Judges 16:3-23
New American Standard Bible
4After this it came about that he was in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5So the governors of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, 'Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and how we can overpower him so that we may bind him to humble him. Then we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.'
6So Delilah said to Samson, 'Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you can be bound to humble you.'
7And Samson said to her, 'If they bind me with seven fresh animal tendons that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man.'
8Then the governors of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh animal tendons that had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9Now she had men prepared for an ambush in an inner room. And she said to him, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!' But he tore the tendons to pieces just like a thread of flax is torn apart when it comes too close to fire. So his strength was not discovered.
10Then Delilah said to Samson, 'Behold, you have toyed with me and told me lies; now please tell me how you may be bound.'
11Then He said to her, 'If they bind me tightly with new ropes which have not been used, then I will become weak and be like any other man.'
12So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!' For the men in the ambush were waiting in the inner room. But he tore the ropes from his arms like thread.
13Then Delilah said to Samson, 'Up to now you have toyed with me and told me lies; tell me how you may be bound.' And he said to her, 'If you weave the seven locks of my hair with the web [and fasten it with the pin, then I will be weak like any other man.'
14So while he slept, Delilah wove the seven locks of his hair with the web]. And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!' But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web.
15Then she said to him, 'How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have toyed with me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is.'
16And it came about, when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death.
17So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, 'A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man.'
18When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent word and called the governors of the Philistines, saying, 'Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.' Then the governors of the Philistines came up to her and brought up the money in their hands.
19And she made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to humble him, and his strength left him.
20She said, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!' And he awoke from his sleep and said, 'I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.' But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.
21Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and restrained him with bronze chains, and he became a grinder in the prison.
22However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.
King James Version
4And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
6And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
7And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
8Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
10And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
11And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
12Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.
13And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
14And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
15And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
16And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
17That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
18And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
19And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
20And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.
21But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
22Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
23Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
Christian Standard Bible
4Some time later, he fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley.
5The Philistine leaders went to her and said, "Persuade him to tell you where his great strength comes from, so we can overpower him, tie him up, and make him helpless. Each of us will then give you 1,100 pieces of silver."
8The Philistine leaders brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them.
9While the men in ambush were waiting in her room, she called out to him, "Samson, the Philistines are here!" But he snapped the bowstrings as a strand of yarn snaps when it touches fire. The secret of his strength remained unknown.
16Because she nagged him day after day and pleaded with him until she wore him out,
17he told her the whole truth and said to her, "My hair has never been cut, because I am a Nazirite to God from birth. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be like any other man."
19Then she let him fall asleep on her lap and called a man to shave off the seven braids on his head. In this way, she made him helpless, and his strength left him.
20Then she cried, "Samson, the Philistines are here!" When he awoke from his sleep, he said, "I will escape as I did before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
New Living Translation
4Some time later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the valley of Sorek.
5The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, 'Entice Samson to tell you what makes him so strong and how he can be overpowered and tied up securely. Then each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.'
8So the Philistine rulers brought Delilah seven new bowstrings, and she tied Samson up with them.
9She had hidden some men in one of the inner rooms of her house, and she cried out, 'Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!' But Samson snapped the bowstrings as a piece of string snaps when it is burned by a fire. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
13Then Delilah said, 'You’ve been making fun of me and telling me lies! Now tell me how you can be tied up securely.' Samson replied, 'If you were to weave the seven braids of my hair into the fabric on your loom and tighten it with the loom shuttle, I would become as weak as anyone else.' So while he slept, Delilah wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric.
14Then she tightened it with the loom shuttle. Again she cried out, 'Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!' But Samson woke up, pulled back the loom shuttle, and yanked his hair away from the loom and the fabric.
15Then Delilah pouted, 'How can you tell me, ‘I love you,’ when you don’t share your secrets with me? You’ve made fun of me three times now, and you still haven’t told me what makes you so strong!'
16She tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it.
18Delilah realized he had finally told her the truth, so she sent for the Philistine rulers. 'Come back one more time,' she said, 'for he has finally told me his secret.' So the Philistine rulers returned with the money in their hands.
19Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him.
English Standard Version
4After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver."
6So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you."
7Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man."
8Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
10Then Delilah said to Samson, "Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound."
11And he said to her, "If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man."
12So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.
13Then Delilah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man."
14So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.
15And she said to him, "How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies."
16And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death.
17And he told her all his heart, and said to her, "A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother 's womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man."
18When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up again, for he has told me all his heart." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands.
19She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.
20And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
21And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.
22But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
New International Version
4Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.
5The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, "See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver."
8Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them.
9With men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
15Then she said to him, "How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength."
16With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.
18When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, "Come back once more; he has told me everything." So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands.
19After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.
New King James Version
4Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
8So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them.
9Now men were lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
15Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.”
16And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death,
17that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
18When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.
19Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.
20And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.
