her; therefore a I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? 1 take her, I pray thee, instead of her. 3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be 2 more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. 4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took 3 firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. 5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn b of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives. f Ps. 106.41. h Ps. 18.34. 6 moist. i Ps.3.7. 9 or, Lehi. Is.40.29. 6 Then the Philistines said,k Is.44.3. Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son-in-law 10 i, e. the of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given herto his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt c her and her father with fire. 7 T And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease. 8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter. And he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam. 9 T Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah and spread themselves in Lehi.d 10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Sam-1 son are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us. well of him that called, or, cried, Ps.34.6. m He seems to have judged South-west Israel (CHAP. 16.) a woman, a 1Sa.23.26. 11 Then three thousand men of Judah 4 went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Know- 2 silent. est thou not that the e Philistines. 12. 13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock. 14 T And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and g the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords h that were upon his arins became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands 5 loosed from off his hands. 15 And he found a new jaw-bone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. 16 And Samson said, With the jaw-bone of an ass, 7 heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. 17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jaw-bone out of his hand, and called that place 8 Ramath-lehi. 18 T And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou i hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? 19 But God clave an hollow place that was in 9 the jaw, and there came k water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived. Wherefore he called the name thereof, 10 En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day. 20 And he judged m Israel, in the days of the Philistines twenty years. CHAPTER XVI. Samson escapeth, and carrieth away the gates of Gaza. THEN went Samson to Gaza, and saw there 1 an harlot, and went in unto her. THE 2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed a him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were 2 quiet all the night, saying, In the morning when it is day, we shall kill him. Delilah betrays Samson. JUDGES, XVI. 3 And Samson lay till midnight, B. C. 1140. and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, 3 bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron. 4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved ab woman 4 in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, c Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to 6 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 6 green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as 7 another man. 3 with the 1Ki.11.1. 4 or, by the c ch. 14. 15. Pr.2. 16-19. Samson's imprisonment. 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 d 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 10 vexed unto death; 7.21-27. 17 That he told e her all his heart, 1Cor.6.15- and said unto her, There hath not 18.come a razor upon mine head; for f 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. 5 or, humble. 6 moist, or, Tone. s smelleth. wherewith not been d ch. 14. 16. 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 g she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green 10 shortened. off the seven locks of his head; e Pr. 12.23. withs which had not been dried, 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. Nu. 14.42, 43. 1Sa.28.15. 11 bored out. 12 or, as mJob 30.9,10. Ps.35.15,16. 11 And he said unto her, If they k Jer.2.19. band me fast with new ropes 9 that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. 12 Delilah therefore took new 1 1Sa.5,2,&c. ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. (And there cere liers in wait abiding in the chamber.) And he brake them n Dan.5.4. from off his arms like a thread. B And Delilah said unto Samson, 13 and who Hitherto thou hast mocked me, multiplied and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest he bound. o ch.9.27. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my p Heb. 11.36. Lead with the web. 14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistimes be upon thee, Samson. And our slain. 14 before 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, Ih will go out, as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was i departed from him. 21 But the Philistines took him, and 11 put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and k bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prisonhouse. 22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again 12 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: m for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 24 And when the people saw him, they praised n their god for they said, Our God hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country; 13 which slew many of us. 25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, o that they said, Call for Samson that he may make usp sport. And they called for Samson out of the prisonhouse; and he made 14 them Death of Samson. JUDGES, XVII, XVIII. Miceth's idolatry. sport and they set him between B. C. 1120. | 5 And the man Micah had an 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. q Ps.91.15. r Ps.74.18-23. leaned on 27 Now the house was full of men and women and all the lords 15 or, he of the Philistines were there and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, 16 my soul. that beheld while Samson made] sport. 28 And Samson called q unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, rememberr 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. s Job 20.5. (CHAP. 17.) IS. d Ex.20.4,23. 29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and 15 on which it was borne up, of the one with his right, and of the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, Let 16 me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house s fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he fch.8.27. slew at his death were more thang Ge.31.19, they which he slew in his life. e Is.46.6. 30. 31 Then his brethren, and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him betweent Zorah and Eshtaol, in the burying-place of Manoah his father. And he judged ch.18.1,7. Israel twenty years. CHAPTER XVII. Micah hireth a Levite to be his priest. ND there was a man of mount al A Ephraim, whose Micah. name was IKI. 13.33. 19.1. 21.3,25. Deut. 12.8. Pr. 16.2. A Ru. 1.1.2. house of gods, and made an ephod f and teraphim, g and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king h in Israel, but every man did that i which was right in his own eyes. 7 And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah, k of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 And the man departed out of the city from Beth-lehem-judah, to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, 2 as he journeyed. 9 And Micah said unto him. Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place. 10 And Micah said unto him. Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and 3a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man: and the young man was unto him as one of his sons. 12 And Micah consecrated m the Levite; and the young man be came n his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13 Then said Micah. Now o know I that the LORD will do me good, seemg I have a Levite to my priest. CHAPTER XVIII. The Danites send five men to seek cut an inheritance. Na those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the 2 And he said unto his mother, in making tribe of the Danites & sought them The eleven hundred shekels of sil- an inheritance to dwell in: for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel. 2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them. Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, ther lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Meah, they knew the voice of the young man the Le vite: and they turned in thither, and sud unto ihm. Who brought thee hither? fand what makest thou in this pince and what hast thou here! 4 And he sud unto them, Thus land thus dealeth Leah with me, Laish searched. JUDGES, XVIII. and hath hired me, and I am his B. C. 1120. priest. d Hos.4.12. 5 And they said unto him, Ask d counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way e 1Ki.22.6. which we go shall be prosperous. 6 And the priest said unto them, ef Jos. 19.47, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go. called 2 possessor, or, heir of restraint. ver.2. Then the five men departed, and came to Laish,f and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; g and there was no 2 magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame, in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no i ver.7,27. business with any man. h Nu. 13.30. IKI.22.3. 8 And they came unto their bre-k Jos.2.23,24. thren to Zorahg and Eshtaol: and 1 Deut.8.9. their brethren said unto them, What say ye? 3 girded. m1Ch.13.5,6. 2Ch.1.4. 9 And they said, Arise, h that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and behold, it 18 very good and are ye still? ben ch.13.25. not slothful to go, and to enter to! possess the land. o ch.17.5. 10 When ye go, ye shall come un-4 to a people secure, i and to a large land; for God k hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth. 11 And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war. asked him of peace, Ge.43.27. ISa. 17.22. p ver. 11. q ver.2,14. r Job.21.5. 29.9. 40.4. Pr.30.32. Mi.7.16. 12 And they went up, and pitched m Kirjath-jearim, m in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan n unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjath-jearim.s ch. 17.10. 13 And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came untot Ge.21.17. The house of Micah. 2Ki.6.28. Then answered the five men That went to spy out the country of Lash, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses o an ephod, and teraphim,| and a graven image, and a molten Image? now therefore consider what ye have to do. Ps. 114.5. s art gathered together. u ver.7.10. 15 And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young De.33.22. man the Levite, even unto the ouse of Micah, and 4 saluted v ver.1,7. him. w Nu. 13.21. 25a.10.6. Jos. 19.47. 16 And the p six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, x Ge. 14.14. stood by the entering of the gate. 17 And the five q men that went to spy out the land went up, and rame in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the! IKI, 12.29, 30. 15.20. Laish burnt. teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war. 18 And these went into Micah's house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye? 19 And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay r thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be s to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel? 20 And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people. 21 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them. 22 T And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan. 23 And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What t aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company? 24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee? 25 And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest 6angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household. 26 And the children of Dan went their way and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house. 27 And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure and u they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer, v because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth-rebob. w And they built a city, and dwelt therein. 29 And r they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan Levite and his concubine JUDGES, XIX. their father, who was born unto B. C. 1406. Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first. 30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day y of the captivity of the land. 31 And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God z was in Shiloh. fetch home his wife. AND it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him? 1 a concubine out of Beth-lehemjudah. 2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Beth-lehem-judah, and was there 2 four whole months. y 1 Sa.4.2,&c. Ps. 78.60. z ch. 19.18. Jos. 18.1. 1 [CHAP. 19.] a woman, a concubine, or, a wife, a concubine. 2 days four or, a year 3 to her returning home. hold, now the day 6 draweth toward evening, d I pray you tarry all night: behold, 7 the day e groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go 8 home. that night, but he rose up and departed, and came 9 over against Jebus, f which is Jerusalem: and there were with him two asses saddled; his concubine also was with him. 10 But the man would not tarry 11 And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent ; and the servant said unto his master, Come. I pray thee,and let us turn in unto this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it. 12 And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass 4 strengthen, over to Gibeah. a Jer.3.1. ver.8. Ge. 18.5. b Ps. 104. 15. c ver.22. 13 And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah or in g Ramah. 14 And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down 3 And her husband arose, and went 5 till the day upon them when they were by Gi after her, to speak 3 friendly unto her, and to bring her again, a having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him. 4 And his father-in-law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there. 5 And it came to pass on the fourth day,when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart and the damsel's father said unto his son-in-law, 4 Comfort thineb heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way. 6 And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart c be merry. 7 And when the man rose up to depart, his father-in-law urged him therefore he lodged there again. | declined. 8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the damsel's father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And ch.6.23. they tarried 5 until afternoon, and they did eat both of them. Ge.43.23, 24. 9 And when the man rose up to m Ge. 19.2. depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, then Ge.24.32. damsel's father, said unto him, Be-! beah, which belongeth to Benjamin. 15 And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging.h 16 And behold, there came an old man from his work i out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites, 17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou? 18 And he said unto him, We are passing from Beth-lehem-judah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went to Beth-lehem-judah, but I am now going to the house k of the LORD; and there is no man that 10 receiv eth me to house. 19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young nan which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing. 20 And the old man said, Peace be with thee; howsoever, let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.m 21 Son he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the |