Judges 16

Samson’s Fall, from Strength to Shackles

1 Samson went down to Gaza and saw a prostitute. He went in and spent the night with her.

2 The people of Gaza heard he was in town. They said, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and waited at the gate all night, planning to jump him in the morning.

3 But Samson only stayed till midnight. Then he got up, grabbed the doors of the city gate, bars and all, ripped them out, threw them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the hill near Hebron.

Samson Falls for Delilah

4 Later on, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah. She lived in the Valley of Sorek.

5 The Philistine rulers came to her and said, “Trick him. Find out what makes him so strong and how we can take him down. We will each give you 1,100 silver coins.”

Delilah’s Setup, Round 1

6 Delilah said, “Tell me the secret of your strength. How can someone tie you up and make you weak?”

7 Samson said, “If you tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried yet, I will be weak like any other man.”

8 So the rulers brought her seven fresh bowstrings. She tied him up while he was chilling.

9 She had men hiding in the back room. Then she shouted, “Samson! The Philistines are here!” But he snapped the bowstrings like burnt thread. So the secret was not out yet.

Round 2

10 Delilah said, “You lied to me! Tell me the truth, how can someone tie you up?”

11 Samson said, “If they tie me up tight with new ropes that has never been used, I will be weak.”

12 She tied him up with new ropes and shouted, “Samson! The Philistines are here!” But he broke out like it was nothing.

Round 3

13 Delilah said, “You still lying to me. Tell me the real deal.” He said, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair into a loom and pin it down, I will be weak.”

14 So she did it while he slept and shouted, “Samson! The Philistines are here!” He woke up and pulled out the pin and the loom like it was nothing.

Round 4, He Breaks

15 Delilah said, “How can you say you love me when you keep lying to me, You have not told me the truth yet!”

16 She kept nagging him day after day till he could not take it anymore.

17 So he told her everything: “No razor’s ever touched my head. I am a Nazirite, set apart for God since birth. If my hair’s cut, my strength’s gone, I will be weak like anybody else.”

The Trap Works

18 Delilah knew he told her the truth. She sent word to the Philistines: “Come now, I got him.”

19 She lulled him to sleep on her lap, called a man in, and had him cut off the seven braids of his hair. His strength left him.

20 She shouted, “Samson! The Philistines are here!” He woke up like, “I am going to shake this off like before.” But he did not know the Lord had left him.

Samson Gets Taken

21 The Philistines grabbed him, gouged out his eyes, and took him to Gaza. They put him in shackles and made him grind grain in prison.

22 But little by little, his hair started growing back.

Samson’s Final Stand

23 The Philistine rulers threw a huge party for their god Dagon. They said, “Our god gave us victory over Samson!”

24 When the people saw him, they praised Dagon and said, “Our god gave us our enemy!”

25 They got lit off wine and shouted, “Bring Samson out to entertain us!” So they brought him out and made fun of him. They put him between the pillars.

26 Samson told the young boy holding his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars holding up the building, I need to lean on them.”

27 The place was packed, men, women, and all the Philistine rulers, about 3,000 people on the roof watching Samson clown around.

28 Samson prayed, “Lord God, remember me. Please give me strength one last time so I can get revenge on the Philistines for my eyes.”

29 He reached for the two main pillars holding the place up, bracing himself on both.

30 He said, “Let me die with these Philistines!” He pushed with all he had, and the place collapsed on the rulers and everybody inside. He killed more in his death than when he was alive.

Samson’s Burial

31 His brothers and his father’s family came and took his body. They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in his daddy Manoah’s tomb. He judged Israel for 20 years.