Judges 15
1 But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat. He said, “I will go in to my wife’s room.” But her father wouldn’t allow him to go in.
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.
2 Her father said, “I most certainly thought that you utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Isn’t her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please, take her instead.”
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.
3 Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in the case of the Philistines when I harm them.”
And Samson said of them, I shall be more blameless, this time, than the Philistines, —though I should do them a mischief.
4 Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the middle between every two tails.
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.
5 When he had set the torches on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, and also the olive groves.
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.
6 Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” They said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” The Philistines came up, and burned her and her father with fire.
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.
7 Samson said to them, “If you behave like this, surely I will take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.”
And Samson said to them, Though ye do the like of this, yet will I be avenged upon you, and, afterwards, will I cease.
8 He struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cave in Etam’s rock.
So he smote them, leg on thigh, with a great smiting, —and went down and dwelt in a cleft of the crag Etam.
9 Then the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
Then went up the Philistines, and encamped in Judah, —and were spread abroad in Lehi.
10 The men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.”
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.
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in Etam’s rock, and said to Samson, “Don’t you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” He said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”
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.
12 They said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.”
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.
13 They spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will bind you securely and deliver you into their hands; but surely we will not kill you.” They bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.
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.
14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. Then Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burned with fire; and his bands dropped from off his hands.
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.
15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, put out his hand, took it, and struck a thousand men with it.
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.
16 Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps; with the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men.”
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!
17 When he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramath Lehi.
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.
18 He was very thirsty, and called on Yahweh and said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant; and now shall I die of thirst, and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
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?
19 But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out of it. When he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived. Therefore its name was called En Hakkore, which is in Lehi, to this day.
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.
20 He judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
And he judged Israel, in the days of the Philistines, twenty years.
