The Birth of Samson (Numbers 6:1–21)
1 CPDV And again, the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. And he delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. BSB BSB: Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
2 CPDV Now there was a certain man from Zorah, and of the stock of Dan, whose name was Manoah, having a barren wife. BSB BSB: Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children.
3 CPDV And an Angel of the Lord appeared to her, and he said: “You are barren and without children. But you shall conceive and bear a son. BSB BSB: The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son.
4 CPDV Therefore, take care that you do not drink wine or strong drink. Neither shall you eat anything unclean. BSB BSB: Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean.
5 CPDV For you shall conceive and bear a son, whose head no razor shall touch. For he shall be a Nazirite of God, from his infancy and from his mother’s womb. And he shall begin to free Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” BSB BSB: For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall touch his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”
6 CPDV And when she had gone to her husband, she said to him: “A man of God came to me, having the countenance of an Angel, exceedingly terrible. And when I had inquired of him, who he was, and where he was from, and what name he was called, he was not willing to tell me. BSB BSB: So the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. His appearance was like the angel of God, exceedingly awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.
7 CPDV But he responded: ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Take care that you do not drink wine or strong drink. And you shall not consume anything unclean. For the boy shall be a Nazirite of God from his infancy, from his mother’s womb, even until the day of his death.’ ” BSB BSB: But he said to me, ‘Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. Now, therefore, do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb until the day of his death.’”
8 CPDV And so Manoah prayed to the Lord, and he said, “I beg you Lord, that the man of God, whom you sent, may come again, and may teach us what we ought to do about the boy who is to be born.” BSB BSB: Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, “Please, O Lord, let the man of God You sent us come to us again to teach us how to raise the boy who is to be born.”
9 CPDV And the Lord heeded the prayer of Manoah, and the Angel of the Lord appeared again to his wife, sitting in a field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. And when she had seen the Angel, BSB BSB: And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God returned to the woman as she was sitting in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her.
10 CPDV she hurried and ran to her husband. And she reported to him, saying, “Behold, the man appeared to me, whom I had seen before.” BSB BSB: The woman ran quickly to tell her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has reappeared!”
11 CPDV And he rose up and followed his wife. And going to the man, he said to him, “Are you the one who spoke to my wife?” And he responded, “I am.” BSB BSB: So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” “I am,” he said.
12 CPDV And Manoah said to him: “When will your word be fulfilled. What do you want the boy to do? Or from what should he keep himself?” BSB BSB: Then Manoah asked, “When your words come to pass, what will be the boy’s rule of life and mission?”
13 CPDV And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah: “Concerning all the things about which I have spoken to your wife, she herself should abstain. BSB BSB: So the angel of the LORD answered Manoah, “Your wife is to do everything I told her.
14 CPDV And let her eat nothing from the vine. She may not drink wine or strong drink. She may consume nothing unclean. And let her observe and keep what I have instructed to her.” BSB BSB: She must not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor drink any wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”
15 CPDV And Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “I beg you to agree to my petition, and to let us prepare a kid from the goats.” BSB BSB: “Please stay here,” Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.”
16 CPDV And the Angel answered him: “Even if you compel me, I will not eat from your bread. But if you are willing to offer a holocaust, offer it to the Lord.” And Manoah did not know that he was an Angel of the Lord. BSB BSB: And the angel of the LORD replied, “Even if I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” For Manoah did not know that it was the angel of the LORD.
17 CPDV And he said to him, “What is your name, so that, if your word is fulfilled, we may honor you?” BSB BSB: Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes to pass?”
18 CPDV And he answered him, “Why do you ask my name, which is a wonder?” BSB BSB: “Why do you ask my name,” said the angel of the LORD, “since it is beyond comprehension?”
19 CPDV And so, Manoah took a kid from the goats, and libations, and he placed them upon a rock, as an offering to the Lord, who accomplishes wonders. Then he and his wife watched. BSB BSB: Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD. And as Manoah and his wife looked on, the LORD did a marvelous thing.
20 CPDV And when the flame of the altar ascended to heaven, the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. And when Manoah and his wife had seen this, they fell prone on the ground. BSB BSB: When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground.
21 CPDV And the Angel of the Lord no longer appeared to them. And immediately, Manoah understood him to be an Angel of the Lord. BSB BSB: And when the angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it had been the angel of the LORD.
22 CPDV And he said to his wife, “We shall certainly die, since we have seen God.” BSB BSB: “We are going to die,” he said to his wife, “for we have seen God!”
23 CPDV And his wife answered him, “If the Lord wished to kill us, he would not have accepted the holocaust and the libations from our hands. He would not have revealed all these things to us, nor would he have told us the things that are in the future.” BSB BSB: But his wife replied, “If the LORD had intended to kill us, He would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things or spoken to us this way.”
24 CPDV And so she bore a son, and she called his name Samson. And the boy grew up, and the Lord blessed him. BSB BSB: So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him.
25 CPDV And the Spirit of the Lord began to be with him in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. BSB BSB: And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
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