Old/New Testament
13 Once again, though, the Israelites did evil according to the Eternal God, and He gave the Philistines power over them for 40 years. 2 During that time, a man of Zorah named Manoah, from the tribe of Dan, was married to a wife who could bear him no children.
Messenger of the Eternal One (appearing to Manoah’s wife): 3 You are barren and have no children, but all of that is about to change. You will conceive and have a son. 4 Be careful that you don’t drink wine or any other spirits (strong drink), and don’t eat anything that is ritually impure, 5 for you are going to become pregnant and have a son. Don’t ever use a razor on his head, because you will raise this boy as a Nazirite, dedicated to the True God from his conception, and he will be the one to begin delivering Israel from the Philistines.
Manoah’s Wife (to her husband): 6 A man of the True God visited me. He looked like a messenger of God, awe-inspiring. I didn’t ask where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name, 7 but he told me that I was going to become pregnant and bear a son. He told me not to drink wine or other spirits or to eat anything ritually unclean because our boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart for God from the day he is conceived until the day he dies.
Manoah (to the Lord): 8 Eternal One, please let the man of God whom you sent visit us again and teach us what to do with the boy You are giving us.
9 The True God heard Manoah and sent His messenger to visit the woman one day while she was in the fields. Manoah was not with her, 10 so she ran to tell him.
Manoah’s Wife: Look, the man who spoke to me the other day is here again!
11 Manoah got up, followed his wife, and came to where the man was.
Manoah (to the messenger): Are you the one who spoke to my wife the other day?
Messenger of the Eternal One: I am.
Manoah: 12 When your words come true, what rules should we apply to the boy? What is his mission in life?
Messenger of the Eternal One: 13 Your wife should do as I told her on my first visit. 14 She must not eat or drink of the vine, she must not drink any other strong drink, and she must not eat foods that are ritually impure. She must do all that I have commanded.
Manoah: 15 If you will wait, we would like to prepare a young goat for you to eat.
Messenger of the Eternal One: 16 Even if you try to detain me, I will not eat your food. If you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Eternal.
Manoah had not realized that he was speaking to the Eternal’s messenger. 17 That is why he asked the Eternal’s messenger a question.
Manoah: What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words become truth?
Messenger of the Eternal One: 18 Why do you ask my name? It is incomprehensible, beyond human understanding.
19 Manoah took the young goat, together with the offering of grain, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Eternal, to the wonder-working God. While Manoah and his wife watched 20 the flame going up toward heaven from the altar, the Eternal’s messenger rose up to heaven in the flames, and Manoah and his wife put their faces to the ground. 21 When he did not reappear, Manoah realized that they had seen the Eternal’s messenger.
Manoah (to his wife): 22 We are most certainly going to die, for we have seen the True God!
Manoah’s Wife: 23 If the Eternal had desired to kill us, then He would not have accepted the grain and burnt offerings from us or shown us these wonders or brought these announcements at this time.
24 In due time, the woman did bear a son, and she named him Samson. The boy grew, the Eternal God blessed him, 25 and the Spirit of the Eternal One began to move in him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
14 Samson went down from the hill country to the Philistine town of Timnah, on the coastal plain, and he saw a Philistine woman there. 2 When he came home, he told his parents,
Samson: I saw this woman in Timnah who captured my attention. She’s a Philistine, but I want her for a wife. I beg you, make the arrangements for her to be my wife.
Samson’s Parents: 3 What? Isn’t there a single woman among your tribe, among all of our people, the people of Israel? Do you have to take a wife from among the uncircumcised Philistines?
Samson (to his father): You have to get her for me. She is the one and is pleasing in my eyes.
The longer the Israelites are in Canaan, the more they find themselves drawn into the beliefs and practices of those around them. Samson, although he is a deliverer of his people and set aside by God, demonstrates the worst traits of his people. He actually takes a wife from among the other people who are trying to conquer Canaan, the Philistines.
But in all of this, we are told, God is working out a purpose; Samson has the Spirit of God. Not only does God use imperfect human beings for His own designs, but God can use human weakness to achieve His goals. Samson’s weakness, although it leads to his personal destruction, becomes God’s strength and leads to great victories for Israel.
4 Samson’s parents did not know that this passion was planned by the Eternal, who was working out a way to move against the Philistines who ruled over Israel.
5 Samson and his parents went down to the vineyards of Timnah. While they were traveling, a young lion roared at him. 6 The Spirit of the Eternal moved upon Samson in that instant, and with his bare hands, he tore the lion apart as one might rend a small goat; but since he was by himself when this happened, he did not tell his parents what he had done. 7 Afterward he continued on to Timnah and talked with the woman. Samson was quite taken with her for she was very attractive.
8 So Samson returned later to marry her, and on the journey, he turned aside to see again the carcass of the lion he had killed. A swarm of bees was in the carcass, where they had made their hive with some honey. 9 Although he had been set aside as a Nazirite, and was not supposed to touch a corpse, he scraped some honey out and went on, eating it from his hands. When he came to his parents, he gave some of it to them to eat, but he did not tell them where he had gotten it.
10 His father went ahead to the Philistine woman, and Samson made a wedding feast with food and drink, as was the custom for young men being married. 11 The Philistines of the bridal party invited 30 men to serve as companions for Samson at the feast, since he had not brought any of his friends.
Samson (to the 30 young men): 12 I have a riddle for you. If you can solve it during the seven days we eat and drink here, I will give each of you a set of linen garments and a change of clothes. 13 If you cannot solve it in the seven days, then you will have to give me 30 linen garments and 30 sets of clothes.
Thirty Men: Ask away. What is your riddle?
14 Samson: Out of the eater came something to eat,
and out of the strong came something sweet.
For three days the young men puzzled over Samson’s riddle. 15 On the fourth[a] day, they went to Samson’s wife and threatened her.
Thirty Men: Trick your husband, seduce him if necessary, whatever it takes to find out the answer to this riddle, or we will burn down your father’s house with you in it. Did you invite us to this party just to take away what is ours?
16 Samson’s wife went to him and wept in front of him.
Samson’s Wife: You say you love me, but you don’t. You asked my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.
Samson: I haven’t even told my parents the answer. Why should I tell you?
17 She went on crying until the seventh day of the feast; and, at last, because she continued to bother him, he told her the answer. Then she reported it to the young men, 18 so that before the sun went down on the last day of the feast, they knew the answer.
Thirty Men: What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?
Samson: If you hadn’t gone behind my back with my wife, you would never have found the answer to this riddle.
19 The Spirit of the Eternal came upon Samson, and he immediately received great strength. He went down to the Philistine town of Ashkelon where he killed 30 men, took their possessions, and gave their garments in payment to the young men who had answered his riddle. Then, furious, he left the feast and went back up to his father’s house, 20 and Samson’s wife was instead given to the companion who had been his best man.
15 Later, during the time of the wheat harvest, Samson tried to return to his wife, bringing with him a young goat.
Samson: I want to go in and be with my wife.
But his father-in-law refused.
Samson’s Father-in-law: 2 When you left us, I thought you didn’t want her anymore. So I gave her to your companion from the feast. Anyway her younger sister is much prettier than she is. Why don’t you take her instead?
Samson: 3 This time no one will blame me when I hurt the Philistines.
4 Samson went and caught 300 foxes. Tying them tail-to-tail, he put a torch between each pair of tails 5 so that when they were lit, the foxes ran into the fields of the Philistines and burned everything up. The grain standing in the fields burned, as well as the grain that had been gathered up along with the olive groves and the vineyards.
Philistines (seeing the disaster): 6 Who did this?
Other Philistines: Samson, the son-in-law of the man from Timnah, because he gave Samson’s wife away to his best man.
So the Philistines went and set their house afire, and Samson’s wife and her father were burned alive.
Samson: 7 Is this how it’s going to be? Then I won’t stop until I have taken great revenge on you.
8 So he fought them mercilessly and killed many of them. And then he went and hid out in a cave near the rock of Etam.
9 A company of Philistines went up then and camped in Judah, where they made a raid against Lehi.
Men of Judah (to the company of Philistines): 10 Why are you doing this?
Philistines: We’ve come up to capture Samson, to make him suffer the way he has made us suffer.
Then 3,000 men of Judah went to the rock of Etam to talk to Samson.
Men of Judah (to Samson): 11 Are you crazy? The Philistines are our masters! They have the upper hand. Don’t you know what you’re doing to us?
Samson: I’m only paying them back for what they have done to me.
Men of Judah: 12 We’ve come to capture you and take you to the Philistines.
Samson: Will you swear not to kill me yourselves?
Men of Judah: 13 We agree not to kill you, but we will tie you up and hand you over to them.
So they tied him with two new ropes and led him away from the cave near the rock of Etam. 14 When the Philistines at Lehi saw them coming, they raised a mighty shout and ran to seize Samson. At that moment, the Spirit of the Eternal came upon Samson, and he immediately had great strength. He broke free of the ropes on his arms, as if they were no more than string burned with fire, and the bonds fell from his hands. 15 Grabbing up a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he began fighting them. That day he killed 1,000 Philistines.
16 Samson (singing): With the jawbone of a donkey,
I have piled them high.
With the jawbone of a donkey,
I have killed 1,000 men.
17 When he finished his triumphant song, he threw away the jawbone, and he called that place Ramath-lehi, “the high place of the jawbone.” 18 He was now very thirsty from his exertion, and he cried to the Eternal.
Samson: You have given this great victory into my hands. But am I going to die of thirst now and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised Philistines?
19 Then God split open a place in the rock at Lehi so that water gushed out. When Samson drank, he found his strength returned and his spirit revived. So that place was called En-hakkore, “the spring of the one who called,” and it is still in Lehi to this day.
20 Samson judged and delivered Israel during the days of the Philistines for 20 years.
27 If you’re listening, here’s My message: Keep loving your enemies no matter what they do. Keep doing good to those who hate you. 28 Keep speaking blessings on those who curse you. Keep praying for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer the other cheek too. If someone steals your coat, offer him your shirt too. 30 If someone begs from you, give to him. If someone robs you of your valuables, don’t demand them back. 31 Think of the kindness you wish others would show you; do the same for them.
32 Listen, what’s the big deal if you love people who already love you? Even scoundrels do that much! 33 So what if you do good to those who do good to you? Even scoundrels do that much! 34 So what if you lend to people who are likely to repay you? Even scoundrels lend to scoundrels if they think they’ll be fully repaid.
35 If you want to be extraordinary—love your enemies! Do good without restraint! Lend with abandon! Don’t expect anything in return! Then you’ll receive the truly great reward—you will be children of the Most High—for God is kind to the ungrateful and those who are wicked. 36 So imitate God and be truly compassionate, the way your Father is.
37 If you don’t want to be judged, don’t judge. If you don’t want to be condemned, don’t condemn. If you want to be forgiven, forgive. 38 Don’t hold back—give freely, and you’ll have plenty poured back into your lap—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, brimming over. You’ll receive in the same measure you give.
39 Jesus told them this parable:
Jesus: What happens if a blind man leads a blind man? Won’t both of them fall into a pit? 40 You can’t turn out better than your teacher; when you’re fully taught, you will resemble your teacher.
41 Speaking of blindness: Why do you focus on the speck in your brother’s eye? Why don’t you see the log in your own? 42 How can you say to your brother, “Oh, brother, let me help you take that little speck out of your eye,” when you don’t even see the big log in your own eye? What a hypocrite! First, take the log out of your own eye. Then you’ll be able to see clearly enough to help your brother with the speck in his eye.
43 Count on this: no good tree bears bad fruit, and no bad tree bears good fruit. 44 You can know a tree by the fruit it bears. You don’t find figs on a thorn bush, and you can’t pick grapes from a briar bush. 45 It’s the same with people. A person full of goodness in his heart produces good things; a person with an evil reservoir in his heart pours out evil things. The heart overflows in the words a person speaks; your words reveal what’s within your heart.
46 What good is it to mouth the words, “Lord! Lord!” if you don’t live by My teachings? 47 What matters is that you come to Me, hear My words, and actually live by them. 48 If you do that, you’ll be like the man who wanted to build a sturdy house. He dug down deep and anchored his foundation to solid rock. During a violent storm, the floodwaters slammed against the house, but they couldn’t shake it because of solid craftsmanship. [It was built upon rock.][a]
49 On the other hand, if you hear My teachings but don’t put them into practice, you’ll be like the careless builder who didn’t bother to build a foundation under his house. The floodwaters barely touched that pathetic house, and it crashed in ruins in the mud.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.