Judges 15 | English Standard Version

English Standard Version

Samson Defeats the Philistines

1 After some days, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with a young goat. And he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in. (Ge 38:17) 2 And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.” (Jud 14:20; Jud 15:6) 3 And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.” 4 So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5 And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards. 6 Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire. (Jud 14:15; Jud 15:2) 7 And Samson said to them, “If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit.” 8 And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam. (Jud 15:11; Isa 2:21; Isa 57:5) 9 Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a raid on Lehi. (Jud 15:14; Jud 15:17; Jud 15:19; 2Sa 5:18; 2Sa 5:22)

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10 And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.” 11 Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.” (Jud 13:1; Jud 14:4) 12 And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.” 13 They said to him, “No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock. (Jud 16:11) 14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. (Jud 3:10; Jud 14:6; Jud 14:19; 1Sa 11:6)

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15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men. (Le 26:8; Jos 23:10; Jud 3:31) 16 And Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men.” 17 As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place was called Ramath-lehi.^[1] (Jud 15:9; Jud 15:14) 18 And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” (Ps 3:7) 19 And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore;^[2] it is at Lehi to this day. (Ge 45:27; Jud 15:17) 20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years. (Jud 13:1)

New International Version

from Biblica

Samson’s vengeance on the Philistines

1 Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, ‘I’m going to my wife’s room.’ But her father would not let him go in. 2 ‘I was so sure you hated her,’ he said, ‘that I gave her to your companion. Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.’ 3 Samson said to them, ‘This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.’ 4 So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, 5 lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing corn of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing corn, together with the vineyards and olive groves. 6 When the Philistines asked, ‘Who did this?’ they were told, ‘Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his companion.’ So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death. 7 Samson said to them, ‘Since you’ve acted like this, I swear that I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.’ 8 He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam. 9 The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. 10 The people of Judah asked, ‘Why have you come to fight us?’ ‘We have come to take Samson prisoner,’ they answered, ‘to do to him as he did to us.’ 11 Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, ‘Don’t you realise that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?’ He answered, ‘I merely did to them what they did to me.’ 12 They said to him, ‘We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.’ Samson said, ‘Swear to me that you won’t kill me yourselves.’ 13 ‘Agreed,’ they answered. ‘We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.’ So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. 14 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came towards him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men. 16 Then Samson said, ‘With a donkey’s jawbone I have made donkeys of them.^[1] With a donkey’s jawbone I have killed a thousand men.’ 17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.^[2] 18 Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord, ‘You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?’ 19 Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore,^[3] and it is still there in Lehi. 20 Samson led^[4] Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

King James Version

1 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in. 2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her. 3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. 4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. 5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives. 6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire. 7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease. 8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam. 9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us. 11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them. 12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. 13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock. 14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. 15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. 16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. 17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi. 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 uncircumcised? 19 But God 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. 20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

New International Reader’s Version

from Biblica

Samson gets even with the Philistines

1 Later on, Samson went to visit his wife. He took a young goat with him. He went at the time the wheat was being gathered. He said, ‘I’m going to my wife’s room.’ But her father wouldn’t let him go in. 2 Her father said, ‘I was sure you hated her. So I gave her to your companion. Isn’t her younger sister more beautiful? Take her instead.’ 3 Samson said to them, ‘This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines. I’m going to hurt them badly.’ 4 So he went out and caught 300 foxes. He tied them in pairs by their tails. Then he tied a torch to each pair of tails. 5 He lit the torches. He let the foxes loose in the fields of corn that belonged to the Philistines. He burned up the corn that had been cut and stacked. He burned up the corn that was still growing. He also burned up sthe vineyards and olive trees. 6 The Philistines asked, ‘Who did this?’ They were told, ‘Samson did. He’s the son-in-law of the man from Timnah. Samson did it because his wife was given to his companion.’ So the Philistines went up and burned the woman and her father to death. 7 Samson said to the Philistines, ‘Is that how you act? Then I promise I won’t stop until I pay you back.’ 8 He struck them down with heavy blows. He killed many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave. It was in the rock of Etam. 9 The Philistines went up and camped in Judah. They spread out near Lehi. 10 The people of Judah asked, ‘Why have you come to fight against us?’ ‘We’ve come to take Samson as our prisoner,’ they answered. ‘We want to do to him what he did to us.’ 11 Then 3,000 men from Judah went to get Samson. They went down to the cave in the rock of Etam. They said to Samson, ‘Don’t you realise the Philistines are ruling over us? What have you done to us?’ Samson answered, ‘I only did to them what they did to me.’ 12 The men of Judah said to him, ‘We’ve come to tie you up. We’re going to hand you over to the Philistines.’ Samson said, ‘Promise me you won’t kill me yourselves.’ 13 ‘We agree’, they answered. ‘We’ll only tie you up and hand you over to them. We won’t kill you.’ So they tied him up with two new ropes. They led him up from the rock. 14 Samson approached Lehi. The Philistines came towards him shouting. Then the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully on Samson. The ropes on his arms became like burned thread. They dropped off his hands. 15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey. He grabbed it and struck down 1,000 men. 16 Then Samson said, ‘By using a donkey’s jawbone I’ve made them look like donkeys. By using a donkey’s jawbone I’ve struck down 1,000 men.’ 17 Samson finished speaking. Then he threw the jawbone away. That’s why the place was called Ramath Lehi. 18 Samson was very thirsty. So he cried out to the LORD. He said, ‘You have helped me win this great battle. Do I have to die of thirst now? Must I fall into the power of people who haven’t even been circumcised? They aren’t your people.’ 19 Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi. Water came out of it. When Samson drank the water, his strength returned. He felt as good as new. So the spring was called En Hakkore. It’s still there in Lehi. 20 Samson led Israel for 20 years. In those days the Philistines were in the land.