< Judges 15 >

1 But it came to pass after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid. And he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber, but her father would not allow him to go in.
`Forsothe aftir sum del of tyme, whanne the daies of wheete heruest neiyiden, Sampson cam, and wolde visite his wijf, and he brouyte to hir a `kide of geet; and when he wolde entre in to hir bed bi custom, `the fadir of hir forbeed hym, and seide,
2 And her father said, I truly thought that thou had utterly hated her, therefore I gave her to thy companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Take her, I pray thee, instead of her.
Y gesside that thou haddist hatid hir, and therfor Y yaf hir to thi freend; but sche hath a sistir, which is yongere and fairere than sche, be sche `wijf to thee for hir.
3 And Samson said to them, This time I shall be blameless in regard of the Philistines when I do them a mischief.
To whom Sampson answeride, Fro this day no blame schal be in me ayens Filistees, for Y schal do yuels to you.
4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between every two tails.
And he yede, and took thre hundrid foxis, and ioynede `the tailis of hem to tailis, and boond brondis in the myddis,
5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and the standing grain, and also the oliveyards.
whiche he kyndlid with fier, and leet hem, that thei schulden renne aboute hidur and thidur; `which yeden anoon in to the cornes of Filisteis, bi whiche kyndlid, bothe cornes `borun now to gidere, and yit stondynge in the stobil, weren brent, in so myche that the flawme wastide vyneris, and `places of olyue trees.
6 Then the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they said, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
And Filisteis seiden, Who dide this thing? To whiche it was seid, Sampson, hosebonde of the `douytir of Thannathei, for he took awey Sampsones wijf, and yaf to another man, `wrouyte this thing. And Filisteis stieden, and brenten bothe the womman and hir fadir.
7 And Samson said to them, If ye do after this manner, surely I will be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
To whiche Sampson seide, Thouy ye han do this, netheles yit Y schal axe veniaunce of you, and than Y schal reste.
8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter. And he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
And he smoot hem with greet wounde, so that thei wondriden, and `puttiden the hyndrere part of the hipe on the thiy; and he yede doun, and dwellide in the denne of the stoon of Ethan.
9 Then the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
Therfor Filisteis stieden in to the lond of Juda, and settiden tentis in the place, that was clepid aftirward Lethi, that is, a cheke, wher `the oost of hem was spred a brood.
10 And the men of Judah said, Why have ye come up against us? And they said, We come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.
And men of the lynage of Juda seiden to hem, Whi `stieden ye ayens vs? Whiche answeriden, We comen that we bynde Sampson, and yelde to hym tho thingis whiche he wrouyte in vs.
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, Know thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that thou have done to us? And he said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.
Therfor thre thousynde of men of Juda yeden doun to the denne of the flynt of Ethan; and thei seiden to Sampson, Woost thou not, that Filisteis comaunden to vs? Why woldist thou do this thing? To whiche he seide.
12 And they said to him, We have come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Swear to me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.
As thei diden to me, Y dide to hem. Thei seien, We comen to bynde thee, and to bitake thee in to the `hondis of Filisteis. To whiche Sampson answeride, Swere ye, and `biheete ye to me, that ye sle not me.
13 And they spoke to him, saying, No, but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand, but truly we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.
And thei seiden, We schulen not sle thee, but we schulen bitake thee boundun. And thei bounden him with twei newe cordis, and token fro the stoon of Ethan.
14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and the ropes that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.
And whanne thei hadden come to the place of cheke, and Filisteis criynge hadden runne to hym, the spirit of the Lord felde in to hym, and as stikis ben wont to be wastid at the odour of fier, so and the bondis, with whiche he was boundun, weren scaterid and vnboundun.
15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put forth his hand, and took it, and smote a thousand men with it.
And he took a cheke foundun, that is, the lowere cheke boon of an asse, that lay, `and he killyde `with it a thousinde men; and seide,
16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have smitten a thousand men.
With the cheke of an asse, that is, with the lowere cheke of a colt of femal assis, Y dide hem awey, and Y killide a thousynde men.
17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place was called Ramath-lehi.
And whanne he songe these wordis, and `hadde fillid, he castide forth fro the hond the lowere cheke; and he clepide the name of that place Ramath Lethi, `which is interpretid, the reisyng of a cheke.
18 And he was very thirsty, and called on Jehovah, and said, Thou have given this great deliverance by the hand of thy servant, and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
And he thristide greetly, and criede to the Lord, and seide, Thou hast youe in the hond of thi seruaunt this grettest helthe and victory; and lo! Y die for thyrst, and Y schal falle in to the hondis of vncircumcidid men.
19 But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out there. And when he had drunk his spirit came again, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.
Therfor the Lord openyde a wang tooth in the cheke boon of the asse, and watris yeden out therof, `bi whiche drunkun he refreischide the spirit, and resseuede strengthis; therfor the name of that place was clepid the Welle of the clepere of the cheke `til to present dai.
20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
And he demyde Israel in the daies of Filistiym twenti yeer.

< Judges 15 >