Judges 15
1 `Forsothe aftir sum del of tyme, whanne the daies of wheete heruest neiyiden, Sampson cam, and wolde visite his wijf, and he brouyte to hir a `kide of geet; and when he wolde entre in to hir bed bi custom, `the fadir of hir forbeed hym, and seide,
Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter.
2 Y gesside that thou haddist hatid hir, and therfor Y yaf hir to thi freend; but sche hath a sistir, which is yongere and fairere than sche, be sche `wijf to thee for hir.
“I was sure that you thoroughly hated her,” said her father, “so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.”
3 To whom Sampson answeride, Fro this day no blame schal be in me ayens Filistees, for Y schal do yuels to you.
Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in doing harm to the Philistines.”
4 And he yede, and took thre hundrid foxis, and ioynede `the tailis of hem to tailis, and boond brondis in the myddis,
Then Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes. And he took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and fastened a torch between each pair of tails.
5 whiche he kyndlid with fier, and leet hem, that thei schulden renne aboute hidur and thidur; `which yeden anoon in to the cornes of Filisteis, bi whiche kyndlid, bothe cornes `borun now to gidere, and yit stondynge in the stobil, weren brent, in so myche that the flawme wastide vyneris, and `places of olyue trees.
Then he lit the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines, burning up the piles of grain and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
6 And Filisteis seiden, Who dide this thing? To whiche it was seid, Sampson, hosebonde of the `douytir of Thannathei, for he took awey Sampsones wijf, and yaf to another man, `wrouyte this thing. And Filisteis stieden, and brenten bothe the womman and hir fadir.
“Who did this?” the Philistines demanded. “It was Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite,” they were told. “For his wife was given to his companion.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.
7 To whiche Sampson seide, Thouy ye han do this, netheles yit Y schal axe veniaunce of you, and than Y schal reste.
And Samson told them, “Because you have done this, I will not rest until I have taken vengeance upon you.”
8 And he smoot hem with greet wounde, so that thei wondriden, and `puttiden the hyndrere part of the hipe on the thiy; and he yede doun, and dwellide in the denne of the stoon of Ethan.
And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
9 Therfor Filisteis stieden in to the lond of Juda, and settiden tentis in the place, that was clepid aftirward Lethi, that is, a cheke, wher `the oost of hem was spred a brood.
Then the Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and deployed themselves near the town of Lehi.
10 And men of the lynage of Juda seiden to hem, Whi `stieden ye ayens vs? Whiche answeriden, We comen that we bynde Sampson, and yelde to hym tho thingis whiche he wrouyte in vs.
“Why have you attacked us?” said the men of Judah. The Philistines replied, “We have come to arrest Samson and pay him back for what he has done to us.”
11 Therfor thre thousynde of men of Juda yeden doun to the denne of the flynt of Ethan; and thei seiden to Sampson, Woost thou not, that Filisteis comaunden to vs? Why woldist thou do this thing? To whiche he seide.
In response, three thousand men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, “Do you not realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?” “I have done to them what they did to me,” he replied.
12 As thei diden to me, Y dide to hem. Thei seien, We comen to bynde thee, and to bitake thee in to the `hondis of Filisteis. To whiche Sampson answeride, Swere ye, and `biheete ye to me, that ye sle not me.
But they said to him, “We have come down to arrest you and hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson replied, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.”
13 And thei seiden, We schulen not sle thee, but we schulen bitake thee boundun. And thei bounden him with twei newe cordis, and token fro the stoon of Ethan.
“No,” they answered, “we will not kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them.” So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock.
14 And whanne thei hadden come to the place of cheke, and Filisteis criynge hadden runne to hym, the spirit of the Lord felde in to hym, and as stikis ben wont to be wastid at the odour of fier, so and the bondis, with whiche he was boundun, weren scaterid and vnboundun.
When Samson arrived in Lehi, the Philistines came out shouting against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him. The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and the bonds broke loose from his hands.
15 And he took a cheke foundun, that is, the lowere cheke boon of an asse, that lay, `and he killyde `with it a thousinde men; and seide,
He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men.
16 With the cheke of an asse, that is, with the lowere cheke of a colt of femal assis, Y dide hem awey, and Y killide a thousynde men.
Then Samson said: “With the jawbone of a donkey I have piled them into heaps. With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men.”
17 And whanne he songe these wordis, and `hadde fillid, he castide forth fro the hond the lowere cheke; and he clepide the name of that place Ramath Lethi, `which is interpretid, the reisyng of a cheke.
And when Samson had finished speaking, he cast the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi.
18 And he thristide greetly, and criede to the Lord, and seide, Thou hast youe in the hond of thi seruaunt this grettest helthe and victory; and lo! Y die for thyrst, and Y schal falle in to the hondis of vncircumcidid men.
And being very thirsty, Samson cried out to the LORD, “You have accomplished this great deliverance through Your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
19 Therfor the Lord openyde a wang tooth in the cheke boon of the asse, and watris yeden out therof, `bi whiche drunkun he refreischide the spirit, and resseuede strengthis; therfor the name of that place was clepid the Welle of the clepere of the cheke `til to present dai.
So God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned, and he was revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore, and it remains in Lehi to this day.
20 And he demyde Israel in the daies of Filistiym twenti yeer.
And Samson judged Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
