Judges 13

1 Bvt the children of Israel continued to commit wickednesse in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord deliuerd them into the handes of the Philistims fourtie yeere.

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.

2 Then there was a man in Zorah of the familie of the Danites, named Manoah, whose wife was baren, and bare not.

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

3 And the Angel of the Lord appeared vnto the woman, and said vnto her, Beholde nowe, thou art baren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceiue, and beare a sonne.

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.

4 And nowe therefore beware that thou drinke no wine, nor strong drinke, neither eate any vncleane thing.

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

5 For loe, thou shalt conceiue and beare a sonne, and no rasor shall come on his head: for the childe shall be a Nazarite vnto God from his birth: and he shall begin to saue Israel out of the handes of the Philistims.

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.”

6 Then the wife came, and tolde her husband, saying, A man of God came vnto me, and the facion of him was like the facion of the Angel of God exceeding feareful, but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name,

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.

7 But he saide vnto me, Beholde, thou shalt conceiue, and beare a sonne, and nowe thou shalt drinke no wine, nor strong drinke, neither eate any vncleane thing: for the childe shalbe a Nazarite to God from his birth to the day of his death.

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.’”

8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and saide, I pray thee, my Lord, Let the man of God, whome thou sentest, come againe nowe vnto vs, and teach vs what we shall doe vnto the child when he is borne.

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.”

9 And God heard the voyce of Manoah, and the Angel of God came againe vnto the wife, as she sate in the fielde, but Manoah her husband was not with her.

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,

10 And the wife made haste and ranne, and shewed her husband and sayde vnto him, Behold, the man hath appeared vnto me, that came vnto me to day.

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

11 And Manoah arose and went after his wife, and came to the man, and saide vnto him, Art thou the man that spakest vnto the woman? and he said, Yea.

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.”

12 Then Manoah sayde, Nowe let thy saying come to passe: but howe shall we order the childe and doe vnto him?

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?”

13 And the Angell of the Lord saide vnto Manoah, The woman must beware of all that I said vnto her.

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.

14 She may eate of nothing that commeth of the vinetree: she shall not drinke wine nor strong drinke, nor eate any vncleane thing: let her obserue all that I haue commanded her.

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.”

15 Manoah then said vnto the Angell of the Lord, I pray thee, let vs reteine thee, vntill we haue made readie a kid for thee.

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.”

16 And the Angel of the Lord said vnto Manoah, Though thou make me abide, I will not eate of thy bread, and if thou wilt make a burnt offring, offer it vnto the Lord: for Manoah knewe not that it was an Angel of the Lord.

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.

17 Againe Manoah said vnto the Angell of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy saying is come to passe, we may honour thee?

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

18 And the Angell of the Lord saide vnto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, which is secret?

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

19 Then Manoah tooke a kid with a meate offering, and offered it vpon a stone vnto the Lord: and the Angell did wonderously, whiles Manoah and his wife looked on.

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.

20 For when the flame came vp toward heauen from the altar, the Angel of the Lord ascended vp in the flame of the altar, and Manoah and his wife behelde it, and fell on their faces vnto the grounde.

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.

21 (So the Angel of the Lord did no more appeare vnto Manoah and his wife.) Then Manoah knewe that it was an Angel of the Lord.

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

22 And Manoah said vnto his wife, We shall surely dye, because we haue seene God.

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

23 But his wife saide vnto him, If the Lord woulde kill vs, he woulde not haue receiued a burnt offring, and a meate offring of our hands, neither would he haue shewed vs all these things, nor would now haue tolde vs any such.

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.”

24 And the wife bare a sonne, and called his name Samson: and the childe grewe, and the Lord blessed him.

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

25 And the Spirite of the Lord beganne to strengthen him in the host of Dan, betweene Zorah, and Eshtaol.

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