16
1 Then went Shimshon to Azah (Gaza), and saw there a zonah, and went in unto her. 2 And it was told the Azah people, saying, Shimshon is come here. And they surrounded him, and laid wait for him kol halailah in the sha'ar HaIr, and were quiet kol halailah, saying, In the ohr haboker, we shall kill him. 3 And Shimshon lay till khatzot halailah, and arose at khatzot halailah, and took the daletot sha'ar HaIr, and the two mezuzot, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of a hill that is before Chevron.
4 And it came to pass afterward, that he fell in love with an isha in the Sorek Valley, whose shem was Delilah. 5 And rulers of the Pelishtim came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, see wherein his ko'ach gadol lieth, 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 kesef.
6 And Delilah said to Shimshon, Tell me, now, wherein thy koach gadol lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to subdue thee. 7 And Shimshon said unto her, If they bind me with shivah fresh bowstrings that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as any adam.
8 Then the rulers of the Pelishtim brought up to her shivah fresh bowstrings which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the cheder. And she said unto him, The Pelishtim be upon thee, Shimshon. And he broke the bowstrings, as a piece of thread is broken when it toucheth the eish. So his ko'ach was not known.
10 And Delilah said unto Shimshon, Hinei, thou hast mocked me, and told me kezavim (lies); tell me, now, wherewith thou mightest be bound. 11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with avotim chadashim that never were used, then shall I be weak, and be as any adam.
12 Delilah therefore took avotim chadashim, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Pelishtim be upon thee, Shimshon. For there were ambushers lying in wait abiding in the cheder. And he broke them from off his arms like thread.
13 And Delilah said unto Shimshon, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me kezavim; tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the sheva braids of my head with the web,*
14 And fasten it with the pin… Again she called to him, The Pelishtim be upon thee, Shimshon. And he awakened out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the loom, and with the web.
15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine lev is not with me? Thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy ko'ach gadol lieth. 16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his nefesh was vexed unto death; 17 That he told her all his lev, and said unto her, There hath not come a morah (razor) upon mine head; for I have been a Nazir Elohim from my motherʼs beten; if I be shaven, then my ko'ach will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other adam.
18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his lev, she sent and called for the rulers of the Pelishtim, saying, Come up this once, for he hath showed me all his lev. Then the rulers of the Pelishtim came up unto her, and brought kesef in their yad.
19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for an ish, and she caused him to shave off the sheva braids of his head; and she began to torment him, and his ko'ach went from him. 20 And she said, The Pelishtim be upon thee, Shimshon. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before and shake myself. And he knew not that Hashem was departed from him.
21 But the Pelishtim took him, and gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Azah (Gaza), and bound him with fetters of nechoshet; and he did grind in the prison house. 22 Howbeit after he was shaven, the hair of his head began l'tzameach† again.
23 Then rulers of the Pelishtim gathered them together for to offer a zevach gadol unto Dagon eloheihem, and to rejoice; for they said, eloheinu hath delivered Shimshon oyveinu (our enemy) into our yad. 24 And when the people saw him, they praised eloheihem; for they said, eloheinu hath delivered into our hands oyveinu, and the destroyer of our country, which slaughtered many of us. 25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Shimshon, that he may entertain us. And they called for Shimshon out of the prison house; and he entertained them; and they set him between the ammudim.
26 And Shimshon said unto the na'ar that held him by the yad, Put me where I may feel the ammudim whereupon the bais standeth, that I may lean upon them. 27 Now the bais (temple) was full of anashim and nashim; and all the rulers of the Pelishtim were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand ish and isha, that beheld while Shimshon entertained. 28 And Shimshon called unto Hashem, and said, Adonoi Hashem, remember me, now, and strengthen me, now, only this once, O HaElohim that I may be at once avenged of the Pelishtim for my two eyes. 29 And Shimshon took hold of the two middle ammudim upon which the bais stood and he braced himself against them, one with his right yad, and the other with his left. 30 And Shimshon said, Let me die with the Pelishtim. And he pushed himself with all his ko'ach; and the bais fell upon the rulers, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slaughtered at his death were more than they which he slaughtered in his life.
31 Then his brethren and all the bais of his av came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Tzorah and Eshta'ol in the kever of Manoach his av. And he judged Yisroel esrim shanah.
* 16:13 fabric on the loom † 16:22 to spring up; Tzemach is Moshiach