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 did evil again in the sight of the Lord: and he delivered them into the hands of the Philistines 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.

Now there was a certain man of Saraa, and of the race of Dan, whose name was Manue, and his wife was barren.

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 her, and said: Thou art barren and without children: but thou shalt conceive and bear a son.

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

Now therefore beware and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any 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.”

Because thou shalt conceive and bear a son, and no razor shall touch his head: for he shall be a Nazarite of God, from his infancy, and from his mother’s womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.

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 when she was come to her husband she said to him: A man of God came to me, having the countenance of an angel, very awful. And when I asked him who he was, and whence he came, and by what name he was called, he would not tell me.

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.’”

But he answered thus: Behold thou shalt conceive and bear a son: beware thou drink no wine, nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite of God from his infancy, from his mother’s 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.”

Then Manue prayed to the Lord, and said: I beseech thee, O Lord, that the mail of God, whom thou didst send, may come again, and teach us what we ought to do concerning the child that shall 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 prayer of Manue, and the angel of the Lord appeared again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But Manue her husband was not with her. And when she saw the angel,

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

She made haste and ran to her husband: and told him saying: Behold the man hath appeared to me whom I saw before.

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.

He rose up and followed his wife: and coming to the man, said to him: Art thou he that spoke to the woman? And he answered: I am.

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

And Manue said to him: When thy word shall come to pass, what wilt thou that the child should do? or from what shall he keep himself?

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 Manue: From all the things I have spoken of to thy wife, let her refrain herself:

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.”

And let her eat nothing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: and whatsoever I have commanded her, let her fulfill and observe.

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

And Manue said to the angel of the Lord: I beseech thee to consent to my request, and let us dress a kid for thee.

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 answered him: If thou press me, I will not eat of thy bread: but if thou wilt offer a holocaust, offer it to the Lord. And Manue knew not it was the 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 he said to him: What is thy name, that, if thy word shall come to pass, we may honour thee?

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

And he answered him: Why askest thou my name, which 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.

Then Manue took a kid of the flocks, and the libations, and put them upon a rock, offering to the Lord, who doth wonderful things: and he and his wife looked 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 when the flame from the altar went up towards heaven, the angel of the lord ascended also in the flame. And when Manue and his wife saw this, they fell flat on the ground.

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 of the Lord appeared to them no more. And forthwith Manue understood that it was an angel of the Lord,

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

And he said to his wife: We shall certainly 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.”

And his wife answered him: If the Lord had a mind to kill us, he would not have received a holocaust and libations at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor have told us the things that are to come.

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

And she bore a son, and called his name Samson. 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 be with him in the camp of Dan, between Saraa and Esthaol.