< Judges 16 >

1 And Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her.
Abiit quoque in Gazam, et vidit ibi mulierem meretricem, ingressusque est ad eam.
2 And it was told the Gazites, saying: 'Samson is come hither.' And they compassed him in, and lay in wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying: 'Let be till morning light, then we will kill him.'
Quod cum audissent Philisthiim, et percrebruisset apud eos intrasse urbem Samson, circumdederunt eum, positis in porta civitatis custodibus: et ibi tota nocte cum silentio præstolantes, ut facto mane exeuntem occiderent.
3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
Dormivit autem Samson usque ad medium noctem: et inde consurgens, apprehendit ambas portæ fores cum postibus suis et sera, impositasque humeris suis portavit ad verticem montis, qui respicit Hebron.
4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
Post hæc amavit mulierem, quæ habitabat in valle Sorec, et vocabatur Dalila.
5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her: 'Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.'
Veneruntque ad eam principes Philisthinorum, atque dixerunt: Decipe eum, et disce ab illo, in quo habeat tantam fortitudinem, et quomodo eam superare valeamus, et vinctum affligere: quod si feceris, dabimus tibi singuli mille et centum argenteos.
6 And Delilah said to Samson: 'Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.'
Locuta est ergo Dalila ad Samson: Dic mihi, obsecro, in quo sit tua maxima fortitudo, et quid sit quo ligatus erumpere nequeas?
7 And Samson said unto her: 'If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as any other man.'
Cui respondit Samson: Si septem nerviceis funibus necdum siccis, et adhuc humentibus, ligatus fuero, infirmus ero ut ceteri homines.
8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
Attuleruntque ad eam satrapæ Philisthinorum septem funes, ut dixerat: quibus vinxit eam,
9 Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber. And she said unto him: 'The Philistines are upon thee, Samson.' And he broke the bowstrings as a string of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
latentibus apud se insidiis, et in cubiculo finem rei expectantibus: clamavitque ad eum: Philisthiim super te, Samson. Qui rupit vincula, quomodo si rumpat quis filum de stuppæ tortum putamine, cum odorem ignis acceperit: et non est cognitum in quo esset fortitudo ejus.
10 And Delilah said unto Samson: 'Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies; now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.'
Dixitque ad eum Dalila: Ecce illusisti mihi, et falsum locutus es: saltem nunc indica mihi quo ligari debeas.
11 And he said unto her: 'If they only bind me with new ropes wherewith no work hath been done, then shall I become weak, and be as any other man.'
Cui ille respondit: Si ligatus fuero novis funibus, qui numquam fuerunt in opere, infirmus ero, et aliorum hominum similis.
12 So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him: 'The Philistines are upon thee, Samson.' And the liers-in-wait were abiding in the inner chamber. And he broke them from off his arms like a thread.
Quibus rursum Dalila vinxit eum, et clamavit: Philisthiim super te, Samson: in cubiculo insidiis præparatis. Qui ita rupit vincula quasi fila telarum.
13 And Delilah said unto Samson: 'Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies; tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound.' And he said unto her: 'If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.'
Dixitque Dalila rursum ad eum: Usquequo decipis me, et falsum loqueris? ostende quo vinciri debeas. Cui respondit Samson: Si septem crines capitis mei cum licio plexueris, et clavum his circumligatum terræ fixeris, infirmus ero.
14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him: 'The Philistines are upon thee, Samson.' And he awoke out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web.
Quod cum fecisset Dalila, dixit ad eum: Philisthiim super te, Samson. Qui consurgens de somno extraxit clavum cum crinibus et licio.
15 And she said unto him: 'How canst thou say: I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.'
Dixitque ad eum Dalila: Quomodo dicis quod amas me, cum animus tuus non sit mecum? Per tres vices mentitus es mihi, et noluisti dicere in quo sit maxima fortitudo tua.
16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death.
Cumque molesta esset ei, et per multos dies jugiter adhæreret, spatium ad quietem non tribuens, defecit anima ejus, et ad mortem usque lassata est.
17 And he told her all his heart, and said unto her: 'There hath not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite unto God from my mother's womb; if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.'
Tunc aperiens veritatem rei, dixit ad eam: Ferrum numquam ascendit super caput meum, quia nazaræus, id est, consecratus Deo, sum de utero matris meæ: si rasum fuerit caput meum, recedet a me fortitudo mea, et deficiam, eroque sicut ceteri homines.
18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying: 'Come up this once, for he hath told me all his heart.' Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought the money in their hand.
Vidensque illa quod confessus ei esset omnem animum suum, misit ad principes Philisthinorum ac mandavit: Ascende adhuc semel, quia nunc mihi aperuit cor suum. Qui ascenderunt assumpta pecunia, quam promiserant.
19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and had the seven locks of his head shaven off; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
At illa dormire eum fecit super genua sua, et in sinu suo reclinare caput. Vocavitque tonsorem, et rasit septem crines ejus, et cœpit abigere eum, et a se repellere: statim enim ab eo fortitudo discessit.
20 And she said: 'The Philistines are upon thee, Samson.' And he awoke out of his sleep, and said: 'I will go out as at other times, and shake myself.' But he knew not that the LORD was departed from him.
Dixitque: Philisthiim super te, Samson. Qui de somno consurgens, dixit in animo suo: Egrediar sicut ante feci, et me excutiam: nesciens quod recessisset ab eo Dominus.
21 And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house.
Quem cum apprehendissent Philisthiim, statim eruerunt oculos ejus, et duxerunt Gazam vinctum catenis, et clausum in carcere molere fecerunt.
22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
Jamque capilli ejus renasci cœperunt.
23 And the lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said: 'Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.'
Principes Philisthinorum convenerunt in unum ut immolarent hostias magnificas Dagon deo suo, et epularentur, dicentes: Tradidit deus noster inimicum nostrum Samson in manus nostras.
24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said: 'Our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who hath slain many of us.'
Quod etiam populus videns, laudabat deum suum, eademque dicebat: Tradidit deus noster adversarium nostrum in manus nostras, qui delevit terram nostram, et occidit plurimos.
25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said: 'Call for Samson, that he may make us sport.' And they called for Samson out of the prison-house; and he made sport before them; and they set him between the pillars.
Lætantesque per convivia, sumptis jam epulis, præceperunt ut vocaretur Samson, et ante eos luderet. Qui adductus de carcere ludebat ante eos, feceruntque eum stare inter duas columnas.
26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand: 'Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house resteth, that I may lean upon them.'
Qui dixit puero regenti gressus suos: Dimitte me, ut tangam columnas, quibus omnis imminet domus, et recliner super eas, et paululum requiescam.
27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
Domus autem erat plena virorum ac mulierum, et erant ibi omnes principes Philisthinorum, ac de tecto et solario circiter tria millia utriusque sexus spectantes ludentem Samson.
28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said: 'O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this once, O God, that I may be this once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.'
At ille invocato Domino ait: Domine Deus, memento mei, et redde mihi nunc fortitudinem pristinam, Deus meus, ut ulciscar me de hostibus meis, et pro amissione duorum luminum unam ultionem recipiam.
29 And Samson took fast hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house rested, and leaned upon them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left.
Et apprehendens ambas columnas quibus innitebatur domus, alteramque earum dextera et alteram læva tenens,
30 And Samson said: 'Let me die with the Philistines.' And he bent with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than they that he slew in his life.
ait: Moriatur anima mea cum Philisthiim. Concussisque fortiter columnis, cecidit domus super omnes principes, et ceteram multitudinem quæ ibi erat: multoque plures interfecit moriens, quam ante vivus occiderat.
31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
Descendentes autem fratres ejus et universa cognatio, tulerunt corpus ejus, et sepelierunt inter Saraa et Esthaol in sepulchro patris sui Manue: judicavitque Israël viginti annis.

< Judges 16 >