15:16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an a.s.s, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an a.s.s have I slain a thousand men.
15:17 And it came to pa.s.s, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.
15:18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncirc.u.mcised? 15:19 But G.o.d clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.
15:20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
16:1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.
16:2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compa.s.sed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.
16:3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.
16:4 And it came to pa.s.s afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
16:5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
16:6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
16:7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
16:9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber.
And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
16:10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
16:11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
16:12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.
16:13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
16:14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
16:15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
16:16 And it came to pa.s.s, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; 16:17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto G.o.d from my mother"s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
16:18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
16:19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
16:20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.
16:21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of bra.s.s; and he did grind in the prison house.
16:22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
16:23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their G.o.d, and to rejoice: for they said, Our G.o.d hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
16:24 And when the people saw him, they praised their G.o.d: for they said, Our G.o.d hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.
16:25 And it came to pa.s.s, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
16:26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.
16:27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
16:28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord G.o.d, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O G.o.d, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
16:31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
17:1 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
17:2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.
17:3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.
17:4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.
17:5 And the man Micah had an house of G.o.ds, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
17:7 And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
17:8 And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
17:9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.
17:10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.
17:11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.
17:12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
17:13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.
18:1 In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.
18:2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.