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 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 Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; 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 the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman, and said to her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: 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, I pray thee, and drink not 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.”

For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel from 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.

Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not where he was from, neither did he 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.’”

But he said to me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to 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 Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God whom thou didst send come again to us, and teach us what we shall do to 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 God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah 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 showed her husband, and said to him, Behold, the man hath appeared to me, that came to 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 Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Art thou the man that didst speak to 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 Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do to 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 Manoah, Of all that I said to the woman let her 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 may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

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

And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready 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 of the LORD said to Manoah, Though thou shouldest detain me, I will not eat of thy food: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it to the LORD. For Manoah 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 Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?

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 askest thou thus after my name, seeing 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.

So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock to the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah 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.

For it came to pass, when the flame ascended toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and 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.

But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew 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 Manoah 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 kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.

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, 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 at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.