Judges 13-14
1599 Geneva Bible
13 1 Israel for their wickedness is oppressed of the Philistines. 3 The Angel appeareth to Manoah’s wife, 16 The Angel commandeth him to sacrifice unto the Lord. 24 The birth of Samson.
1 But the children of Israel continued to commit (A)wickedness in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines forty years.
2 ¶ Then there was a man in Zorah of the family of the Danites named Manoah, whose wife was [a]barren, and bare not.
3 And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
4 And now therefore beware (B)that thou drink no wine, nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing.
5 For lo, thou shalt conceive and bear a son, and no razor shall (C)come on his head: for the child shall be a [b]Nazirite unto God from his birth: and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hands of the Philistines.
6 ¶ Then the wife came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and the fashion of him was like the fashion of the Angel of God exceedingly [c]fearful, but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name,
7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a son, and now thou shalt drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from his birth to the day of his death.
8 Then Manoah [d]prayed to the Lord, and said, I pray thee, my Lord, let the man of God, whom thou sentest, come again now unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child when he is born.
9 And God heard the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came again unto the wife, as she sat in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her.
10 ¶ And the wife made haste and ran, and showed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me [e]today.
11 And Manoah arose and went after his wife, and came to the [f]man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? and he said, Yea.
12 Then Manoah said, Now let thy saying come to pass: but how shall we order the child and do unto him?
13 And the Angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, The woman must beware of all that I said unto her.
14 She may eat of nothing that cometh of the vine tree: she shall not drink wine nor strong drink, nor eat any [g]unclean thing: let her observe all that I have commanded her.
15 Manoah then said unto the Angel of the Lord, I pray thee, let us retain thee, until we have made ready a kid for thee.
16 And the Angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Though thou make me abide, I will not eat of thy bread, and if thou wilt make a burnt offering, offer it unto the [h]Lord: for Manoah knew not that it was an Angel of the Lord.
17 Again Manoah said unto the Angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy saying is come to pass, we may honor thee?
18 And the Angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, which is [i]secret?
19 Then Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a stone unto the Lord: and the Angel did [j]wondrously, while Manoah and his wife looked on.
20 For when the flame came up toward heaven from the altar, the Angel of the Lord ascended up in the flame of the altar, and Manoah and his wife beheld it, and fell on their faces unto the ground.
21 (So the Angel of the Lord did no more appear unto Manoah and his wife.) Then Manoah knew that it was an Angel of the Lord.
22 And Manoah said unto his wife, (D)We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
23 But his wife said unto him, If the Lord would kill us, he would not have received a [k]burnt offering, and a meat offering of our hands, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would now have told us any such.
24 ¶ And the wife bore a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to [l]strengthen him in the host of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
14 2 Samson desireth to have a wife of the Philistines. 6 He killeth a lion. 12 He propoundeth a riddle. 19 He killeth thirty. 20 His wife forsaketh him, and taketh another.
1 Now Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines,
2 And he came up and told his father and his mother and said, I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore [m]give me her to wife.
3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there [n]never a wife among the daughters of thy brethren, and among all my people, that thou must go to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Give me her, for she pleaseth me well.
4 But his father and his mother knew not that it came of the Lord, that he should seek an occasion against the [o]Philistines: for at that time the Philistines reigned over Israel.
5 ¶ Then went Samson, and his father and his mother down to Timnah, and came to the vineyards of Timnah: and behold, a young lion roared upon him.
6 And the Spirit of the Lord [p]came upon him, and he tare him, as one should have rent a kid, and had nothing in his hand, neither told he his father nor his mother what he had done.
7 And he went down, and talked with the woman which was beautiful in the eyes of Samson.
8 ¶ And within a few days, when he returned [q]to receive her, he went aside to see the carcass of the lion: and behold, there was a swarm of bees, and honey in the body of the lion.
9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went eating, and came to his father and to his mother, and gave unto them, and they did eat: but he told not them, that he had taken the honey out of the body of the lion.
10 So his father went down unto the woman, and Samson made there a [r]feast: for so used the young men to do.
11 And when [s]they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.
12 Then Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: and if you can declare it me within seven days of the feast, and find it out, I will give you thirty sheets, and thirty [t]change of garments.
13 But if you cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they answered him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.
14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came meat, and out of the strong came sweetness: and they could not in three days expound the riddle.
15 And when the seventh day was [u]come, they said unto Samson’s wife, Entice thine husband that he may declare us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire. Have ye called us [v]to possess us? is it not so?
16 And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, Surely thou hatest me, and lovest me not: for thou hast put forth a riddle unto the [w]children of my people, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee?
17 Then Samson’s wife wept before him [x]seven days, while their feast lasted, and when the seventh day came, he told her, because she was importunate upon him: so she told the riddle to the children of her people.
18 And the men of the city said unto him the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a Lion? Then said he unto them, [y]If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.
19 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down [z]to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them and spoiled them, and gave change of garments unto them, which expounded the riddle: and his wrath was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house.
20 Then Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.
Footnotes
- Judges 13:2 Signifying, that their deliverance came only of God, and not by man’s power.
- Judges 13:5 Meaning, he should be separate from the world, and dedicated to God.
- Judges 13:6 If flesh be not able to abide the sight of an Angel, how much less the presence of God?
- Judges 13:8 He showeth himself ready to obey God’s will, and therefore desireth to know farther.
- Judges 13:10 It seemth that the Angel appeared unto her twice in one day.
- Judges 13:11 He calleth him man, because he so seemed, but he was Christ the eternal word, which at his time appointed became man.
- Judges 13:14 Anything forbidden by the Law.
- Judges 13:16 Showing, that he sought not his own honor but God’s, whose messenger he was.
- Judges 13:18 Or, marvelous.
- Judges 13:19 God sent fire from heaven to consume their sacrifice, to confirm their faith in his promise.
- Judges 13:23 These graces that we have received of God, and his accepting of our obedience, are sure tokens of his love toward us, so that nothing can hurt us.
- Judges 13:25 Or, to come upon him at divers times.
- Judges 14:2 Hebrew, take her for me to wife.
- Judges 14:3 Though his parents did justly reprove him, yet it appeareth that this was the secret work of the Lord, verse 4.
- Judges 14:4 To fight against them for the deliverance of Israel.
- Judges 14:6 Whereby he had strength and boldness.
- Judges 14:8 Or, to take her to his wife.
- Judges 14:10 Meaning, when he was married.
- Judges 14:11 That is, her parents or friends.
- Judges 14:12 To wear at feasts, or solemn days.
- Judges 14:15 Or, drew near: for it was the fourth day.
- Judges 14:15 Or, to impoverish us.
- Judges 14:16 Unto them which are of my nation.
- Judges 14:17 Or, to the seventh day beginning at the fourth.
- Judges 14:18 If ye had not used the help of my wife.
- Judges 14:19 Which was one of the five chief cities of the Philistines.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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