Judges 13

1 Again the Israeli people did things that Yahweh said were very evil. So Yahweh enabled the people of Philistia to conquer them. They ruled over the Israelis for 40 years.

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord: and he delivered them into the hands of the Philistines forty years.

2 There was a man named Manoah from the descendants of Dan who lived in Zorah [town]. His wife was unable to become pregnant, so they had no children.

Now there was a certain man of Saraa, and of the race of Dan, whose name was Manue, and his wife was barren.

3 One day, Yahweh appeared to Manoah’s wife in the form of an angel, and said to her, “Even though you have not been able to give birth to any children until now, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to her, and said: Thou art barren and without children: but thou shalt conceive and bear a son.

4 [From now until he is born], you must not drink any wine or other alcoholic/fermented drink, and you must not eat any food that will make you unacceptable to God.

Now therefore beware and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing.

5 After you give birth to your son, you must never allow his hair to be cut. He must be dedicated to God from the day he is born until the day he dies. He is the one who will rescue [many of] the Israeli people from the people of Philistia.”

Because thou shalt conceive and bear a son, and no razor shall touch his head: for he shall be a Nazarite of God, from his infancy, and from his mother’s womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.

6 The woman ran and told her husband, “A prophet came to me. He looked awesome, like an angel from God. I did not ask where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

And when she was come to her husband she said to him: A man of God came to me, having the countenance of an angel, very awful. And when I asked him who he was, and whence he came, and by what name he was called, he would not tell me.

7 But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. Until then, you must not drink any wine or any alcoholic/fermented drink, and you must not eat any food that would make you unacceptable to God. Your son must be dedicated to God from the day he is born until the day he dies.’”

But he answered thus: Behold thou shalt conceive and bear a son: beware thou drink no wine, nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite of God from his infancy, from his mother’s womb until the day of his death.

8 Then Manoah prayed to Yahweh, saying, “O Yahweh, I plead with you, allow that prophet whom you sent to us to come again, and teach us how we should raise the boy who will be born to us.”

Then Manue prayed to the Lord, and said: I beseech thee, O Lord, that the mail of God, whom thou didst send, may come again, and teach us what we ought to do concerning the child that shall be born.

9 God did what Manoah asked, and Yahweh again appeared to his wife in the form of an angel, while she was out in the field. But again her husband Manoah was not with her.

And the Lord heard the prayer of Manue, and the angel of the Lord appeared again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But Manue her husband was not with her. And when she saw the angel,

10 So she quickly ran and said to her husband, “The man who appeared to me a few days ago has come back again!”

She made haste and ran to her husband: and told him saying: Behold the man hath appeared to me whom I saw before.

11 Manoah ran back with his wife, and asked, “Are you the man who talked with my wife a few days ago?” He replied, “Yes, I am.”

He rose up and followed his wife: and coming to the man, said to him: Art thou he that spoke to the woman? And he answered: I am.

12 Manoah asked him, “When what you promised occurs [and my wife gives birth to a son], what rules must he obey, and what work will he do [when he grows up]?”

And Manue said to him: When thy word shall come to pass, what wilt thou that the child should do? or from what shall he keep himself?

13 Yahweh replied, “Your wife must obey all the instructions I gave her.

And the angel of the Lord said to Manue: From all the things I have spoken of to thy wife, let her refrain herself:

14 [Before the baby is born], she must not eat grapes, or drink wine or any other alcoholic/fermented drink, or eat anything that would make her unacceptable to God.”

And let her eat nothing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: and whatsoever I have commanded her, let her fulfill and observe.

15 Then Manoah said, “Please stay here until we can kill and cook a young goat for you.”

And Manue said to the angel of the Lord: I beseech thee to consent to my request, and let us dress a kid for thee.

16 Yahweh replied, “I will stay here, but I will not eat anything. However, you may kill an animal and sacrifice it as a burned offering to Yahweh.” (Manoah did not realize that the [man he thought was an] angel was really Yahweh.)

And the angel answered him: If thou press me, I will not eat of thy bread: but if thou wilt offer a holocaust, offer it to the Lord. And Manue knew not it was the angel of the Lord.

17 Then Manoah asked him, “What is your name? When what you have promised happens, we want to honor you.”

And he said to him: What is thy name, that, if thy word shall come to pass, we may honour thee?

18 Yahweh replied, “(Why do you ask me my name?/You should not ask me my name.) [RHQ] It is (wonderful/it cannot be understood).”

And he answered him: Why askest thou my name, which is wonderful?

19 Then Manoah killed a young goat and burned it on a rock, along with a grain offering, as a sacrifice to Yahweh. And Yahweh did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched.

Then Manue took a kid of the flocks, and the libations, and put them upon a rock, offering to the Lord, who doth wonderful things: and he and his wife looked on.

20 Flames from the altar blazed up toward the sky, and Yahweh ascended in the flames. When Manoah and his wife saw that, they prostrated themselves on the ground.

And when the flame from the altar went up towards heaven, the angel of the lord ascended also in the flame. And when Manue and his wife saw this, they fell flat on the ground.

21 Although Yahweh did not appear in the form of an angel to Manoah and his wife again, Manoah realized that the [man they thought was an] angel was really Yahweh.

And the angel of the Lord appeared to them no more. And forthwith Manue understood that it was an angel of the Lord,

22 So he said, “Now we will die, because we have seen God!”

And he said to his wife: We shall certainly die, because we have seen God.

23 But his wife said, “No, we will not die, because if Yahweh intended to kill us, he would not have accepted the burned offering and the grain offering. And he would not have appeared to us and told us the wonderful thing that would happen to us, and he would not have performed this miracle.”

And his wife answered him: If the Lord had a mind to kill us, he would not have received a holocaust and libations at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor have told us the things that are to come.

24 When their son was born, they named him Samson. Yahweh blessed him as he grew up.

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

25 And while he was in Mahaneh-Dan, which is between Zorah and Eshtaol [towns], Yahweh’s Spirit began to control him.

And the spirit of the Lord began to be with him in the camp of Dan, between Saraa and Esthaol.