Judges 13

1 And again, the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. And he delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

Bangsa Israel kembali berbuat jahat di mata TUHAN. Maka TUHAN menyerahkan mereka kepada bangsa Filistin, sehingga Filistin menindas mereka selama empat puluh tahun.

2 Now there was a certain man from Zorah, and of the stock of Dan, whose name was Manoah, having a barren wife.

Pada masa itu, ada seorang dari suku Dan yang bernama Manoah. Dia tinggal di kota Zora. Istrinya mandul sehingga mereka tidak punya anak.

3 And an Angel of the Lord appeared to her, and he said: “You are barren and without children. But you shall conceive and bear a son.

Suatu hari, seorang malaikat muncul kepada istri Manoah dan berkata, “Meskipun selama ini kamu mandul dan tidak memiliki anak, kamu akan hamil dan melahirkan seorang anak laki-laki.

4 Therefore, take care that you do not drink wine or strong drink. Neither shall you eat anything unclean.

Karena itu jagalah dirimu. Jangan minum anggur ataupun minuman keras lainnya, dan jangan makan apa pun yang haram,

5 For you shall conceive and bear a son, whose head no razor shall touch. For he shall be a Nazirite of God, from his infancy and from his mother’s womb. And he shall begin to free Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

sebab kamu akan mengandung dan melahirkan anak laki-laki. Rambutnya tidak boleh dipotong karena dia akan menjadi pengabdi Allah sejak dalam kandungan. Dia akan menyelamatkan Israel dari penindasan orang Filistin.”

6 And when she had gone to her husband, she said to him: “A man of God came to me, having the countenance of an Angel, exceedingly terrible. And when I had inquired of him, who he was, and where he was from, and what name he was called, he was not willing to tell me.

Kemudian perempuan itu mendatangi suaminya dan berkata, “Tadi seorang utusan Allah datang menemui aku. Dia terlihat sangat menakjubkan, seperti malaikat. Aku tidak menanyakan asalnya. Dia juga tidak memberitahukan namanya.

7 But he responded: ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Take care that you do not drink wine or strong drink. And you shall not consume anything unclean. For the boy shall be a Nazirite of God from his infancy, from his mother’s womb, even until the day of his death.’”

Tetapi dia berkata, ‘Kamu akan hamil dan melahirkan seorang anak laki-laki. Jangan minum anggur ataupun minuman keras lainnya, dan jangan makan apa pun yang haram, karena anakmu akan menjadi orang nazir sejak dalam kandungan sampai dia mati.’”

8 And so Manoah prayed to the Lord, and he said, “I beg you Lord, that the man of God, whom you sent, may come again, and may teach us what we ought to do about the boy who is to be born.”

Lalu Manoah berdoa kepada TUHAN, “Ya Allah, kiranya utusan-Mu itu kembali kepada kami untuk mengajarkan kami cara membesarkan anak yang akan lahir itu.”

9 And the Lord heeded the prayer of Manoah, and the Angel of the Lord appeared again to his wife, sitting in a field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. And when she had seen the Angel,

Allah mendengar doa Manoah. Maka malaikat itu kembali menemui istrinya ketika dia sedang duduk-duduk di ladang. Saat itu Manoah sedang tidak bersamanya.

10 she hurried and ran to her husband. And she reported to him, saying, “Behold, the man appeared to me, whom I had seen before.”

Perempuan itu pun segera berlari kepada suaminya dengan tergesa-gesa dan memberitahukan, “Orang yang waktu itu datang menemuiku muncul lagi.”

11 And he rose up and followed his wife. And going to the man, he said to him, “Are you the one who spoke to my wife?” And he responded, “I am.”

Manoah segera mengikuti istrinya. Dia menemui orang itu dan bertanya, “Apakah Tuan orang yang waktu itu berbicara kepada istri saya ini?” Jawabnya, “Ya, benar.”

12 And Manoah said to him: “When will your word be fulfilled. What do you want the boy to do? Or from what should he keep himself?”

Lanjut Manoah, “Sesudah yang Tuan katakan itu terjadi, bagaimana cara kami membesarkan anak itu, dan apa yang kelak harus dia lakukan?”

13 And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah: “Concerning all the things about which I have spoken to your wife, she herself should abstain.

Jawab malaikat itu, “Turutilah semua yang sudah aku sampaikan kepada istrimu.

14 And let her eat nothing from the vine. She may not drink wine or strong drink. She may consume nothing unclean. And let her observe and keep what I have instructed to her.”

Dia tidak boleh makan apa pun yang berasal dari pohon anggur. Dia juga tidak boleh minum anggur ataupun minuman keras lainnya, dan tidak boleh memakan apa pun yang haram. Semua yang sudah aku perintahkan itu harus dia turuti.”

15 And Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “I beg you to agree to my petition, and to let us prepare a kid from the goats.”

Lalu kata Manoah kepada malaikat itu, “Izinkanlah kami menahan Tuan di sini, agar kami dapat menyajikan daging kambing muda untuk Tuan.”

16 And the Angel answered him: “Even if you compel me, I will not eat from your bread. But if you are willing to offer a holocaust, offer it to the Lord.” And Manoah did not know that he was an Angel of the Lord.

Jawab malaikat itu, “Walaupun aku menunggu, aku tidak akan memakan apa yang kamu sajikan. Tetapi kamu boleh menyiapkan kurban yang dibakar habis dan mempersembahkannya kepada TUHAN.” (Manoah belum menyadari bahwa orang itu adalah malaikat.)

17 And he said to him, “What is your name, so that, if your word is fulfilled, we may honor you?”

Manoah kembali bertanya, “Siapa nama Tuan? Supaya waktu apa yang Tuan katakan itu terjadi, kami dapat menghormati Tuan.”

18 And he answered him, “Why do you ask my name, which is a wonder?”

“Mengapa kamu menanyakan namaku?” kata malaikat itu, “Namaku terlalu ajaib untuk diterima oleh pikiranmu.”

19 And so, Manoah took a kid from the goats, and libations, and he placed them upon a rock, as an offering to the Lord, who accomplishes wonders. Then he and his wife watched.

Kemudian Manoah mengambil seekor anak kambing dan mempersembahkannya kepada TUHAN sebagai kurban yang dibakar habis di atas sebuah batu, beserta dengan persembahan gandum-gandumannya. Sementara Manoah dan istrinya menyaksikan, TUHAN melakukan suatu keajaiban.

20 And when the flame of the altar ascended to heaven, the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. And when Manoah and his wife had seen this, they fell prone on the ground.

Saat api dari mezbah batu itu membubung tinggi ke langit, malaikat itu ikut naik ke atas dalam api. Melihat itu, Manoah dan istrinya tersungkur di tanah dan sujud menyembah.

21 And the Angel of the Lord no longer appeared to them. And immediately, Manoah understood him to be an Angel of the Lord.

Malaikat itu tidak pernah muncul lagi kepada Manoah dan istrinya. Sesudah peristiwa itu, Manoah tahu bahwa orang itu adalah malaikat utusan TUHAN.

22 And he said to his wife, “We shall certainly die, since we have seen God.”

Lalu Manoah berkata kepada istrinya, “Kita pasti akan mati karena kita sudah melihat Allah!”

23 And his wife answered him, “If the Lord wished to kill us, he would not have accepted the holocaust and the libations from our hands. He would not have revealed all these things to us, nor would he have told us the things that are in the future.”

Tetapi jawab istrinya, “Jika TUHAN mau membunuh kita, tidak mungkin Dia menerima kurban dan persembahan gandum-ganduman kita. Dan tidak mungkin juga Dia melakukan keajaiban tadi, bahkan memberitahukan hal-hal luar biasa itu kepada kita.”

24 And so she bore a son, and she called his name Samson. And the boy grew up, and the Lord blessed him.

Beberapa waktu kemudian, istri Manoah melahirkan seorang anak laki-laki. Dia menamainya Simson. Anak itu tumbuh besar dan TUHAN memberkatinya.

25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to be with him in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Roh TUHAN mulai menggerakkan hati Simson ketika dia tinggal di Mahane Dan yang terletak di antara kota Zora dan kota Estaol.