Judges 13

1 Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

And the children of Israel yet again committed iniquity before the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Phylistines forty years.

2 Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children.

And there was a man of Saraa, of the family of the kindred of Dan, and his name was Manoe, and his wife was barren, and bore not.

3 The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to the woman, and said to her, Behold, thou art barren and hast not born; yet thou shalt conceive a son.

4 Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean.

And now be very cautious, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat no unclean thing;

5 For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

for behold, thou art with child, and shalt bring forth a son; and there shall come no razor upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Phylistines.

6 So the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. His appearance was like the angel of God, exceedingly awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

And the woman went in, and spoke to her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his appearance [was as] of an angel of God, very dreadful; and I did not ask him whence he was, and he did not tell me his name.

7 But he said to me, ‘Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. Now, therefore, do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb until the day of his death.’”

And he said to me, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bring forth a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat no unclean thing; for the child shall be holy to God from the womb until the day of his death.

8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, “Please, O Lord, let the man of God You sent us come to us again to teach us how to raise the boy who is to be born.”

And Manoe prayed to the Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord my lord, [concerning] the man of God whom thou sentest; let him now come to us once more, and teach us what we shall do to the child about to be born.

9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God returned to the woman as she was sitting in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her.

And the Lord heard the voice of Manoe, and the angel of God came yet again to the woman; and she sat in the field, and Manoe her husband was not with her.

10 The woman ran quickly to tell her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has reappeared!”

And the woman hasted, and ran, and brought word to her husband, and said to him, Behold the man who came in [the other] day to me has appeared to me.

11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” “I am,” he said.

And Manoe arose and followed his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Art thou the man that spoke to the woman? and the angel said, I [am].

12 Then Manoah asked, “When your words come to pass, what will be the boy’s rule of life and mission?”

And Manoe said, Now shall [thy] word come to pass: what shall be the ordering of the child, and our dealings with him?

13 So the angel of the LORD answered Manoah, “Your wife is to do everything I told her.

And the angel of the Lord said to Manoe, Of all things concerning which I spoke to the woman, she shall beware.

14 She must not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor drink any wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”

She shall eat of nothing that comes of the vine yielding wine, and let her not drink wine or strong liquor, and let her not eat anything unclean: all things that I have charged her she shall observe.

15 “Please stay here,” Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.”

And Manoe said to the angel of the Lord, Let us detain thee here, and prepare before thee a kid of the goats.

16 And the angel of the LORD replied, “Even if I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” For Manoah did not know that it was the angel of the LORD.

And the angel of the Lord said to Manoe, If thou shouldest detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wouldest offer a whole-burnt-offering, to the Lord thou shalt offer it: for Manoe knew not that he [was] an angel of the Lord.

17 Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes to pass?”

And Manoe said to the angel of the Lord, What [is] thy name, that [when] thy word shall come to pass, we may glorify thee?

18 “Why do you ask my name,” said the angel of the LORD, “since it is beyond comprehension?”

And the angel of the Lord said to him, Why dost thou thus ask after my name; whereas it is wonderful?

19 Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD. And as Manoah and his wife looked on, the LORD did a marvelous thing.

And Manoe took a kid of the goats and its meat-offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord; and [the angel] wrought a distinct work, and Manoe and his wife were looking on.

20 When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground.

And it came to pass when the flame went up above the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord went up in the flame; and Manoe and his wife were looking, and they fell upon their face to the earth.

21 And when the angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it had been the angel of the LORD.

And the angel appeared no more to Manoe and to his wife: then Manoe knew that this [was] an angel of the Lord.

22 “We are going to die,” he said to his wife, “for we have seen God!”

And Manoe said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

23 But his wife replied, “If the LORD had intended to kill us, He would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things or spoken to us this way.”

But his wife said to him, If the Lord were pleased to slay us, he would not have received of our hand a whole-burnt-offering and a meat-offering; and he would not have shewn us all these things, neither would he have caused us to hear all these things

24 So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him.

And the woman brought forth a son, and she called his name Sampson; and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

And the Spirit of the Lord began to go out with him in the camp of Dan, and between Saraa and Esthaol.