The Birth of Samson (Numbers 6:1–21)
1 ULT Then the sons of Israel resumed to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh, so Yahweh gave them into the hand of the Philistines 40 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 ULT Now there was one man from Zorah, from the clan of the Danite, and his name{ was} Manoah. And his wife{ was} barren and had not given birth. 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 ULT And the angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman and said to her,“Behold, please, you{ are} barren and have not given birth, but you will 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 ULT And now, please be careful and do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat any unclean{ thing}. BSB BSB: Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean.
5 ULT For behold, you will conceive and bear a son. And a razor will not go up on his head, for the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb. And he will begin to save 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 ULT And the woman came and said to her husband, saying,“A man of God came to me, and his appearance{ was} like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him from where he{ was}, and he did not declare his name to 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 ULT And he said to me,‘Behold, you will conceive and bear a son. And now, do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat any unclean{ thing}, for the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb 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 ULT And Manoah prayed to Yahweh and said,“Please, my Lord, the man of God whom you sent, please let him come again to us and teach us what we should do for the boy, the one 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 ULT And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman. And she{ was} abiding in the field, but Manoah her husband{ was} not with her. 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 ULT And the woman hurried and ran and declared to her husband and said to him,“Behold, the man has appeared to me who came to me on a day.” BSB BSB: The woman ran quickly to tell her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has reappeared!”
11 ULT And Manoah arose and went after his wife. And he came to the man and said to him,“{ Are} you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said,“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 ULT And Manoah said,“Now may your words come{ to pass}. What will be the manner of the boy and his work?” BSB BSB: Then Manoah asked, “When your words come to pass, what will be the boy’s rule of life and mission?”
13 ULT And the angel of Yahweh said to Manoah,“Of all that I said to this woman, let her be careful. BSB BSB: So the angel of the LORD answered Manoah, “Your wife is to do everything I told her.
14 ULT Of all that comes forth from the vine of wine, she shall not eat, and wine or beer, she shall not drink, and any unclean{ thing}, she shall not eat. All that I have commanded her, she shall keep.” 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 ULT And Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh,“Please let us detain you, and we will prepare to your face a kid of goats.” BSB BSB: “Please stay here,” Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.”
16 ULT And the angel of Yahweh said to Manoah,“If you detain me, I will not eat of your bread. But if you prepare a burnt offering, to Yahweh you shall offer it.” For Manoah did not know that he{ was} the angel of Yahweh. 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 ULT Then Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh,“What{ is} your name,{ that} when your words come{ to pass}, then 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 ULT And the angel of Yahweh said to him,“Why do you ask this about my name, since it{ is} wonderful?” BSB BSB: “Why do you ask my name,” said the angel of the LORD, “since it is beyond comprehension?”
19 ULT And Manoah took the kid of goats and the grain offering and offered{ them} on a rock to Yahweh. And he was being wonderful in doing, and Manoah and his wife{ were} watching. 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 ULT For it happened, in the going up of the flame from the altar toward the heavens, that the angel of Yahweh went up in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife{ were} watching, and they fell on their faces to 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 ULT And the angel of Yahweh did not resume again to appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he{ was} the angel of Yahweh. 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 ULT And Manoah said to his wife,“Dying, we shall die, for we have seen God.” BSB BSB: “We are going to die,” he said to his wife, “for we have seen God!”
23 ULT But his wife said to him,“If Yahweh desired to kill us, he would not have taken from our hand a burnt offering and a grain offering, and he would not have shown us all these{ things}, and at{ this} time he would not have made us hear{ things} like this.” 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 ULT And the woman bore a son, and she called his name Samson. And the boy grew, and Yahweh 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 ULT And the Spirit of Yahweh began to agitate him in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and between Eshtaol. BSB BSB: And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.