Iudicum 13
1 rursumque filii Israhel fecerunt malum in conspectu Domini qui tradidit eos in manus Philisthinorum quadraginta annis
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 erat autem vir quidam de Saraa et de stirpe Dan nomine Manue habens uxorem sterilem
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 cui apparuit angelus Domini et dixit ad eam sterilis es et absque liberis sed concipies et paries filium
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 cave ergo ne vinum bibas ac siceram ne inmundum quicquam comedas
[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 quia concipies et paries filium cuius non tanget caput novacula erit enim nazareus Dei ab infantia sua et ex matris utero et ipse incipiet liberare Israhel de manu Philisthinorum
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 quae cum venisset ad maritum dixit ei vir Dei venit ad me habens vultum angelicum terribilis nimis quem cum interrogassem quis esset et unde venisset et quo nomine vocaretur noluit mihi dicere
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 sed hoc respondit ecce concipies et paries filium cave ne vinum bibas et siceram et ne aliquo vescaris inmundo erit enim puer nazareus Dei ab infantia sua et ex utero matris usque ad diem mortis suae
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 oravit itaque Manue Deum et ait obsecro Domine ut vir Dei quem misisti veniat iterum et doceat nos quid debeamus facere de puero qui nasciturus est
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 exaudivitque Dominus precantem Manue et apparuit rursum angelus Domini uxori eius sedenti in agro Manue autem maritus eius non erat cum ea quae cum vidisset angelum
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 festinavit et cucurrit ad virum suum nuntiavitque ei dicens ecce apparuit mihi vir quem ante videram
So she quickly ran and said to her husband, “The man who appeared to me a few days ago has come back again!”
11 qui surrexit et secutus est uxorem suam veniensque ad virum dixit ei tu es qui locutus es mulieri et ille respondit ego sum
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 cui Manue quando inquit sermo tuus fuerit expletus quid vis ut faciat puer aut a quo se observare debebit
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 dixitque angelus Domini ad Manue ab omnibus quae locutus sum uxori tuae abstineat se
Yahweh replied, “Your wife must obey all the instructions I gave her.
14 et quicquid ex vinea nascitur non comedat vinum et siceram non bibat nullo vescatur inmundo et quod ei praecepi impleat atque custodiat
[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 dixitque Manue ad angelum Domini obsecro te ut adquiescas precibus meis et faciamus tibi hedum de capris
Then Manoah said, “Please stay here until we can kill and cook a young goat for you.”
16 cui respondit angelus si me cogis non comedam panes tuos sin autem vis holocaustum facere offer illud Domino et nesciebat Manue quod angelus Dei esset
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 dixitque ad eum quod est tibi nomen ut si sermo tuus fuerit expletus honoremus te
Then Manoah asked him, “What is your name? When what you have promised happens, we want to honor you.”
18 cui ille respondit cur quaeris nomen meum quod est mirabile
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 tulit itaque Manue hedum de capris et libamenta et posuit super petram offerens Domino qui facit mirabilia ipse autem et uxor eius intuebantur
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 cumque ascenderet flamma altaris in caelum angelus Domini in flamma pariter ascendit quod cum vidisset Manue et uxor eius proni ceciderunt in terram
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 et ultra non eis apparuit angelus Domini statimque intellexit Manue angelum esse Domini
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 et dixit ad uxorem suam morte moriemur quia vidimus Deum
So he said, “Now we will die, because we have seen God!”
23 cui respondit mulier si Dominus nos vellet occidere de manibus nostris holocaustum et libamenta non suscepisset nec ostendisset nobis haec omnia neque ea quae sunt ventura dixisset
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 peperit itaque filium et vocavit nomen eius Samson crevitque puer et benedixit ei Dominus
When their son was born, they named him Samson. Yahweh blessed him as he grew up.
25 coepitque spiritus Domini esse cum eo in castris Dan inter Saraa et Esthaol
And while he was in Mahaneh-Dan, which is between Zorah and Eshtaol [towns], Yahweh’s Spirit began to control him.
