Iudicum 15
1 post aliquantum autem temporis cum dies triticeae messis instarent venit Samson invisere volens uxorem suam et adtulit ei hedum de capris cumque cubiculum eius solito vellet intrare prohibuit eum pater illius dicens
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 putavi quod odisses eam et ideo tradidi illam amico tuo sed habet sororem quae iunior et pulchrior illa est sit tibi pro ea uxor
“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 cui respondit Samson ab hac die non erit culpa in me contra Philistheos faciam enim vobis mala
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 perrexitque et cepit trecentas vulpes caudasque earum iunxit ad caudas et faces ligavit in medio
And he went out and caught three hundred foxes. And he joined them tail to tail. And he tied torches between the tails.
5 quas igne succendens dimisit ut huc illucque discurrerent quae statim perrexerunt in segetes Philisthinorum quibus succensis et conportatae iam fruges et adhuc stantes in stipula concrematae sunt in tantum ut vineas quoque et oliveta flamma consumeret
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 dixeruntque Philisthim quis fecit hanc rem quibus dictum est Samson gener Thamnathei quia tulit uxorem eius et alteri tradidit haec operatus est ascenderuntque Philisthim et conbuserunt tam mulierem quam patrem eius
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 quibus ait Samson licet haec feceritis tamen adhuc ex vobis expetam ultionem et tunc quiescam
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 percussitque eos ingenti plaga ita ut stupentes suram femori inponerent et descendens habitavit in spelunca petrae Aetham
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 igitur ascendentes Philisthim in terra Iuda castrametati sunt et in loco qui postea vocatus est Lehi id est Maxilla eorum est fusus exercitus
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 dixeruntque ad eos de tribu Iuda cur ascendistis adversum nos qui responderunt ut ligemus Samson venimus et reddamus ei quae in nos operatus est
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 descenderunt ergo tria milia virorum de Iuda ad specum silicis Aetham dixeruntque ad Samson nescis quod Philisthim imperent nobis quare hoc facere voluisti quibus ille ait sicut fecerunt mihi feci eis
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 ligare inquiunt te venimus et tradere in manus Philisthinorum iurate respondit mihi quod non me occidatis
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 dixerunt non te occidimus sed vinctum tradimus ligaveruntque eum duobus novis funibus et tulerunt de petra Aetham
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 qui cum venisset ad locum Maxillae et Philisthim vociferantes occurrissent ei inruit spiritus Domini in eum et sicut solent ad odorem ignis lina consumi ita vincula quibus ligatus erat dissipata sunt et soluta
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 inventamque maxillam id est mandibulam asini quae iacebat arripiens interfecit in ea mille viros
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 et ait in maxilla asini in mandibula pulli asinarum delevi eos et percussi mille viros
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 cumque haec canens verba conplesset proiecit mandibulam de manu et vocavit nomen loci illius Ramathlehi quod interpretatur elevatio Maxillae
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 sitiensque valde clamavit ad Dominum et ait tu dedisti in manu servi tui salutem hanc maximam atque victoriam et en siti morior incidamque in manus incircumcisorum
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 aperuit itaque Dominus molarem dentem in maxilla asini et egressae sunt ex eo aquae quibus haustis refocilavit spiritum et vires recepit idcirco appellatum est nomen loci illius Fons invocantis de maxilla usque in praesentem diem
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 iudicavitque Israhel in diebus Philisthim viginti annis
And he judged Israel, in the days of the Philistines, for twenty years.
