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 again the evil in the eyes of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand 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.

And there was a certain man of Zor'ah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoach; and his wife was barren, and did not bear.

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 there appeared an angel of the Lord unto the woman, and he said unto her, Behold, thou art barren, and hast not born; but thou wilt conceive, and bear a son.

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

And now do beware, and drink neither wine nor strong drink, and eat not any thing unclean.

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, lo, thou wilt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for a Nazarite of God shall the lad be from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand 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 the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his appearance was like the appearance of an angel of God, very terrible; but I asked him not whence he might be, and his name he did 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.’”

And he said unto me, Behold, thou wilt conceive, and bear a son; and now thou must drink neither wine nor strong drink, and not eat anything unclean; for the child shall be a Nazarite of 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 Manoach entreated the Lord, and said, Hear me, O Lord, let the man of God, whom thou didst send, come again unto us, and instruct us what we shall do unto the child that is 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 God hearkened to the voice of Manoach; and the angel of God came again unto the woman, as she was sitting in the field; and Manoach 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 made haste, and ran, and informed her husband; and she said unto him, Behold, there hath appeared unto me the man, that came unto me the other day.

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 Manoach arose, and went after his wife; and he came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spokest unto the woman? and he 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 Manoach said, If now thy words come to pass, what shall be [our] proceeding with the child, and what shall be done unto 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 unto Manoach, Of all that I have said unto the woman must she 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.”

Of any thing that cometh of the grape-vine she may not eat, and wine or strong drink she may not drink, and any thing unclean she may not eat: all that I commanded her must she observe.

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

And Manoach said unto the angel of the Lord, Let us, I pray thee, detain thee, and we will make a kid ready 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 of the Lord said unto Manoach, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; but if thou wilt offer a burnt-offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord; for Manoach 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 Manoach said unto the angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that, when thy word cometh to pass, we may do thee honor?

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 unto him, Why is it that thou wilt ask after my name, seeing it is secret?

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 Manoach took the kid and the meat-offering, and offered it upon the rock unto the Lord: and he did wondrously; and Manoach 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 it came to pass, when the flame went up from off the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar; and Manoach and his wife looked on, and they fell on their faces to 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 was no longer visible to Manoach and to his wife: then knew Manoach that he was an angel of the Lord.

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

And Manoach said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because a divine being have we seen.

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 unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received from our hand a burnt-offering and a meat-offering, nor would he have let us see all these things, and at this time he would not have let us hear [such a thing] as this.

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

And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson; and the child grew up, 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 move him in Machaneh-dan between Zor'ah and Eshtaol.