Samson Defeats the Philistines

15 After a while, in the time of wheat harvest, it happened that Samson visited his wife with a ^(A)young goat. And he said, “Let me go in to my wife, into her room.” But her father would not permit him to go in.

² Her father said, “I really thought that you thoroughly ^(B)hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please, take her instead.”

³ And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be blameless regarding the Philistines if I harm them!” ⁴ Then Samson went and caught three hundred foxes; and he took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. ⁵ When he had set the torches on fire, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.

⁶ Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?”

And they answered, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” ^(C)So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.

⁷ Samson said to them, “Since you would do a thing like this, I will surely take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.” ⁸ So he attacked them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; then he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of ^(D)Etam.

⁹ Now the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and deployed themselves ^(E)against Lehi. ¹⁰ And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?”

So they answered, “We have come up to ^[a]arrest Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.”

¹¹ Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines ^(F)rule over us? What is this you have done to us?”

And he said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”

¹² But they said to him, “We have come down to arrest you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.”

Then Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.”

¹³ So they spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will tie you securely and deliver you into their hand; but we will surely not kill you.” And they bound him with two ^(G)new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

¹⁴ When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then ^(H)the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds ^[b]broke loose from his hands. ¹⁵ He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and ^(I)killed a thousand men with it. ¹⁶ Then Samson said:

¹⁷ And so it was, when he had finished speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand, and called that place ^[c]Ramath Lehi.

¹⁸ Then he became very thirsty; so he cried out to the Lord and said, ^(J)“You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?” ¹⁹ So God split the hollow place that is in ^[d]Lehi, and water came out, and he drank; and ^(K)his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he called its name ^[e]En Hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. ²⁰ And ^(L)he judged Israel ^(M)twenty years ^(N)in the days of the Philistines.

Samson and Delilah

16 Now Samson went to ^(O)Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her. ² When the Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they ^(P)surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him.” ³ And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.

⁴ Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. ⁵ And the ^(Q)lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, ^(R)“Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”

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

⁷ And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

⁸ So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them. ⁹ Now men were lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with.”

¹¹ So he said to her, “If they bind me securely with ^(S)new ropes ^[f]that have never been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

¹² Therefore Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And men were lying in wait, staying in the room. But he broke them off his arms like a thread.

¹³ Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me what you may be bound with.”

And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom”—

¹⁴ So she wove it tightly with the batten of the loom, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled out the batten and the web from the loom.

¹⁵ Then she said to him, ^(T)“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.” ¹⁶ And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was ^[g]vexed to death, ¹⁷ that he ^(U)told her all his heart, and said to her, ^(V)“No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. ^19 (W)Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then ^[h]she began to torment him, and his strength left him. ²⁰ And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord ^(X)had departed from him.

²¹ Then the Philistines took him and ^[i]put out his ^(Y)eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison. ²² However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven.

Samson Dies with the Philistines

²³ Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to ^(Z)Dagon their god, and to rejoice. And they said:

²⁴ When the people saw him, they ^(AA)praised their god; for they said:

²⁵ So it happened, when their hearts were ^(AB)merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars. ²⁶ Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them.” ²⁷ Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there—about three thousand men and women on the ^(AC)roof watching while Samson performed.

²⁸ Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord God, ^(AD)remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!” ²⁹ And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. ³⁰ Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.

³¹ And his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and ^(AE)buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel ^(AF)twenty years.

The Light of Christ’s Gospel

4 Therefore, since we have this ministry, ^(A)as we have received mercy, we ^(B)do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor ^[a]handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth ^(C)commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ But even if our gospel is veiled, ^(D)it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴ whose minds ^(E)the god of this age ^(F)has blinded, who do not believe, lest ^(G)the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, ^(H)who is the image of God, should shine on them. ^5 (I)For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ^(J)ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For it is the God ^(K)who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has ^(L)shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Cast Down but Unconquered

⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, ^(M)that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. ⁸ We are ^(N)hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not ^(O)forsaken; ^(P)struck down, but not destroyed— ^10 (Q)always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, ^(R)that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. ¹¹ For we who live ^(S)are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹² So then death is working in us, but life in you.

¹³ And since we have ^(T)the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ^(U)“I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴ knowing that ^(V)He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. ¹⁵ For ^(W)all things are for your sakes, that ^(X)grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

Seeing the Invisible

¹⁶ Therefore we ^(Y)do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is ^(Z)being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For ^(AA)our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ^18 (AB)while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Assurance of the Resurrection

5 For we know that if ^(AC)our earthly ^[b]house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house ^(AD)not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this ^(AE)we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our ^[c]habitation which is from heaven, ³ if indeed, ^(AF)having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. ⁴ For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, ^(AG)but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also ^(AH)has given us the Spirit as ^[d]a guarantee.

⁶ So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ⁷ For ^(AI)we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, yes, ^(AJ)well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

⁹ Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. ^10 (AK)For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, ^(AL)that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. ¹¹ Knowing, therefore, ^(AM)the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.

Be Reconciled to God

¹² For ^(AN)we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity ^(AO)to boast on our behalf, that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. ¹³ For ^(AP)if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that ^(AQ)if One died for all, then all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, ^(AR)that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

^16 (AS)Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, ^(AT)yet now we know Him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone ^(AU)is in Christ, he is ^(AV)a new creation; ^(AW)old things have passed away; behold, all things have become ^(AX)new. ¹⁸ Now all things are of God, ^(AY)who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that ^(AZ)God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not ^[e]imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

²⁰ Now then, we are ^(BA)ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For ^(BB)He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become ^(BC)the righteousness of God in Him.

Marks of the Ministry

6 We then, as ^(BD)workers together with Him also ^(BE)plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ² For He says:

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

^3 (BG)We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. ⁴ But in all things we commend ourselves ^(BH)as ministers of God: in much ^[f]patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, ^5 (BI)in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; ⁶ by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by ^[g]sincere love, ^7 (BJ)by the word of truth, by ^(BK)the power of God, by ^(BL)the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, ⁸ by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; ⁹ as unknown, and ^(BM)yet well known; ^(BN)as dying, and behold we live; ^(BO)as chastened, and yet not killed; ¹⁰ as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many ^(BP)rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

Be Holy

¹¹ O Corinthians! ^[h]We have spoken openly to you, ^(BQ)our heart is wide open. ¹² You are not restricted by us, but ^(BR)you are restricted by your own affections. ¹³ Now in return for the same ^(BS)(I speak as to children), you also be open.

^14 (BT)Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For ^(BU)what ^[i]fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what ^[j]communion has light with darkness? ¹⁵ And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For ^(BV)you^[k] are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

¹⁷ Therefore