< Judges 15 >

1 And it cometh to pass, after [some] days, in the days of wheat-harvest, that Samson looketh after his wife, with a kid of the goats, and saith, 'I go in unto my wife, to the inner chamber;' and her father hath not permitted him to go in,
But it came to pass after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not allow him to go in.
2 and her father saith, I certainly said, that thou didst certainly hate her, and I give her to thy companion; is not her sister — the young one — better than she? Let her be, I pray thee, to thee, instead of her.'
And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.
3 And Samson saith of them, 'I am more innocent this time than the Philistines, though I am doing with them evil.'
And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them harm.
4 And Samson goeth and catcheth three hundred foxes, and taketh torches, and turneth tail unto tail, and putteth a torch between the two tails, in the midst,
And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the midst between two tails.
5 and kindleth fire in the torches, and sendeth [them] out into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burneth [it] from heap even unto standing corn, even unto vineyard — olive-yard.
And when he had lighted the torches, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing grain, with the vineyards and olives.
6 And the Philistines say, 'Who hath done this?' And they say, 'Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because he hath taken away his wife, and giveth her to his companion;' and the Philistines go up, and burn her and her father with fire.
Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
7 And Samson saith to them, 'Though ye do thus, nevertheless I am avenged on you, and afterwards I cease!'
And Samson said to them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
8 And he smiteth them hip and thigh — a great smiting, and goeth down and dwelleth in the cleft of the rock Etam.
And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
9 And the Philistines go up, and encamp in Judah, and are spread out in Lehi,
Then the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
10 and the men of Judah say, 'Why have ye come up against us?' and they say, 'To bind Samson we have come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.'
And the men of Judah said, Why have ye come up against us? And they answered, We have come to bind Samson, to do to him as he hath done to us.
11 And three thousand men of Judah go down unto the cleft of the rock Etam, and say to Samson, 'Hast thou now known that the Philistines are rulers over us? and what [is] this thou hast done to us?' And he saith to them, 'As they did to me, so I did to them.'
Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done to us? And he said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.
12 And they say to him, 'To bind thee we have come down — to give thee into the hand of the Philistines.' And Samson saith to them, 'Swear to me, lest ye fall upon me yourselves.'
And they said to him, We have come down to bind thee, that we may 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 And they speak to him, saying, No, but we certainly bind thee, and have given thee into their hand, and we certainly do not put thee to death;' and they bind him with two thick bands, new ones, and bring him up from the rock.
And they spoke to him, saying, No; but we will bind thee securely, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
14 He hath come unto Lehi — and the Philistines have shouted at meeting him — and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and the thick bands which [are] on his arms are as flax which they burn with fire, and his bands are wasted from off his hands,
And when he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
15 and he findeth a fresh jaw-bone of an ass, and putteth forth his hand and taketh it, and smiteth with it — a thousand men.
And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men with it.
16 And Samson saith, 'With a jaw-bone of the ass — an ass upon asses — with a jaw-bone of the ass I have smitten a thousand men.'
And Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of a donkey have I slain a thousand men.
17 And it cometh to pass when he finisheth speaking, that he casteth away the jaw-bone out of his hand, and calleth that place Ramath-Lehi;
And it came to pass, when he had finished speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.
18 and he thirsteth exceedingly, and calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Thou — Thou hast given by the hand of Thy servant this great salvation; and now, I die with thirst, and have fallen into the hand of the uncircumcised.'
And he was very thirsty, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die by thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
19 And God cleaveth the hollow place which [is] in Lehi, and waters come out of it, and he drinketh, and his spirit cometh back, and he reviveth; therefore hath [one] called its name 'The fountain of him who is calling,' which [is] in Lehi unto this day.
But God opened an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water out of it; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: therefore he called the name of it Enhakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.
20 And he judgeth Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

< Judges 15 >