16 3 Samson carrieth away the gates of Gaza. 18 He was deceived by Delilah. 30 He pulleth down the house upon the Philistines, and dieth with them.

¹ Then went Samson to ^[a]Gaza, and saw there ^[b]an harlot, ^[c]and went in unto her.

² And it was told to the Gazites, Samson is come hither. And they went about, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, Abide ^[d]till the morning early, and we shall kill him.

³ And Samson slept till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gates of the city and the two posts, and lifted them away with the bars, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.

⁴ And after this he loved a woman by the ^[e]river of Sorek, whose name was Delilah:

⁵ Unto whom came the princes of the Philistines, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may overcome him, that we may bind him, and punish him, and every one of us shall give thee eleven hundred ^[f]shekels of silver.

⁶ ¶ And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound, to do thee hurt.

⁷ Samson then answered unto her, If they bind me with seven ^[g]green cords, that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

⁸ And the princes of the Philistines brought her seven green cords that were not dry, and she bound him therewith.

⁹ (And she had ^[h]men lying in wait with her in the chamber) Then she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the cords, as a thread of tow is broken, when ^[i]it feeleth fire: so his strength was not known.

¹⁰ ¶ After Delilah said unto Samson, See, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies. I pray thee now, ^[j]tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound.

¹¹ Then he answered her, If they bind me with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

¹² Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson: (and men lay in wait in the chamber) and he brake them from his arms, as a thread.

¹³ ¶ Afterward Delilah said to Samson, Hitherto thou hast beguiled me, and told me lies: tell me how thou mightest be bound. ^[k]And he said unto her, If thou plattedst seven locks of mine head with the threads of the woof.

¹⁴ And she fastened it with a pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and went away with the ^[l]pin of the web, and the woof.

¹⁵ Again she said unto him, How canst thou say, ^[m]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 And because she was importunate upon him with her words continually, and vexed him, his soul was pained unto the death.

¹⁷ Therefore he told her all his ^[n]heart, and said unto her, There never came razor upon mine head: for I am a Nazirite unto God from my mother’s womb: therefore if I be shaven, my strength will go from me, and I shall be weak and be like all other men.

¹⁸ And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent, and called for the Princes of the Philistines, saying, Come up once again: for he hath showed me all his heart. Then the Princes of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought the money in their hands.

¹⁹ And she made him sleep upon her knees, and she called a man, and made him to shave off the seven locks of his head, and she began to vex him, and his strength was gone ^[o]from him.

²⁰ Then she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and thought, I will go out now as at other times, and shake myself, but he knew not that the Lord was departed from him.

²¹ Therefore the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters: and he did grind in the prison house.

²² And the hair of his head began to ^[p]grow again after that it was shaven.

²³ Then the Princes of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.

²⁴ Also when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy and destroyer of our country, which hath slain many of us.

²⁵ And when their hearts were merry, they said, Call Samson, that he may make us pastime: So they called Samson out of the prison house, and he ^[q]was a laughing stock unto them, and they set him between the pillars.

²⁶ Then Samson said unto the servant that led him by the hand, Lead me, that I may touch the pillars that the house standeth upon, and that I may lean to them.

²⁷ (Now the house was full of men and women, and there were all the princes of the Philistines: also upon the roof were about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson ^[r]played)

²⁸ Then Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, I pray thee, think upon me: O God, I beseech thee, strengthen me at this time only, that I may be ^[s]at once ^[t]avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

²⁹ And Samson laid hold on the two middle pillars whereupon the house stood, and on which it was borne up: on the one with his right hand, and on the other with his left.

³⁰ Then said Samson, ^[u]Let me lose my life with the Philistines: and he bowed him with all his might, and the house fell upon the princes, and upon all the people that were therein: so the dead which he slew at his death, were more than they which he had slain in his life.

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 sepulcher of Manoah his father: now he had judged Israel twenty years.