Judges 13

1 The Israelites continued to do what was evil in the Lord's sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines to rule them 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 At that time there was a man named Manoah. He was from the tribe of Dan and lived in the town of Zorah. His wife couldn't conceive 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 her and told her, “It's true that you couldn't conceive, and have no children, but now you're going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.

And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman, and said to her, Behold now, you are barren, and bore not: but you shall conceive, and bear a son.

4 So then please be careful not to drink any wine or other alcoholic drink, and don't eat anything unclean.

Now therefore beware, I pray you, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

5 You're going to become pregnant and have a son whose head a razor must never touch, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from birth. He will start the process of saving Israel from the Philistines.”

For, see, you shall 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 out of the hand of the Philistines.

6 The woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the Angel of God, really frightening. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't 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 from where he was, neither told he me his name:

7 But he told me, ‘You're going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, and don't eat anything unclean. For the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from birth until the day of his death.’”

But he said to me, Behold, you shall 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, Lord, let the man of God you sent us return to us to explain what we're supposed to do with the boy who is to be born.”

Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which you did send come again to us, and teach us what we shall do to the child that shall be born.

9 God responded to Manoah's request, and the Angel of God returned to the woman while she was sitting out in the field. However, her husband Manoah was not with her.

And God listened 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 So she ran quickly to tell her husband, “Look! The man who appeared to me the other day has come back!”

And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her husband, and said to him, Behold, the man has appeared to me, that came to me the other day.

11 Manoah got up and went back with his wife, and asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife before?” “Yes I am,” he replied.

And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Are you the man that spoke to the woman? And he said, I am.

12 So Manoah said, “May your promise come true! What shall be decided for the boy, and what is to be his vocation?”

And Manoah said, Now let your words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do to him?

13 “Make sure your wife is careful to follow everything I told her,” the angel of the Lord replied.

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 or drink wine or any other alcoholic drink. She must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must follow everything I instructed her to do.”

She may not eat of any thing that comes 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 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us keep you here while we prepare a meal of a young goat for you.”

And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, I pray you, let us detain you, until we shall have made ready a kid for you.

16 The angel of the Lord replied, “I'll stay, but I won't eat your food. However, if you prepare a burnt offering, you can present it to the Lord.” (Manoah didn't know he was the angel of the Lord.)

And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, Though you detain me, I will not eat of your bread: and if you will offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.

17 Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so when your promise comes true we may honor you?”

And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, What is your name, that when your sayings come to pass we may do you honor?

18 “Why do you ask this?” the angel of the Lord responded. “My name is beyond comprehension.”

And the angel of the LORD said to him, Why ask you thus after my name, seeing it is secret?

19 Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and presented them on a rock to the Lord. As Manoah and his wife watched, the LORD did something amazing.

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

20 As the flame from the altar blazed up into the sky, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Manoah and his wife saw what happened and fell with their faces to the ground.

For it came to pass, when the flame went up 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 The angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah or his wife again, and Manoah realized that he was 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're definitely going to die,” he told 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 wanted to kill us he wouldn't have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He wouldn't have shown us all these things, and he wouldn't have come now and announced this to us.”

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 She gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew up, 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 The Spirit of the Lord began to prompt him at Mahaneh Dan, a place 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.