Dommer 16
1 Og Samson gik til Gaza, og han saa der en Kvinde, en Skøge, og kom til hende.
One day Samson went to Gaza [city in the Philistia area]. He spent some time with a prostitute.
2 Og man sagde til Gaziterne: Samson er kommen hid, og de gik omkring og lurede paa ham den ganske Nat ved Stadsporten; men de vare stille den ganske Nat, og de sagde: Naar det bliver lyst i Morgen, da ville vi slaa ham ihjel.
People soon found out that Samson was there, so the men of Gaza gathered together at the city gate and waited all night. They said to themselves, “When it dawns tomorrow morning, we will kill him [when he tries to leave the city].”
3 Og Samson laa indtil Midnatten, og han stod op om Midnat og tog fat paa Dørene af Stadens Port og paa begge Stolperne og løftede dem op tillige med Slaaerne og lagde dem paa sine Skuldre, og han bar dem op paa Toppen af det Bjerg, som er lige for Hebron.
But Samson did not stay there all night. At midnight, he got up. He went to the city gate, he took hold of its two posts, and he lifted it up out of the ground, with its [connecting cross] bar still attached. He put it on his shoulders and carried it [many miles] uphill to Hebron.
4 Og det skete derefter, at han fik Kærlighed til en Kvinde ved Bækken Sorek, og hendes Navn var Dalila.
Later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, [and started to live with her]. She lived in Sorek Valley [in the Philistia area].
5 Og Filisternes Fyrster kom op til hende og sagde til hende: Lok ham, og se, hvorudi hans store Kraft bestaar, og hvormed vi formaa noget imod ham, saa ville vi binde ham for at plage ham; og vi ville hver give dig tusinde og hundrede Sekel Sølv.
The Philistine leaders went to her and said, “Find out from Samson what makes him so strong. And find out how we can subdue him and tie him up securely. If you do that, each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”
6 Og Dalila sagde til Samson: Kære, giv mig til Kende, hvorudi din store Kraft bestaar, og hvormed du kan bindes, at man kan plage dig.
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong, and tell me how someone can subdue you and tie you up.”
7 Og Samson sagde til hende: Dersom de bandt mig med syv grønne Bast, som ikke ere blevne tørre, da blev jeg svag og blev som et andet Menneske.
Samson said, “If someone ties me with seven new bowstrings, ones that are not dry yet, I will become as weak as other men.”
8 Da bragte Filisternes Fyrster hende syv grønne Bast, som ikke vare tørre; og hun bandt ham med dem.
So [after Delilah told that to the Philistine leaders], they brought seven new bowstrings to Delilah.
9 Og hun havde een, som lurede, siddende i Kammeret; og hun sagde til ham: Filisterne ere over dig, Samson! men han sønderrev Bastene, som en Traad af Blaar sønderrives, naar den berøres af Ilden, og man fik ej at vide, hvori hans Kraft bestod.
Then she hid the men in one of the rooms in her house. Then [while Samson was sleeping], she tied him up with the bowstrings. Then she called out, “Samson! The Philistines have come here to capture you!” But Samson snapped the bowstrings as easily as though they were strings that had been singed in a fire. So the Philistines did not find out what made Samson so strong.
10 Da sagde Dalila til Samson: Se, du har bedraget mig og sagt Løgn for mig; kære, giv mig nu til Kende, hvormed du kan bindes.
Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have deceived me and lied to me! Now tell me [the truth, ] how someone can tie you up securely.”
11 Og han sagde til hende: Dersom de bandt mig fast med nye Beb, med hvilken ingen Gerning er gjort, da blev jeg svag og blev som et andet Menneske.
Samson replied, “If someone ties me with new ropes, ones that have never been used, I will be as weak as other men.”
12 Da tog Dalila nye Beb og bandt ham med dem, og hun sagde til ham: Filisterne ere over dig, Samson! men hun havde een, som lurede, siddende i Kammeret; og han rev dem af sine Arme som en Traad.
So again, [she told the Philistine leaders, and] they [came and] hid in the room as they had done before. And again, while Samson was sleeping, she took the new ropes and tied him up with them. Then she called out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson snapped the ropes on his arms as easily as if they were threads.
13 Og Dalila sagde til Samson: Hidindtil har du bedraget mig og sagt Løgn for mig, giv mig dog til Kende, hvormed du kan bindes? og han sagde til hende: Dersom du vævede mine syv Hovedlokker om Væverstangen.
Then Delilah said, “You have deceived me and lied to me [again]! Please tell me how someone can tie you up securely!” Samson replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair into the threads you are weaving on the loom, and then fasten those threads with the pin [that makes the threads tight], then I will be as weak as other men.” So again, while Samson was sleeping on her lap, Delilah held the seven braids of his hair, and wove them into the threads on the loom,
14 Og hun fæstede dem til med en Nagle, og hun sagde til ham: Filisterne ere over dig, Samson! men han vaagnede op af sin Søvn og rykkede Vævernaglen op tillige med Væverstangen.
and she tightened them with the pin. Then she called out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson woke up and pulled out the pin, and pulled his hair from the threads on the loom.
15 Og hun sagde til ham: Hvorledes kan du sige: Jeg elsker dig, da dit Hjerte ikke er med mig? nu har du tre Gange bedraget mig og ikke givet mig til Kende, hvori din store Kraft bestaar.
Then Delilah said to him, “How can you say that you love me when you do not tell me the truth about yourself? You have deceived me three times, and you still have not told me what really makes you so strong!”
16 Men det skete, der hun trængte ham alle Dage med sine Ord og plagede ham meget, da blev hans Sjæl bekymret indtil Døden.
Day after day she nagged him like that. He thought he would die from her nagging [IDM].
17 Og han gav hende sit ganske Hjerte til Kende og sagde til hende: Der kom ikke Bagekniv paa mit Hoved, thi jeg er en Guds Nasiræer fra Moders Liv af; dersom jeg rages, da viger min Kraft fra mig, og jeg bliver svag og bliver som alle andre Mennesker.
Finally Samson told her the truth. He said, “I have been set apart for God since the day I was born. And because of that, my hair has never been cut. If my hair were shaved off, my strength would be gone, and I would be as weak as other men.”
18 Der Dalila saa, at han havde givet hende sit ganske Hjerte til Kende, da sendte hun hen og lod kalde Filisternes Fyrster og sige: Kommer denne Gang op, thi han har givet mig sit ganske Hjerte til Kende; da kom Filisternes Fyrster op til hende og bragte Sølvet op i deres Haand.
Delilah realized that this time he had told her the truth. So she summoned the Philistine leaders again, saying, “Come back one more time, because Samson has really told me everything [about why he is so strong]”. So the Philistine leaders returned and brought to Delilah the money [that they promised to give her].
19 Og hun lod ham sove paa sine Knæ og kaldte ad en Mand og lod hans syv Hovedlokker afrage; og hun begyndte at plage ham; da var hans Kraft vegen fra ham.
Again she lulled Samson to sleep, with his head in her lap. Then she called one of the Philistine men to come and shave off Samson’s hair. As he did that, Samson began to get weaker. And finally his strength was all gone.
20 Og hun sagde: Filisterne ere over dig, Samson! og han vaagnede op af sin Søvn og sagde: Jeg vil gaa ud, som jeg mange Gange har gjort, og slide mig løs; men han vidste ikke, at Herren var vegen fra ham.
Then [after she tied him up], she called out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” He woke up and thought, “I will do as I did before. I will shake [these ropes] off myself and be free!” But he did not realize that Yahweh had left him.
21 Men Filisterne grebe ham og stak hans Øjne ud; og de førte ham ned til Gaza og bandt ham med to Kobberlænker, og han malede i Fangernes Hus.
So the Philistine men seized him and gouged out his eyes. Then they took him to Gaza. There they put him in prison and bound him with bronze chains. They made him [turn a millstone to] grind grain [every day].
22 Og hans Hovedhaar begyndte at gro, hvor han var raget.
But his hair started to grow again.
23 Men Filisternes Fyrster samledes, for at ofre til deres Gud, Dagon, et stort Offer og for at være glade; thi de sagde: Vor Gud har givet vor Fjende Samson i vor Haand.
[Several months later] the Philistine leaders celebrated a big festival. During the festival they offered sacrifices to their god Dagon. They praised him, saying, “Our god has enabled us to defeat our great enemy Samson!”
24 Og der Folket saa ham, da lovede de deres Gud; thi de sagde: Vor Gud har givet vor Fjende i vor Haand, og den, som ødelagde vort Land og slog mange af vore ihjel.
And when the other people saw Samson, they also praised their god Dagon, saying, “Samson ruined our crops and killed many of our people, but our god has put our enemy into our hands. Our god helped us to capture the one who has killed so many of us!”
25 Og det skete, der deres Hjerter vare vel til Mode, da sagde de: Kalder ad Samson og lader ham lege for os; da kaldte de Samson ud af Fangernes Hus, og han legede for deres Aasyn, og de stillede ham imellem Pillerne.
By that time the people were half-drunk. They shouted, “Bring Samson out of the prison! Bring him here so that he can entertain us!” So they brought Samson from the prison and made fun of him. Then they made him stand in the center of the temple. They made him stand between the two pillars that held up the roof.
26 Men Samson sagde til den unge Karl, som holdt ham ved hans Haand: Lad mig hvile og lad mig føle paa de Piller, som bære Huset, at jeg kan hælde mig op til dem.
Samson said to the servant who was leading him by his hand, “Place my hands against the two pillars. I want to rest against them.”
27 Og Huset var fuldt af Mænd og Kvinder, der var og alle Filisternes Fyrster, og paa Taget vare ved tre Tusinde Mænd og Kvinder, som saa til, da Samson legede.
At that time the temple was full of men and women. All the Philistine leaders were also there. And there were about 3,000 people on the roof, watching Samson and making fun of him.
28 Men Samson kaldte paa Herren og sagde: Herre, Herre! Kære, kom mig i Hu! og styrk mig dog, Gud! denne Gang, at jeg maa een Gang hævne mig til Gavns paa Filisterne for begge mine Øjnes Skyld.
Then Samson prayed, saying, “Yahweh, my Lord, think about me again! Please give me strength one more time, so that I may get revenge on the Philistines for gouging out my eyes!”
29 Og Samson greb omkring de to midterste Piller, som bare Huset, og han støttede sig mod dem, den ene var i hans højre og den anden i hans venstre Haand.
Then Samson put his hands on the two center pillars of the temple. He put his right hand on one pillar and his left hand on the other pillar.
30 Og Samson sagde: Min Sjæl dø med Filisterne! og han bøjede sig med Kraft: Da faldt Huset paa Fyrsterne og paa alt Folket, som vare derudi, og de døde vare flere, som han dræbte ved sin Død, end han dræbte i sit Liv.
Then he shouted [to God], “Let me die with the Philistines!”, and he pushed with all his strength. [The pillars collapsed], and the temple crashed down on the Philistine leaders and all the other Philistine people, [and they all died]. So Samson killed more people when he died than he had killed all during his life.
31 Da kom hans Brødre og hans Faders ganske Hus ned, og de toge ham op, og de droge op og begravede ham imellem Zora og Esthaol, hans Fader Manoas Grav; men han havde dømt Israel tyve Aar.
Later his brothers and their relatives went down [from Zorah to Gaza] to get his body. They took it back home and buried it between Zorah and Eshtaol, at the place where Samson’s father Manoah was buried. Samson had been Israel’s leader for 20 years.
