参孙向非利士人报仇

15 过了些日子,在割麦的时候,参孙带着一只山羊羔去探望他妻子。他说:“我要进内室见我妻子。”他岳父却不让他进去, 并对他说:“我以为你非常恨她,所以我把她改嫁给你的伴郎了。她妹子不是比她更美丽吗?你可以娶来代替她。”

参孙说:“这次我要加害非利士人,可不能怪我了。”

于是,他出去捉了三百只狐狸,把它们的尾巴一对一对绑起来,将火把绑在两条尾巴中间, 然后点燃火把,把狐狸放进非利士人的麦田里,将割好的麦捆和未割的麦子、葡萄园和橄榄园都烧毁了。 非利士人问:“这是谁干的?”有人回答说:“是亭拿人的女婿参孙干的,因为他岳父把他的妻子嫁给了他的伴郎。”非利士人就去放火烧死了参孙的妻子和岳父。 参孙说:“你们既然这样做,我不向你们报仇誓不罢休。” 参孙大肆击杀他们,杀死了很多人。事后,他下到以坦,住在那里的岩洞里。

非利士人进犯犹大,在利希一带扎营。 10 犹大人问他们:“你们为什么来攻打我们?”非利士人回答说:“我们来捉拿参孙,向他以报还报。” 11 于是,有三千犹大人去以坦的岩洞找参孙,对他说:“难道你不知道非利士人是我们的统治者吗?你为什么连累我们?”参孙回答说:“我只是以牙还牙。” 12 犹大人说:“我们来是要捉拿你,把你交给非利士人。”参孙说:“你们要保证你们不会亲手杀我。” 13 他们说:“我们不会杀你,只将你绑起来交给非利士人。”于是,他们用两根新绳子把参孙捆绑起来带出岩洞。

14 非利士人看见参孙来到利希,就呐喊着迎了上去。耶和华的灵降在参孙身上,绑在他手臂上的绳子就像被火烧的麻线一样脱落下来。 15 他看到一块还没有干的驴腮骨,就捡起来用它杀了一千个非利士人。 16 参孙说:

“用这驴腮骨,我杀人成堆;
用这驴腮骨,我杀戮千人。”

17 说完,他扔掉了手中的驴腮骨。因此,那地方叫拉末·利希[a]

18 参孙觉得非常口渴,便向耶和华呼求说:“你既然借着仆人的手大败敌人,难道你会让我渴死、落在这些未受割礼的人手中吗?” 19 于是,上帝使利希的一处洼地裂开,涌出水来。参孙喝后恢复了精神。因此,那水泉叫隐哈·歌利[b]。那水泉今天还在利希。 20 在非利士人统治期间,参孙做以色列的士师二十年。

Footnotes

  1. 15:17 拉末·利希”意思是“腮骨岗”。
  2. 15:19 隐哈·歌利”意思是“呼求者的泉”。

15 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 will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.

Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.

10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To 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? 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 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and 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 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

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

16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.

17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.

18 And he was sore athirst, and 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 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

Samson Defeats the Philistines

15 After some days, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with (A)a young goat. And he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in. And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her, (B)so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.” And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.” So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards. Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife (C)and given her to his companion.” And the Philistines came up and (D)burned her and her father with fire. And Samson said to them, “If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit.” And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in the (E)cleft of the rock of Etam.

Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and (F)made a raid on (G)Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.” 11 Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that (H)the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.” 12 And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.” 13 They said to him, “No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you.” So they bound him with two (I)new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. (J)Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. 15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, (K)and with it he struck 1,000 men. 16 And Samson said,

“With the jawbone of a donkey,
    heaps upon heaps,
with the jawbone of a donkey
    have I struck down a thousand men.”

17 As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place (L)was called Ramath-lehi.[a]

18 And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, (M)“You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 And God split open the hollow place that is (N)at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, (O)his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore;[b] it is at Lehi to this day. 20 And he judged Israel (P)in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 15:17 Ramath-lehi means the hill of the jawbone
  2. Judges 15:19 En-hakkore means the spring of him who called