The Birth of Samson (Numbers 6:1–21)
1 UST The Israelites again did what Yahweh had said was wicked. So Yahweh allowed the Philistines to rule over them for 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 UST There was a man whose name was Manoah who lived in the town of Zorah. He belonged to the tribe of Dan. His wife could not have children. 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 UST One day, an angel representing Yahweh appeared to Manoah’ s wife. The angel told her,“Please pay attention to this. You have not been able to have children. But you will soon become pregnant and have 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 UST Please make sure that from now until he is born, you do not drink any wine or beer. Also, do not eat any food that God has said is unclean. BSB BSB: Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean.
5 UST You must do this because you are going to become pregnant and have a son{ who must not drink or eat these things}. You must dedicate him to God as a Nazirite as soon as you give birth to him. Therefore you must never cut his hair. He will begin to stop the Philistines from ruling the Israelites.” 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 UST The woman ran and told her husband,“A man from God came to me. He looked like an angel from God. Looking at him made me afraid. I did not ask where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. 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 UST But he told me,‘Pay attention to this. You will become pregnant and have a son. From now until he is born, do not drink any wine or beer. Do not eat any food that God has said is unclean. You must do this because you are to dedicate your son to God as a Nazirite as soon as you give birth to him. He must continue to be a Nazirite for his entire life.’” 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 UST Then Manoah prayed to Yahweh,“Please, Lord, let the man you sent who looked like an angel come back to us. We want him to teach us how to raise the son my wife will have.” 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 UST God did what Manoah asked. The angel representing God came again to the woman while she was out working in the field. But her husband Manoah 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 UST The woman ran quickly and told her husband,“Listen to this! The man who appeared to me the other day has come back!” BSB BSB: The woman ran quickly to tell her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has reappeared!”
11 UST Manoah went out with his wife right away. When he came to the man, he asked him,“Are you the one who talked to my wife?” The man replied,“Yes, 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 UST Manoah asked him,“When what you have said comes true, what rules should the boy follow? What work should he do?” BSB BSB: Then Manoah asked, “When your words come to pass, what will be the boy’s rule of life and mission?”
13 UST The angel representing Yahweh said to Manoah,“Your wife must be careful to do everything I told her. BSB BSB: So the angel of the LORD answered Manoah, “Your wife is to do everything I told her.
14 UST She must not eat any grapes or raisins or drink grape juice. She must not drink any wine or beer. And she must not eat any food that God has said is unclean. She must obey everything I have told 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 UST Manoah said to the angel,“Please stay here for a while. We would like to prepare a young goat for you to eat.” BSB BSB: “Please stay here,” Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.”
16 UST The angel replied,“All right, I will stay, but I will not eat a meal. If you want to prepare something, you should offer it as a burnt offering to Yahweh.” Now Manoah did not realize that this was an angel representing 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 UST Then Manoah asked the angel,“What is your name? We want to honor you when what you have said comes true.” 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 UST The angel told him,“You should not ask me my name. It is a mysterious name that I do not tell other people.” BSB BSB: “Why do you ask my name,” said the angel of the LORD, “since it is beyond comprehension?”
19 UST Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to Yahweh. As Manoah and his wife were watching, the angel did something amazing. 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 UST As the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the angel went up in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they knelt down and put their faces to the ground{ as an act of humble worship}. 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 UST The angel did not appear to Manoah and his wife again. Then Manoah realized that the angel had been representing 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 UST Manoah said to his wife,“We have seen God, so we are going to die!” BSB BSB: “We are going to die,” he said to his wife, “for we have seen God!”
23 UST But his wife said to him,“If Yahweh had wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering{ to show that he is pleased with us}. He also would not have done this remarkable sign for us. And he would not have told us that we were going to have a baby even before I conceived him and gave birth to him.” 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 UST Then the woman did have a son{, just as the angel had said}. She named him Samson. As the boy was growing up, Yahweh did good things for him{ to show that he was going to use him to help the Israelites}. BSB BSB: So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him.
25 UST Samson went to live in the town of Mahaneh Dan, between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol. There the Spirit of Yahweh began to make him want to stop the Philistines from ruling the Israelites. BSB BSB: And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
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