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Judges 16
Our retelling next to the Bible text it comes from. Each row lines up one scene with the verses it retells.
Between scenesVerses 1 to 3
This part isn't retold as its own scene.
1One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her. 2When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded that place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They were quiet throughout the night, saying, “Let us wait until dawn; then we will kill him.” 3But Samson lay there only until midnight, when he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and both gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. Then he put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.
Scene 1: A Woman Named DelilahVerses 4 to 5
The rulers of the Philistines went to see a woman in the Valley of Sorek. Her name was Delilah. Samson had fallen in love with her.
The Bible says Samson loved Delilah. It never says whether Delilah loved Samson. It does not say where she came from, either.
The Philistines had five main cities. Each city had its own ruler (Joshua 13:3). These rulers were Samson's enemies.
The rulers told Delilah, "Entice him and find out the source of his great strength" (16:5). Entice means to tempt or coax. They wanted to know how to tie Samson up and make him weak.
They made her an offer. Each ruler would pay her 1,100 shekels of silver. A shekel was a weight. That weight of silver was about 28 pounds from each ruler. It was a huge amount of money.
4Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”
Scene 2: Seven BowstringsVerses 6 to 9
Delilah asked Samson plainly. "Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued" (16:6). Subdued means beaten and kept under control.
Samson did not tell her the truth. He said she should tie him up with seven fresh bowstrings that had never been dried. Bowstrings are the cords on a hunting bow. Samson said the bowstrings would make him as weak as any other man.
The rulers brought Delilah seven fresh bowstrings. She tied Samson up with them. Men were hiding in her room, waiting.
Then Delilah called out, "Samson, the Philistines are here!" (16:9).
Samson snapped the bowstrings. They broke like yarn held near a flame. This is a comparison. It means they broke easily.
His secret stayed hidden.
6So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.” 7Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become as weak as any other man.” 8So the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them. 9While the men were hidden in her room, she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he snapped the bowstrings like a strand of yarn seared by a flame. So the source of his strength remained unknown.
Scene 3: Ropes and a LoomVerses 10 to 14
Delilah said Samson had mocked her and lied to her. She asked him again.
This time, Samson said new ropes would make him weak. They had to be ropes that had never been used.
Delilah tied him up with new ropes. Again, men hid in the room. Again, she called, "Samson, the Philistines are here!" Samson snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.
Earlier, the men of Judah had tied Samson with two new ropes. He broke those too (15:13-14).
Delilah asked a third time. This time, Samson talked about his hair. His hair was in seven long braids. A loom is a wooden frame for weaving cloth. Samson told Delilah to weave his braids into the cloth on a loom and pin it tight.
While Samson slept, Delilah wove his braids into the cloth. She pinned the cloth tight. Then she called out again. Samson woke up and pulled the whole thing loose, pin and loom and all.
10Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me! Now please tell me how you can be tied up.” 11He replied, “If they tie me up with new ropes that have never been used, I will become as weak as any other man.” 12So Delilah took new ropes, tied him up with them, and called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But while the men were hidden in her room, he snapped the ropes off his arms like they were threads. 13Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me all along! Tell me how you can be tied up.” He told her, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the web of a loom and tighten it with a pin, I will become as weak as any other man.” 14So while he slept, Delilah took the seven braids of his hair and wove them into the web.Then she tightened it with a pin and called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin with the loom and the web.
Scene 4: All That Was in His HeartVerses 15 to 17
Delilah said to Samson, "How can you say, 'I love you,'... when your heart is not with me?" (16:15). Delilah meant that Samson was not being honest with her. She said this was the third time he had fooled her.
Day after day, Delilah pressed him. She begged and pleaded. Samson grew so tired of it that he was "sick to death" (16:16). This is an exaggeration. It means he was worn out and miserable.
Twice before, men had been hiding in the room, waiting to grab Samson.
Then "Samson told her all that was in his heart" (16:17). That means he told Delilah his secret.
He said, "My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me" (16:17).
15“How can you say, ‘I love you,’” she asked, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and failed to reveal to me the source of your great strength!” 16Finally, after she had pressed him daily with her words and pleaded until he was sick to death, 17Samson told her all that was in his heart: “My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man.”
Scene 5: The LORD Had Left HimVerses 18 to 20
Delilah could tell that Samson had told her everything. She sent a message to the Philistine rulers. "Come up once more," she said.
The rulers came. They brought the money in their hands.
Delilah lulled Samson to sleep on her lap. That means she got him to fall asleep. Then she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair.
Samson's strength left him.
Delilah called out one last time. "Samson, the Philistines are here!"
Samson woke up. He thought he would get away, as he had before. He would shake himself free.
"But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him" (16:20).
This is the saddest line in the story. Samson's strength was never in his hair. It came from the LORD. His uncut hair was the sign of his promise to God (13:5).
18When Delilah realized that he had revealed to her all that was in his heart, she sent this message to the lords of the Philistines: “Come up once more, for he has revealed to me all that is in his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came to her, bringing the money in their hands. 19And having lulled him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his head. In this way she began to subdue him, and his strength left him. 20Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.
Scene 6: In the Prison at GazaVerses 21 to 22
The Philistines grabbed Samson. They gouged out his eyes. That means they blinded him on purpose.
They took him down to Gaza, one of their cities. They locked bronze chains on him. In the prison, they forced him to grind grain. This was heavy, slow work.
Samson had lost his strength, his eyes, and his freedom.
Then the Bible adds one quiet sentence. "However, the hair of his head began to grow back after it had been shaved" (16:22).
The Bible does not explain it. One likely meaning: God had not finished with Samson.
21Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison. 22However, the hair of his head began to grow back after it had been shaved.
Scene 7: A Feast for DagonVerses 23 to 27
The Philistine rulers gathered for a big celebration. They offered a great sacrifice to their god, Dagon.
They said, "Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands" (16:23).
The people saw Samson and praised their god too. They said Samson had ruined their land and killed many of their people.
The people were happy and celebrating. They called for Samson to be brought out to entertain them. The Bible doesn't say what they made him do. They stood him between the pillars of the temple.
A servant held Samson's hand. Samson asked the servant to let him feel the pillars that held up the temple. He said he wanted to lean on them.
The temple was packed with men and women. All the Philistine rulers were there. About 3,000 more people watched from the roof.
23Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.” 24And when the people saw him, they praised their god, saying: “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy who destroyed our land and multiplied our dead.” 25And while their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison to entertain them. And they stationed him between the pillars. 26Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Lead me where I can feel the pillars supporting the temple, so I can lean against them.” 27Now the temple was full of men and women; all the lords of the Philistines were there, and about three thousand men and women were on the roof watching Samson entertain them.
Scene 8: "Remember Me"Verses 28 to 30
Then Samson called out to the LORD. The Bible tells of Samson praying only one other time. That time, he was so thirsty he was afraid he would die (15:18).
He prayed, "O Lord GOD, please remember me. Strengthen me, O God, just once more, so that with one vengeful blow I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes" (16:28).
Vengeful means wanting to pay someone back for hurting you. Samson was praying out of pain and anger. He wanted revenge for his eyes.
Samson reached for the two middle pillars. He put his right hand on one. He put his left hand on the other.
He said, "Let me die with the Philistines" (16:30).
He pushed with all his might.
The temple fell.
It fell on the rulers and on all the people inside. Samson died too. The Bible says Samson killed more people in his death than in his whole life.
The Bible tells what Samson did. It does not tell anyone to copy it. If you ever think about ending your life, please tell someone today. In the U.S., call or text 988 any time. More help is in the alert below.
28Then Samson called out to the LORD: “O Lord GOD, please remember me. Strengthen me, O God, just once more, so that with one vengeful blow I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29And Samson reached out for the two central pillars supporting the temple. Bracing himself against them with his right hand on one pillar and his left hand on the other, 30Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people in it. So in his death he killed more than he had killed in his life.
Scene 9: Carried HomeVerse 31
Samson's brothers and his father's family came down to Gaza. They carried his body home.
They buried him in the tomb of his father, Manoah. It was between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol.
That was the same area where the Spirit of the LORD first began to move young Samson (13:25). Samson was buried where God's work in him began.
Samson had judged Israel for 20 years.
Before Samson was born, the angel said he would "begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines" (13:5). Deliverance means rescue. Samson began it. He did not finish it. Israel would need another rescuer.
31Then Samson’s brothers and his father’s family came down, carried him back, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. And he had judged Israel twenty years.
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