Judges 16

Samson and Delilah

¹Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a prostitute, and went in to her.

²The Gazites were told, “Samson is here!” They surrounded him and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, “Wait until morning light; then we will kill him.”

³Samson lay until midnight, then arose at midnight and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city, with the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.

⁴It came to pass afterward that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

⁵The lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and see in which his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”

⁶Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and what you might be bound to afflict you.”

⁷Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.”

⁸Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

⁹Now she had an ambush waiting in the inner room. She said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” He broke the cords as a flax thread is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.

¹⁰Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies. Now please tell me how you might be bound.”

¹¹He said to her, “If they only bind me with new ropes with which no work has been done, then I will become weak, and be as another man.”

¹²So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, then said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” The ambush was waiting in the inner room. He broke them off his arms like a thread.

¹³Delilah said to Samson, “Until now, you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me with what you might be bound.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the fabric on the loom.”

¹⁴She fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” He awakened out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam and the fabric.

¹⁵She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.”

¹⁶When she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, his soul was troubled to death.

¹⁷He told her all his heart and said to her, “No razor has ever come on my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me and I will become weak, and be like any other man.”

¹⁸When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up this once, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.

¹⁹She made him sleep on her knees; and she called for a man and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

²⁰She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” He awoke out of his sleep, and said, “I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.” But he didn’t know that the LORD had departed from him.

²¹The Philistines laid hold on him and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with fetters of bronze; and he ground at the mill in the prison.

²²However, the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaved.

²³The lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.”

²⁴When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, “Our god has delivered our enemy and the destroyer of our country, who has slain many of us, into our hand.”

²⁵When their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson, that he may entertain us.” They called for Samson out of the prison; and he performed before them. They set him between the pillars;

²⁶and Samson said to the boy who held him by the hand, “Allow me to feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean on them.”

²⁷Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were on the roof about three thousand men and women, who saw while Samson performed.

²⁸Samson called to the LORD, and said, “Lord GOD, remember me, please, and strengthen me, please, only this once, God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.”

²⁹Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house rested and leaned on them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left.

³⁰Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life.

³¹Then his brothers and all the house of his father came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burial site of Manoah his father. He judged Israel twenty years.

Previous Judges 15

Next Judges 17

Judges 16 recounts the final phase of Samson's career, beginning with his escape from Gaza by carrying off the city gates and culminating in his betrayal by Delilah. The Philistine woman repeatedly attempts to discover the secret of his strength, and after three deceptions, Samson finally reveals that his power lies in his uncut hair as a Nazirite. Delilah's betrayal leads to Samson's capture, blinding, and imprisonment, but his hair begins to grow back, setting the stage for his final act of vengeance.

Context

This chapter concludes Samson's judgeship that began in chapter 13, leading directly to his final vengeful act against the Philistines in the temple of Dagon.

Key Themes

Outline

1-3
Samson's Escape from Gaza Samson visits a prostitute in Gaza and escapes a Philistine ambush by carrying off the city gates.
4-9
Delilah's First Deception Attempt The Philistines bribe Delilah to discover Samson's weakness, and she tries binding him with green cords.
10-14
Second and Third Deception Attempts Delilah tries new ropes and weaving his hair into a loom, but Samson continues to deceive her.
15-17
Samson Reveals His Secret Under persistent pressure, Samson finally tells Delilah that his strength comes from his uncut Nazirite hair.
18-22
Betrayal and Capture Delilah has Samson's hair cut while he sleeps, leading to his capture, blinding, and imprisonment by the Philistines.

Samson and Delilah

16:1–16:31

narrative narration

Samson falls in love with Delilah, who repeatedly tries to discover the source of his strength for the Philistines. After revealing his Nazirite vow, he is captured, blinded, but ultimately destroys the Philistine temple, killing himself and many enemies.

person_contrast

Samson's final act reverses his pattern—instead of delivering Israel through supernatural strength, he achieves victory only through his own death, making this his sole sacrificial triumph.

Insight Character Study

Samson's final act reverses his pattern—instead of delivering Israel through supernatural strength, he achieves victory only through his own death, making this his sole sacrificial triumph.

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Judges 16:2 3 references

Lexicals 3

Genesis 1:5 Lexical

God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Judges 16

Samson and Delilah

Samson and Delilah

Insights

Cross-References

Judges 16:2 3 references

Judges 16:3 5 references

Judges 16:5 2 references

Judges 16:6 1 reference

Judges 16:9 1 reference

Judges 16:10 1 reference

Judges 16:11 1 reference

Judges 16:12 4 references

Judges 16:13 1 reference

Judges 16:14 1 reference

Judges 16:15 1 reference

Judges 16:17 1 reference

Judges 16:20 2 references

Judges 16:21 1 reference

Judges 16:23 5 references

Judges 16:27 2 references

Judges 16:28 5 references

Judges 16:29 3 references

Judges 16:30 1 reference

Judges 16:31 5 references

Interlinear

Historical Context