Judges 15
1 And it came to pass, after a time, in the days of wheat-harvest, that Samson went to visit his wife, with a kid, and he said—I will go in unto my wife, in the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.
Now a short time after, at the time of the grain-cutting, Samson, taking with him a young goat, went to see his wife; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the bride's room. But her father would not let him go in.
2 And her father said—I, thought, that thou didst, hate, her, so I gave her to thy companion, —Is not, her younger sister, fairer than she? Pray let her be thine, in her stead.
And her father said, It seemed to me that you had only hate for her; so I gave her to your friend: but is not her younger sister fairer than she? so please take her in place of the other.
3 And Samson said of them, I shall be more blameless, this time, than the Philistines, —though I should do them a mischief.
Then Samson said to them, This time I will give payment in full to the Philistines, for I am going to do them great evil.
4 So Samson went, and caught three hundred jackals, —and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put one torch between the two tails, in the midst.
So Samson went and got three hundred foxes and some sticks of fire-wood; and he put the foxes tail to tail with a stick between every two tails;
5 And, when he had set fire to the torches, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, —and set fire, both to the stack of sheaves and to the standing corn, and besides to the olive plantation.
Then firing the sticks, he let the foxes loose among the uncut grain of the Philistines, and all the corded stems as well as the living grain and the vine-gardens and the olives went up in flames.
6 Then said the Philistines—Who hath done this? And they said—Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because he hath taken his wife, and given her to his companion. So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father, with fire.
Then the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they said, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his friend. So the Philistines came up and had her and her father's house burned.
7 And Samson said to them, Though ye do the like of this, yet will I be avenged upon you, and, afterwards, will I cease.
And Samson said to them, If you go on like this, truly I will take my full payment from you; and that will be the end of it.
8 So he smote them, leg on thigh, with a great smiting, —and went down and dwelt in a cleft of the crag Etam.
And he made an attack on them, driving them in uncontrolled flight, and causing great destruction; then he went away to his safe place in the crack of the rock at Etam.
9 Then went up the Philistines, and encamped in Judah, —and were spread abroad in Lehi.
Then the Philistines went and put up their tents in Judah, all round Lehi.
10 And the men of Judah said, Wherefore have ye come up against us? And they said—To bind Samson, are we come up, to do unto him as he hath done unto us.
And the men of Judah said, Why have you come up against us? And they said, We have come up to take Samson, and to do to him as he has done to us.
11 Then went down three thousand men out of Judah, unto the cleft of the crag Etam, and said unto Samson—Knowest thou not that the Philistines are lording it over us? What, then, is this thou hast done to us? And he said unto them, As they have done to me, so, have I done to them.
Then three thousand of the men of Judah went down to the crack of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, Is it not clear to you that the Philistines are our rulers? What is this you have done to us? And he said to them, I only did to them as they did to me.
12 And they said to him—To bind thee, are we come down, to deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Swear to me, that ye will not fall upon me, yourselves.
Then they said to him, We have come down to take you and give you up into the hands of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Give me your oath that you will not make an attack on me yourselves.
13 And they answered him, saying—Nay; but we will, bind, thee, and deliver thee into their hand, but we will not, put thee to death. So they bound him with two new ropes, and took him up from the crag.
And they said, No; we will take you and give you up into their hands, but truly we will not put you to death. So knotting two new cords round him they took him up from the rock.
14 He, was coming in as far as Lehi, and, the Philistines, came shouting to meet him, —when the Spirit of Yahweh came suddenly over him, and the ropes that were upon his arms became as threads of flax which have been ignited with fire, so that his bonds melted from off his hands.
And when he came to Lehi, the Philistines came out, meeting him with loud cries; then the spirit of the Lord came rushing on him, and the cords on his arms became like grass which has been burned with fire, and the bands came falling off his hands.
15 Then found he the jawbone of an ass newly-slain, —so he thrust forth his hand, and took it, and smote therewith, a thousand men.
And taking up the mouth-bone of an ass newly dead, which he saw by chance on the earth, he put to death a thousand men with it.
16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, —have I piled them up in heaps! With the jawbone of an ass, have I smitten a thousand men!
And Samson said, With a red ass's mouth-bone I have made them red with blood, with a red ass's mouth-bone I have sent destruction on a thousand men.
17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, —and called the name of that place, Ramath-lehi.
And having said these words, he let the mouth-bone go out of his hand; so that place was named Ramath-lehi.
18 And he was sore athirst, so he cried unto Yahweh, and said, Thou thyself, hast given, into the hand of thy servant, this great salvation, —and, now, must I die of thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
After this, he was in great need of water, and crying out to the Lord, he said, You have given this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and now need of water will be my death; and I will be given into the hands of this people who are without circumcision.
19 So then God clave open the hollow that is in Lehi, and there came therefrom water, and he drank, and his spirit came back, and he revived, —for this cause, called he the name thereof—Ain-hakkore, which is in Lehi, until this day.
Then God made a crack in the hollow rock in Lehi and water came out of it; and after drinking, his spirit came back to him and he was strong again; so that place was named En-hakkore; it is in Lehi to this day.
20 And he judged Israel, in the days of the Philistines, twenty years.
And he was judge of Israel in the days of the Philistines for twenty years.
