Jueces 16
1 Sansón fue a Gaza, vio allí a una prostituta y se acercó a ella.
One day Samson went to Gaza [city in the Philistia area]. He spent some time with a prostitute.
2 Los gazatíes fueron avisados: “¡Sansón está aquí!”. Lo rodearon y lo acecharon toda la noche en la puerta de la ciudad, y estuvieron callados toda la noche, diciendo: “Esperen hasta la luz de la mañana; entonces lo mataremos”.
People soon found out that Samson was there, so the men of Gaza gathered together at the city gate and waited all night. They said to themselves, “When it dawns tomorrow morning, we will kill him [when he tries to leave the city].”
3 Sansón se quedó acostado hasta la medianoche, luego se levantó a medianoche y se apoderó de las puertas de la ciudad, con los dos postes, y las arrancó, con barra y todo, y se las puso sobre los hombros y las subió a la cima del monte que está frente a Hebrón.
But Samson did not stay there all night. At midnight, he got up. He went to the city gate, he took hold of its two posts, and he lifted it up out of the ground, with its [connecting cross] bar still attached. He put it on his shoulders and carried it [many miles] uphill to Hebron.
4 Sucedió después que él amó a una mujer en el valle de Sorek, cuyo nombre era Dalila.
Later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, [and started to live with her]. She lived in Sorek Valley [in the Philistia area].
5 Los señores de los filisteos se acercaron a ella y le dijeron: “Engáñalo, y mira en qué consiste su gran fuerza, y por qué medios podemos prevalecer contra él, para atarlo y afligirlo; y te daremos cada uno mil cien monedas de plata.”
The Philistine leaders went to her and said, “Find out from Samson what makes him so strong. And find out how we can subdue him and tie him up securely. If you do that, each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”
6 Dalila le dijo a Sansón: “Por favor, dime en qué consiste tu gran fuerza y qué puede afligirte”.
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong, and tell me how someone can subdue you and tie you up.”
7 Sansón le dijo: “Si me atan con siete cuerdas verdes que nunca se secaron, entonces me debilitaré y seré como otro hombre”.
Samson said, “If someone ties me with seven new bowstrings, ones that are not dry yet, I will become as weak as other men.”
8 Entonces los señores de los filisteos le trajeron siete cuerdas verdes que no se habían secado, y ella lo ató con ellas.
So [after Delilah told that to the Philistine leaders], they brought seven new bowstrings to Delilah.
9 Ella le tenía preparada una emboscada en la sala interior. Ella le dijo: “¡Los filisteos están sobre ti, Sansón!” Él rompió las cuerdas como se rompe un hilo de lino cuando toca el fuego. Así que su fuerza no fue conocida.
Then she hid the men in one of the rooms in her house. Then [while Samson was sleeping], she tied him up with the bowstrings. Then she called out, “Samson! The Philistines have come here to capture you!” But Samson snapped the bowstrings as easily as though they were strings that had been singed in a fire. So the Philistines did not find out what made Samson so strong.
10 Dalila dijo a Sansón: “He aquí que te has burlado de mí y me has dicho mentiras. Ahora, por favor, dime cómo puedes ser atado”.
Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have deceived me and lied to me! Now tell me [the truth, ] how someone can tie you up securely.”
11 Le dijo: “Si sólo me atan con cuerdas nuevas con las que no se ha trabajado, entonces me debilitaré y seré como otro hombre”.
Samson replied, “If someone ties me with new ropes, ones that have never been used, I will be as weak as other men.”
12 Entonces Dalila tomó cuerdas nuevas y lo ató con ellas, y le dijo: “¡Los filisteos están sobre ti, Sansón!” La emboscada le esperaba en la sala interior. Las rompió de sus brazos como un hilo.
So again, [she told the Philistine leaders, and] they [came and] hid in the room as they had done before. And again, while Samson was sleeping, she took the new ropes and tied him up with them. Then she called out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson snapped the ropes on his arms as easily as if they were threads.
13 Dalila dijo a Sansón: “Hasta ahora te has burlado de mí y me has dicho mentiras. Dime con qué puedes ser atado”. Le dijo: “Si tejes los siete mechones de mi cabeza con la tela del telar”.
Then Delilah said, “You have deceived me and lied to me [again]! Please tell me how someone can tie you up securely!” Samson replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair into the threads you are weaving on the loom, and then fasten those threads with the pin [that makes the threads tight], then I will be as weak as other men.” So again, while Samson was sleeping on her lap, Delilah held the seven braids of his hair, and wove them into the threads on the loom,
14 Ella la sujetó con el alfiler y le dijo: “¡Los filisteos están sobre ti, Sansón!” Él se despertó de su sueño, y arrancó el alfiler de la viga y la tela.
and she tightened them with the pin. Then she called out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson woke up and pulled out the pin, and pulled his hair from the threads on the loom.
15 Ella le dijo: “¿Cómo puedes decir: “Te amo”, cuando tu corazón no está conmigo? Te has burlado de mí estas tres veces, y no me has dicho dónde está tu gran fuerza”.
Then Delilah said to him, “How can you say that you love me when you do not tell me the truth about yourself? You have deceived me three times, and you still have not told me what really makes you so strong!”
16 Cuando ella lo presionaba cada día con sus palabras y lo exhortaba, su alma se turbaba hasta la muerte.
Day after day she nagged him like that. He thought he would die from her nagging [IDM].
17 Él le contó todo su corazón y le dijo: “Jamás una navaja de afeitar ha pasado por mi cabeza, pues soy nazireo de Dios desde el vientre de mi madre. Si me afeitan, mi fuerza se irá de mí y me debilitaré, y seré como cualquier otro hombre”.
Finally Samson told her the truth. He said, “I have been set apart for God since the day I was born. And because of that, my hair has never been cut. If my hair were shaved off, my strength would be gone, and I would be as weak as other men.”
18 Cuando Dalila vio que él le había contado todo su corazón, envió a llamar a los señores de los filisteos, diciendo: “Suban esta vez, porque él me ha contado todo su corazón”. Entonces los señores de los filisteos subieron a ella y trajeron el dinero en su mano.
Delilah realized that this time he had told her the truth. So she summoned the Philistine leaders again, saying, “Come back one more time, because Samson has really told me everything [about why he is so strong]”. So the Philistine leaders returned and brought to Delilah the money [that they promised to give her].
19 Ella lo hizo dormir sobre sus rodillas, llamó a un hombre y le afeitó los siete mechones de la cabeza, y comenzó a afligirlo, y se le fueron las fuerzas.
Again she lulled Samson to sleep, with his head in her lap. Then she called one of the Philistine men to come and shave off Samson’s hair. As he did that, Samson began to get weaker. And finally his strength was all gone.
20 Ella dijo: “¡Los filisteos están sobre ti, Sansón!” Se despertó de su sueño y dijo: “Saldré como otras veces, y me liberaré”. Pero no sabía que Yahvé se había apartado de él.
Then [after she tied him up], she called out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” He woke up and thought, “I will do as I did before. I will shake [these ropes] off myself and be free!” But he did not realize that Yahweh had left him.
21 Los filisteos se apoderaron de él y le sacaron los ojos; lo hicieron descender a Gaza y lo ataron con grilletes de bronce, y en la cárcel molió en el molino.
So the Philistine men seized him and gouged out his eyes. Then they took him to Gaza. There they put him in prison and bound him with bronze chains. They made him [turn a millstone to] grind grain [every day].
22 Sin embargo, el cabello de su cabeza comenzó a crecer de nuevo después de que lo raparon.
But his hair started to grow again.
23 Los señores de los filisteos se reunieron para ofrecer un gran sacrificio a Dagón, su dios, y para alegrarse, pues decían: “Nuestro dios ha entregado a Sansón, nuestro enemigo, en nuestra mano.”
[Several months later] the Philistine leaders celebrated a big festival. During the festival they offered sacrifices to their god Dagon. They praised him, saying, “Our god has enabled us to defeat our great enemy Samson!”
24 Cuando el pueblo lo vio, alabó a su dios, pues dijo: “Nuestro dios ha entregado en nuestra mano a nuestro enemigo y al destructor de nuestro país, que ha matado a muchos de nosotros.”
And when the other people saw Samson, they also praised their god Dagon, saying, “Samson ruined our crops and killed many of our people, but our god has put our enemy into our hands. Our god helped us to capture the one who has killed so many of us!”
25 Cuando sus corazones se alegraron, dijeron: “Llama a Sansón, para que nos entretenga”. Llamaron a Sansón de la cárcel, y éste se presentó ante ellos. Lo pusieron entre las columnas;
By that time the people were half-drunk. They shouted, “Bring Samson out of the prison! Bring him here so that he can entertain us!” So they brought Samson from the prison and made fun of him. Then they made him stand in the center of the temple. They made him stand between the two pillars that held up the roof.
26 y Sansón dijo al muchacho que lo llevaba de la mano: “Permíteme palpar las columnas sobre las que se apoya la casa, para que me apoye en ellas.”
Samson said to the servant who was leading him by his hand, “Place my hands against the two pillars. I want to rest against them.”
27 La casa estaba llena de hombres y mujeres, y todos los señores de los filisteos estaban allí; y en el techo había unos tres mil hombres y mujeres, que veían mientras Sansón actuaba.
At that time the temple was full of men and women. All the Philistine leaders were also there. And there were about 3,000 people on the roof, watching Samson and making fun of him.
28 Sansón invocó a Yahvé y le dijo: “Señor Yahvé, acuérdate de mí, por favor, y fortaléceme, por favor, sólo por esta vez, Dios, para que sea vengado de una vez de los filisteos por mis dos ojos.”
Then Samson prayed, saying, “Yahweh, my Lord, think about me again! Please give me strength one more time, so that I may get revenge on the Philistines for gouging out my eyes!”
29 Sansón se agarró a los dos pilares centrales sobre los que se apoyaba la casa y se apoyó en ellos, en uno con la mano derecha y en el otro con la izquierda.
Then Samson put his hands on the two center pillars of the temple. He put his right hand on one pillar and his left hand on the other pillar.
30 Sansón dijo: “¡Déjame morir con los filisteos!” Se inclinó con todas sus fuerzas, y la casa cayó sobre los señores y sobre todo el pueblo que estaba en ella. Así, los muertos que mató a su muerte fueron más que los que mató en vida.
Then he shouted [to God], “Let me die with the Philistines!”, and he pushed with all his strength. [The pillars collapsed], and the temple crashed down on the Philistine leaders and all the other Philistine people, [and they all died]. So Samson killed more people when he died than he had killed all during his life.
31 Entonces sus hermanos y toda la casa de su padre bajaron, lo llevaron y lo enterraron entre Zora y Eshtaol, en la sepultura de su padre Manoa. Juzgó a Israel durante veinte años.
Later his brothers and their relatives went down [from Zorah to Gaza] to get his body. They took it back home and buried it between Zorah and Eshtaol, at the place where Samson’s father Manoah was buried. Samson had been Israel’s leader for 20 years.
