Juízes 15

¹ But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I willThat is, I will use her as my wife.go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

² And her father sayde, I thought that thou hadst hated her: therefore gaue I her to thy companion. Is not her yonger sister fayrer then shee? take her, I pray thee, in stead of the other.

³ And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be moreFor through his father-in-law's actions, he was moved again to take vengeance on the Philistines.blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

⁴ And Samson went out, and tooke three hundreth foxes, and tooke firebrands, and turned them taile to taile, and put a firebrand in ye middes betweene two tailes.

⁵ And when he had set the brands on fire, he let [them] go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both theOr, that which was reaped and gathered.shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards [and] olives.

⁶ Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of theOr, the citizen of Timnath.Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, andSo the wicked do not punish vice for love of justice, but for fear of danger, which also might come to them.burnt her and her father with fire.

⁷ And Samson saide vnto them, Though yee haue done this, yet wil I be auenged of you, and then I wil cease.

⁸ So hee smote them hippe and thigh with a mightie plague: then hee went and dwelt in the top of the rocke Etam.

⁹ Then the Philistims came vp, and pitched in Iudah, and were spred abroad in Lehi.

¹⁰ And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, ToAnd so being our prisoner to punish him.bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

¹¹ Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines [are] rulers over us?Such was their gross ignorance, that they judged God's great benefits to be a plague to them.what [is] this [that] thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

¹² Againe they sayd vnto him, Wee are come to binde thee, and to deliuer thee into the hande of the Philistims; Samson sayde vnto them, Sweare vnto me, that yee will not fall vpon me your selues.

¹³ And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, andThus they would rather betray their brother than use the means that God had given for their deliverance.deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

¹⁴ When hee came to Lehi, the Philistims shouted against him, and the Spirite of the Lord came vpon him, and the cordes that were vpon his armes, became as flaxe that was burnt with fire: for the bandes loosed from his handes.

¹⁵ And he found aThat is, of an ass recently slain.new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

¹⁶ Then Samson sayd, With the iaw of an asse are heapes vpon heapes: with the iawe of an asse haue I slaine a thousand men.

¹⁷ And when he had left speaking, hee cast away the iawebone out of his hande, and called that place, Ramath-Lehi.

¹⁸ And he was sore athirst, andBy which it appears that he did these things in faith, and so with a true zeal to glorify God, and deliver his country.called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?

¹⁹ Then God brake the cheeke tooth, that was in the iawe, and water came thereout: and when he had drunke, his Spirit came againe, and he was reuiued: wherefore the name therof is called, Enhakkore, which is in Lehi vnto this day.

²⁰ And hee iudged Israel in the dayes of the Philistims twentie yeeres.