But it came to pass within a while after, in the time
of wheat
harvest
, that Samson
visited
his wife
with a kid
; and he said
, I will go in
to my wife
into the chamber
. But her father
would not suffer
him to go in
.
And her father said
, I verily
thought
that thou hadst utterly
hated
her; therefore I gave
her to thy companion
: is not her younger
sister
fairer
than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.
And Samson said
concerning them, Now
shall I be more blameless
than the Philistines
, though I do
them a displeasure
.
And Samson went
and caught
three
hundred
foxes
, and took
firebrands
, and turned
tail
to tail
, and put
a
firebrand
in the midst
between two
tails
.
And when he had set the brands
on fire
, he let them go
into the standing corn
of the Philistines
, and burnt up
both the shocks
, and also the standing corn
, with the vineyards
and olives
.
Then the Philistines said
, Who hath done
this? And they answered
, Samson
, the son in law
of the Timnite
, because he had taken
his wife
, and given
her to his companion
. And the Philistines
came up
, and burnt
her and her father
with fire
.
And Samson said
unto them, Though
ye have done
this
, yet will I be avenged
of you, and after
that I will cease
.
And he smote them hip
and
thigh
with a great
slaughter
: and he went down
and dwelt
in the top
of the rock
Etam
.
Then the Philistines went up
, and pitched
in Judah
, and spread
themselves in Lehi
.
And the men of Judah
said
, Why are ye come up
against us? And they answered
, To bind
Samson
are we come up
, to do
to him as he hath done
to us.
Then three thousand
men
of Judah
went
to the top
of the rock
Etam
, and said
to Samson
, Knowest
thou not that the Philistines
are rulers
over us? what is this that thou hast done
unto us? And he said
unto them, As they did
unto me, so have I done
unto them.
And they said unto him, We are come down
to bind
thee, that we may deliver
thee into the hand
of the Philistines
. And Samson
said
unto them, Swear
unto me, that ye will not fall upon
me yourselves.
And they spake unto him, saying
, No; but we will bind
thee fast
, and deliver
thee into their hand
: but surely
we will not kill
thee. And they bound
him with two
new
cords
, and brought him up
from the rock
.
And when he came unto Lehi
, the Philistines
shouted
against
him: and the Spirit
of the LORD
came mightily
upon him, and the cords
that were upon his arms
became as flax
that was burnt
with fire
, and his bands
loosed
from off his hands
.
And he found a new
jawbone
of an ass
, and put forth
his hand
, and took
it, and slew
a thousand
men
therewith.
And Samson said
, With the jawbone
of an ass
, heaps
upon heaps
, with the jaw
of an ass
have I slain
a thousand
men
.
And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking
, that he cast away
the jawbone
out of his hand
, and called
that place
Ramathlehi
.
And he was sore athirst
, and called
on the LORD
, and said
, Thou hast given
this great
deliverance
into the hand
of thy servant
: and now shall I die
for thirst
, and fall
into the hand
of the uncircumcised
?
But God clave
an hollow place
that was in the jaw
, and there came
water
thereout; and when he had drunk
, his spirit
came again
, and he revived
: wherefore he called
the name
thereof Enhakkore
, which is in Lehi
unto this day
.
And he judged Israel
in the days
of the Philistines
twenty
years
.