Richter 15
1 Nach einiger Zeit, in den Tagen der Weizenernte, besuchte Simson sein Weib mit einem Ziegenböckchen. Er sprach: "Ich will zu meinem Weibe in die Kammer gehen." Aber ihr Vater ließ ihn nicht eintreten.
Then, after some time, when the days of the wheat harvest were near, Samson arrived, intending to visit his wife, and he brought her a kid from the goats. And when he wanted to enter her bedroom, as usual, her father prohibited him, saying:
2 Ihr Vater sagte nämlich: "Ich habe gedacht, du seiest ihr abgeneigt, und so gab ich sie deinem Nebenbuhler. Aber ist nicht ihre jüngere Schwester für dich passender als jene? Sie sei dein an ihrer Statt!"
“I thought that you would hate her, and therefore I gave her to your friend. But she has a sister, who is younger and more beautiful than she is. And she may be a wife for you, instead of her.”
3 Da sprach Simson zu ihnen: "Diesmal bin ich schuldfrei an den Philistern, wenn ich ihnen Schlimmes antue."
And Samson answered him: “From this day, there shall be no guilt for me against the Philistines. For I will do harm to you all.”
4 Und Simson ging, fing dreihundert Füchse, nahm Fackeln, band Schweif an Schweif und tat je eine Fackel zwischen zwei Schweife in die Mitte.
And he went out and caught three hundred foxes. And he joined them tail to tail. And he tied torches between the tails.
5 Dann steckte er die Fackeln in Brand und ließ sie los in die Saaten der Philister. So verbrannte er Garben, Halme, Weinberge und Olivenbäume.
And setting these on fire, he released them, so that they might rush from place to place. And immediately they went into the grain fields of the Philistines, setting these on fire, both the grain that was already bound for carrying, and what was still standing on the stalk. These were completely burned up, so much so that the flame also consumed even the vineyards and the olive groves.
6 Die Philister fragten: "Wer hat dies getan?" Man sagte: "Des Timniters Eidam Simson. Er hat ihm ja sein Weib genommen; dann gab er es seinem Nebenbuhler. Da zogen die Philister hinauf und verbrannten sie und ihren Vater.
And the Philistines said, “Who has done this thing?” And it was said: “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took away his wife, and gave her to another. He has done these things.” And the Philistines went up and burned the woman as well as her father.
7 Da sprach Simson zu ihnen: "Wenn ihr so tut, dann räche ich mich ein für allemal an euch."
And Samson said to them, “Even though you have done this, I will still fulfill vengeance against you, and then I will be quieted.”
8 Und er schlug sie ganz gewaltig auf Hügeln und in Tälern. Dann stieg er hinab und weilte in der Felsenkluft von Etam.
And he struck them with a tremendous slaughter, so much so that, out of astonishment, they laid the calf of the leg upon the thigh. And descending, he lived in a cave of the rock at Etam.
9 Da zogen die Philister herauf, lagerten wider Juda und ließen sich in dem Engpasse nieder.
And so the Philistines, ascending into the land of Judah, made camp at the place which was later called Lehi, that is, the Jawbone, where their army spread out.
10 Da fragte Judas Mannschaft: "Warum zieht ihr gegen uns herauf?" Da sagten sie: "Wir ziehen herauf, Simson zu fesseln und ihm zu tun, wie er uns getan."
And some from the tribe of Judah said to them, “Why have you ascended against us?” And they responded, “We have come to bind Samson, and to repay him for what he has done to us.”
11 Da zogen dreitausend Mann aus Juda nach der Felsenkluft von Etam hinab und sprachen zu Simson: "Weißt du nicht, daß die Philister über uns herrschen? Warum tust du uns dies an?" Er sprach zu ihnen: "Wie sie mir getan, so habe ich ihnen getan."
Then three thousand men of Judah descended to the cave of the rock at Etam. And they said to Samson: “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why would you want to do this?” And he said to them, “As they have done to me, so I have done to them.”
12 Und sie sprachen zu ihm: "Wir sind herabgekommen, dich zu fesseln und dich den Philistern auszuliefern." Simson sprach zu ihnen: "Schwört mir, daß ihr mich nicht erschlagt!"
And they said to him, “We have come to bind you, and to deliver you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear and promise to me that you will not kill me.”
13 Sie sprachen zu ihm: "Nein! Wir wollen dich nur fesseln und dich in ihre Hand geben. Aber töten wollen wir dich nicht." So fesselten sie ihn mit zwei neuen Stricken und führten ihn aus der Felsenschlucht herauf.
They said: “We will not kill you. But we will deliver you tied.” And they bound him with two new cords. And they took him from the rock at Etam.
14 So kam er in den Engpaß, und die Philister jauchzten ihm entgegen. Da kam der Geist des Herrn über ihn. Und die Stricke an seinen Armen wurden wie Fäden, vom Feuer versengt, und die Fesseln glitten ihm von den Händen.
And when he had arrived at the place of the Jawbone, and the Philistines, shouting aloud, had met him, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him. And just as flax is usually consumed by a hint of fire, so were the ties with which he was bound broken and released.
15 Er fand auch in dem Eselspaß einen Pfahl, streckte seine Hand aus, griff ihn und schlug damit 1.000 Mann.
And finding a jawbone which was laying there, that is, the jawbone of a donkey, snatching it up, he put to death a thousand men with it.
16 Und Simson sprach: "Im Eselspaß habe ich sie gründlich geschunden. Im Eselspaß habe ich 1.000 Mann erschlagen."
And he said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, with the jaw of the colt of a donkey, I have destroyed them, and I have struck down a thousand men.”
17 Als er ausgeredet, warf er ihn in den Paß. Man nannte jenen Ort Ramat Lechi.
And when he had completed these words, singing, he threw the jawbone from his hand. And called the name of that place Ramath-Lehi, which is translated as ‘the elevation of the jawbone.’
18 Da ward er sehr durstig. Und er rief zum Herrn und sprach: "Du hast durch Deines Dieners Hand diesen großen Sieg geschaffen. Nun werde ich vor Durst sterben und falle dann in der Unbeschnittenen Hand."
And being very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord, and he said: “You have given, to the hand of your servant, this very great salvation and victory. But see that I am dying of thirst, and so I will fall into the hands of the uncircumcised.”
19 Da ließ Gott die Höhle in der Eselsschlucht überquellen, und Wasser floß heraus. Er trank, und sein Geist lebte auf. Daher nannte man sie "Des Rufers Quelle in der Schlucht" bis auf diesen Tag.
And so the Lord opened a large tooth in the jawbone of the donkey, and water went out from it. And having drank it, his spirit was revived, and he recovered his strength. For this reason, the name of that place was called ‘the Spring called forth from the jawbone,’ even to the present day.
20 Und er richtete Israel zur Zeit der Philister zwanzig Jahre.
And he judged Israel, in the days of the Philistines, for twenty years.
