Κριταί 13
1 καὶ προσέθηκαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ ποιῆσαι τὸ πονηρὸν ἐνώπιον κυρίου καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς κύριος ἐν χειρὶ Φυλιστιιμ τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη
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.
2 καὶ ἦν ἀνὴρ εἷς ἀπὸ Σαραα ἀπὸ δήμου συγγενείας τοῦ Δανι καὶ ὄνομα αὐτῷ Μανωε καὶ γυνὴ αὐτῷ στεῖρα καὶ οὐκ ἔτεκεν
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.
3 καὶ ὤφθη ἄγγελος κυρίου πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτήν ἰδοὺ σὺ στεῖρα καὶ οὐ τέτοκας καὶ συλλήμψῃ υἱόν
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.
4 καὶ νῦν φύλαξαι δὴ καὶ μὴ πίῃς οἶνον καὶ μέθυσμα καὶ μὴ φάγῃς πᾶν ἀκάθαρτον
[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.
5 ὅτι ἰδοὺ σὺ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχεις καὶ τέξῃ υἱόν καὶ σίδηρος οὐκ ἀναβήσεται ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ ὅτι ναζιρ θεοῦ ἔσται τὸ παιδάριον ἀπὸ τῆς κοιλίας καὶ αὐτὸς ἄρξεται τοῦ σῶσαι τὸν Ισραηλ ἐκ χειρὸς Φυλιστιιμ
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.”
6 καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ἡ γυνὴ καὶ εἶπεν τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς λέγουσα ἄνθρωπος θεοῦ ἦλθεν πρός με καὶ εἶδος αὐτοῦ ὡς εἶδος ἀγγέλου θεοῦ φοβερὸν σφόδρα καὶ οὐκ ἠρώτησα αὐτόν πόθεν ἐστίν καὶ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀπήγγειλέν μοι
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.
7 καὶ εἶπέν μοι ἰδοὺ σὺ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχεις καὶ τέξῃ υἱόν καὶ νῦν μὴ πίῃς οἶνον καὶ μέθυσμα καὶ μὴ φάγῃς πᾶν ἀκάθαρτον ὅτι ἅγιον θεοῦ ἔσται τὸ παιδάριον ἀπὸ γαστρὸς ἕως ἡμέρας θανάτου αὐτοῦ
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.’”
8 καὶ προσηύξατο Μανωε πρὸς κύριον καὶ εἶπεν ἐν ἐμοί κύριε Αδωναιε τὸν ἄνθρωπον τοῦ θεοῦ ὃν ἀπέστειλας ἐλθέτω δὴ ἔτι πρὸς ἡμᾶς καὶ συμβιβασάτω ἡμᾶς τί ποιήσωμεν τῷ παιδίῳ τῷ τικτομένῳ
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.”
9 καὶ εἰσήκουσεν ὁ θεὸς τῆς φωνῆς Μανωε καὶ ἦλθεν ὁ ἄγγελος τοῦ θεοῦ ἔτι πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ αὕτη ἐκάθητο ἐν ἀγρῷ καὶ Μανωε ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς οὐκ ἦν μετ’ αὐτῆς
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.
10 καὶ ἐτάχυνεν ἡ γυνὴ καὶ ἔδραμεν καὶ ἀνήγγειλεν τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν ἰδοὺ ὦπται πρός με ὁ ἀνήρ ὃς ἦλθεν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ πρός με
So she quickly ran and said to her husband, “The man who appeared to me a few days ago has come back again!”
11 καὶ ἀνέστη καὶ ἐπορεύθη Μανωε ὀπίσω τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἦλθεν πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ εἰ σὺ εἶ ὁ ἀνὴρ ὁ λαλήσας πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἄγγελος ἐγώ
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.”
12 καὶ εἶπεν Μανωε νῦν ἐλεύσεται ὁ λόγος σου τίς ἔσται κρίσις τοῦ παιδίου καὶ τὰ ποιήματα αὐτοῦ
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]?”
13 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου πρὸς Μανωε ἀπὸ πάντων ὧν εἴρηκα πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα φυλάξεται
Yahweh replied, “Your wife must obey all the instructions I gave her.
14 ἀπὸ παντός ὃ ἐκπορεύεται ἐξ ἀμπέλου τοῦ οἴνου οὐ φάγεται καὶ οἶνον καὶ σικερα μέθυσμα μὴ πιέτω καὶ πᾶν ἀκάθαρτον μὴ φαγέτω πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην αὐτῇ φυλάξεται
[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.”
15 καὶ εἶπεν Μανωε πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον κυρίου κατάσχωμεν ὧδέ σε καὶ ποιήσωμεν ἐνώπιόν σου ἔριφον αἰγῶν
Then Manoah said, “Please stay here until we can kill and cook a young goat for you.”
16 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου πρὸς Μανωε ἐὰν κατάσχῃς με οὐ φάγομαι ἀπὸ τῶν ἄρτων σου καὶ ἐὰν ποιήσῃς ὁλοκαύτωμα τῷ κυρίῳ ἀνοίσεις αὐτό ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνω Μανωε ὅτι ἄγγελος κυρίου αὐτός
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.)
17 καὶ εἶπεν Μανωε πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον κυρίου τί τὸ ὄνομά σοι ὅτι ἔλθοι τὸ ῥῆμά σου καὶ δοξάσομέν σε
Then Manoah asked him, “What is your name? When what you have promised happens, we want to honor you.”
18 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου εἰς τί τοῦτο ἐρωτᾷς τὸ ὄνομά μου καὶ αὐτό ἐστιν θαυμαστόν
Yahweh replied, “(Why do you ask me my name?/You should not ask me my name.) [RHQ] It is (wonderful/it cannot be understood).”
19 καὶ ἔλαβεν Μανωε τὸν ἔριφον τῶν αἰγῶν καὶ τὴν θυσίαν καὶ ἀνήνεγκεν ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ διεχώρισεν ποιῆσαι καὶ Μανωε καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ βλέποντες
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.
20 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἀναβῆναι τὴν φλόγα ἐπάνω τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἕως τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἀνέβη ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου ἐν τῇ φλογὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ Μανωε καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ βλέποντες καὶ ἔπεσαν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν
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.
21 καὶ οὐ προσέθηκεν ἔτι ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου ὀφθῆναι πρὸς Μανωε καὶ πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ τότε ἔγνω Μανωε ὅτι ἄγγελος κυρίου οὗτος
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.
22 καὶ εἶπεν Μανωε πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ θανάτῳ ἀποθανούμεθα ὅτι θεὸν εἴδομεν
So he said, “Now we will die, because we have seen God!”
23 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ εἰ ἤθελεν ὁ κύριος θανατῶσαι ἡμᾶς οὐκ ἂν ἔλαβεν ἐκ χειρὸς ἡμῶν ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ θυσίαν καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἔδειξεν ἡμῖν ταῦτα πάντα καὶ καθὼς καιρὸς οὐκ ἂν ἠκούτισεν ἡμᾶς ταῦτα
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.”
24 καὶ ἔτεκεν ἡ γυνὴ υἱὸν καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Σαμψων καὶ ἡδρύνθη τὸ παιδάριον καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτὸ κύριος
When their son was born, they named him Samson. Yahweh blessed him as he grew up.
25 καὶ ἤρξατο πνεῦμα κυρίου συνεκπορεύεσθαι αὐτῷ ἐν παρεμβολῇ Δαν καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον Σαραα καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον Εσθαολ
And while he was in Mahaneh-Dan, which is between Zorah and Eshtaol [towns], Yahweh’s Spirit began to control him.
