⁷ The angel of the Lord^(A) found Hagar near a spring^(B) in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.^{(C) 8} And he said, “Hagar,^(D) slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”^(E)

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

⁹ Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” ¹⁰ The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”^(F)

¹¹ The angel of the Lord^(G) also said to her:

¹³ She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,^(N)” for she said, “I have now seen^[c] the One who sees me.”^(O)

¹¹ But the angel of the Lord^(A) called out to him from heaven,^(B) “Abraham! Abraham!”^(C)

“Here I am,”^(D) he replied.

¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God,^(E) because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.^(F)”

¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram^[a] caught by its horns.^(G) He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.^{(H) 14} So Abraham called^(I) that place The Lord^(J) Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.^(K)”

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord^(L) called to Abraham from heaven^(M) a second time ¹⁶ and said, “I swear by myself,^(N) declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,^{(O) 17} I will surely bless you^(P) and make your descendants^(Q) as numerous as the stars in the sky^(R) and as the sand on the seashore.^(S) Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,^{(T) 18} and through your offspring^[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,^[c](U) because you have obeyed me.”^(V)

¹¹ The angel of God^(A) said to me in the dream,^(B) ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’^{(C) 12} And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted,^(D) for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.^{(E) 13} I am the God of Bethel,^(F) where you anointed a pillar^(G) and where you made a vow^(H) to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.^(I)’”

² There the angel of the Lord^(A) appeared to him in flames of fire^(B) from within a bush.^(C) Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called^(D) to him from within the bush,^(E) “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”^(F)

⁵ “Do not come any closer,”^(G) God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”^{(H) 6} Then he said, “I am the God of your father,^[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”^(I) At this, Moses hid^(J) his face, because he was afraid to look at God.^(K)

The Angel of the Lord at Bokim

2 The angel of the Lord^(A) went up from Gilgal^(B) to Bokim^(C) and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt^(D) and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors.^(E) I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,^{(F) 2} and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land,^(G) but you shall break down their altars.^(H)’ Yet you have disobeyed^(I) me. Why have you done this? ³ And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you;^(J) they will become traps^(K) for you, and their gods will become snares^(L) to you.’”

⁴ When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud,^(M)

¹¹ The angel of the Lord^(A) came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah^(B) that belonged to Joash^(C) the Abiezrite,^(D) where his son Gideon^(E) was threshing^(F) wheat in a winepress^(G) to keep it from the Midianites. ¹² When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you,^(H) mighty warrior.^(I)”

¹³ “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders^(J) that our ancestors told^(K) us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned^(L) us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

¹⁴ The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have^(M) and save^(N) Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

¹⁵ “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan^(O) is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.^(P)”

¹⁶ The Lord answered, “I will be with you^(Q), and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

¹⁷ Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign^(R) that it is really you talking to me. ¹⁸ Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

¹⁹ Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat,^(S) and from an ephah^[a](T) of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.^(U)

²⁰ The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock,^(V) and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. ²¹ Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread^(W) with the tip of the staff^(X) that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. ²² When Gideon realized^(Y) that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”^(Z)

²³ But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid.^(AA) You are not going to die.”^(AB)

The Birth of Samson

13 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines^(A) for forty years.^(B)

² A certain man of Zorah,^(C) named Manoah,^(D) from the clan of the Danites,^(E) had a wife who was childless,^(F) unable to give birth. ³ The angel of the Lord^(G) appeared to her^(H) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.^{(I) 4} Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink^(J) and that you do not eat anything unclean.^{(K) 5} You will become pregnant and have a son^(L) whose head is never to be touched by a razor^(M) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,^(N) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead^(O) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

⁶ Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God^(P) came to me. He looked like an angel of God,^(Q) very awesome.^(R) I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. ⁷ But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine^(S) or other fermented drink^(T) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.^(U)’”

⁸ Then Manoah^(V) prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God^(W) you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”

⁹ God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. ¹⁰ The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me^(X) the other day!”

¹¹ Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”

“I am,” he said.

¹² So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?”

¹³ The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. ¹⁴ She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink^(Y) nor eat anything unclean.^(Z) She must do everything I have commanded her.”

¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat^(AA) for you.”

¹⁶ The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering,^(AB) offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize^(AC) that it was the angel of the Lord.)

¹⁷ Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name,^(AD) so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”

¹⁸ He replied, “Why do you ask my name?^(AE) It is beyond understanding.^[a]” ¹⁹ Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock^(AF) to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: ²⁰ As the flame^(AG) blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.^{(AH) 21} When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized^(AI) that it was the angel of the Lord.

²² “We are doomed^(AJ) to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen^(AK) God!”

²³ But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”^(AL)

²⁴ The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.^(AM) He grew^(AN) and the Lord blessed him,^{(AO) 25} and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir^(AP) him while he was in Mahaneh Dan,^(AQ) between Zorah and Eshtaol.