Judges 1616JudgesThe judgesFree Bible Version

Free Bible VersionBerean Standard Bible

1. Samson Escapes Gaza

2. 1FBVSamson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and he went to have sex with her that night.BSBBSB: One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her.
3. 2FBVThe men of Gaza found out Samson was there, so they gathered to spend the night lying in wait for him at the town gates. They kept quiet all night, whispering to one another, “We'll kill him when it gets light.”BSBBSB: When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded that place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They were quiet throughout the night, saying, “Let us wait until dawn; then we will kill him.”
4. 3FBVBut Samson only stayed until halfway through the night. He grabbed hold of the town gates along with their two posts and ripped them up, along with the lock-bar. Putting them on his shoulders, he carried them to the hill opposite Hebron.BSBBSB: But Samson lay there only until midnight, when he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and both gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. Then he put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.

5. Samson and Delilah

6. 4FBVLater he fell in love with a woman named Delilah living in the Sorek Valley.BSBBSB: Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
7. 5FBVThe Philistine leaders approached her, saying, “See if you can seduce him and get him to show you the secret of his incredible strength, and find out how we can overpower him and tie him up so he can't do anything. We'll all give you eleven hundred shekels of silver each.”BSBBSB: The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”
8. 6FBVDelilah went and pleaded with Samson, “Please tell me where your incredible strength comes from, and what can be used to tie you up so you can't do anything.”BSBBSB: So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
9. 7FBV“If I'm tied up with seven supple bowstrings that haven't dried out, I'll become just as weak,” Samson told her.BSBBSB: Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become as weak as any other man.”
10. 8FBVThe Philistine leaders brought her seven supple bowstrings that hadn't dried out, and she tied him up with them.BSBBSB: So the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them.
11. 9FBVHaving arranged for men to hide in her bedroom ready to attack him, she shouted out, “Samson, the Philistines are here to get you!” But he snapped the bowstrings like a thread snaps when a flame touches it. So nobody found out where his strength came from.BSBBSB: While the men were hidden in her room, she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he snapped the bowstrings like a strand of yarn seared by a flame. So the source of his strength remained unknown.
12. 10FBVLater Delilah said to Samson, “You've made me look stupid, telling me these lies! So now please tell me what can be used to tie you up.”BSBBSB: Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me! Now please tell me how you can be tied up.”
13. 11FBV“If I'm tied up tight with new ropes that haven't been used before, I'll become just as weak as anyone else,” he told her.BSBBSB: He replied, “If they tie me up with new ropes that have never been used, I will become as weak as any other man.”
14. 12FBVSo Delilah got some new ropes and tied him up with them. She shouted out, “Samson, the Philistines are here to get you!” As before, men were hiding in her bedroom. But again Samson snapped the ropes from his arms as if they were thin threads.BSBBSB: So Delilah took new ropes, tied him up with them, and called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But while the men were hidden in her room, he snapped the ropes off his arms like they were threads.
15. 13FBVDelilah said to Samson, “You keep on making me look stupid, telling me these lies! Just tell me what can be used to tie you up!” “If you were to weave the seven braids of my hair into the web on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I'll become as weak as anyone else,” he told her. So while he was asleep, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, weaving them into the web,BSBBSB: Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me all along! Tell me how you can be tied up.” He told her, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the web of a loom and tighten it with a pin, I will become as weak as any other man.”
16. 14FBVand tightening the pin. She shouted out, “Samson, the Philistines are here to get you!” But Samson woke up and ripped out both the pin and the web from the loom.BSBBSB: So while he slept, Delilah took the seven braids of his hair and wove them into the web. Then she tightened it with a pin and called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin with the loom and the web.

17. Delilah Learns the Secret

18. 15FBVThen Delilah complained to Samson, “How can you tell me, ‘I love you,’ when you don't let me into your confidence? Three times you've made me look stupid, not telling me where your incredible strength comes from!”BSBBSB: “How can you say, ‘I love you,’” she asked, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and failed to reveal to me the source of your great strength!”
19. 16FBVShe nagged and complained all the time, pestering him until he wanted to die.BSBBSB: Finally, after she had pressed him daily with her words and pleaded until he was sick to death,
20. 17FBVEventually Samson confided in her, sharing everything. “My hair has never been cut, because I've been dedicated as a Nazirite to God from my birth. If I'm shaved, my strength will leave me, and I'll become as weak as anyone else.”BSBBSB: Samson told her all that was in his heart: “My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man.”
21. 18FBVDelilah realized that he had truly confided in her and shared everything, she sent a message to the Philistine leaders telling them, “Come back once more, because this time he's confided in me and told me everything.” So the Philistine leaders returned, bringing with them the money to give to her.BSBBSB: When Delilah realized that he had revealed to her all that was in his heart, she sent this message to the lords of the Philistines: “Come up once more, for he has revealed to me all that is in his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came to her, bringing the money in their hands.
22. 19FBVDelilah soothed him to sleep on her lap, and then called in someone to shave off the seven braids of hair. She started to torment him but he couldn't do anything for his strength left him.BSBBSB: And having lulled him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his head. In this way she began to subdue him, and his strength left him.
23. 20FBVShe shouted out, “Samson, the Philistines are here to get you!” Samson woke up and thought to himself, “I'll do like before and shake myself free.” But he didn't know that the Lord had left him.BSBBSB: Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.
24. 21FBVThe Philistines grabbed him and gouged out his eyes. Then they took him to Gaza where they imprisoned him in bronze chains. He was made to work grinding grain at the mill in the prison.BSBBSB: Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison.
25. 22FBVBut his hair began to grow back after it had been shaved off.BSBBSB: However, the hair of his head began to grow back after it had been shaved.

26. Samson’s Vengeance and Death

27. 23FBVThe Philistine leaders gathered for a great religious festival to sacrifice to their god Dagon and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has handed Samson our enemy over to us!”BSBBSB: Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.”
28. 24FBVWhen the people saw him, they praised their god, and said, “Our god has handed our enemy over to us, the one who devastated our land and killed so many of us.”BSBBSB: And when the people saw him, they praised their god, saying: “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy who destroyed our land and multiplied our dead.”
29. 25FBVAs they began to get drunk, they shouted, “Summon Samson so he can entertain us!” So they summoned Samson from the prison to entertain them, and made him stand between the two main pillars of the building.BSBBSB: And while their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison to entertain them. And they stationed him between the pillars.
30. 26FBVSamson said to the servant boy who was leading him by the hand, “Leave me by the pillars on which the temple rests so I can feel them, and lean against them.”BSBBSB: Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Lead me where I can feel the pillars supporting the temple, so I can lean against them.”
31. 27FBVThe temple was full of people. All the Philistine rulers were there, and on the roof were the ordinary people watching what Samson was doing.BSBBSB: Now the temple was full of men and women; all the lords of the Philistines were there, and about three thousand men and women were on the roof watching Samson entertain them.
32. 28FBVSamson called out to the Lord, “Lord God, please remember me and give me strength. Please God, do this just once more, so that with one act I may pay the Philistines back in revenge for the loss of my two eyes.”BSBBSB: Then Samson called out to the LORD: “O Lord GOD, please remember me. Strengthen me, O God, just once more, so that with one vengeful blow I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.”
33. 29FBVSamson reached for the two middle pillars that supported the temple. With his right hand leaning on one pillar and his left hand on the other,BSBBSB: And Samson reached out for the two central pillars supporting the temple. Bracing himself against them with his right hand on one pillar and his left hand on the other,
34. 30FBVSamson shouted, “Let me die with the Philistines!” and he pushed with all his strength. The temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. So those killed at his death were more than he killed in his life.BSBBSB: Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people in it. So in his death he killed more than he had killed in his life.
35. 31FBVThen his brothers and his whole family came and took him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He led Israel as judge for twenty years.BSBBSB: Then Samson’s brothers and his father’s family came down, carried him back, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. And he had judged Israel twenty years.

Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.