Judges 16:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When 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.

NIV: When 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.

NASB: When 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.

CSB: When Delilah realized that he had told her the whole truth, she sent this message to the Philistine leaders: "Come one more time, for he has told me the whole truth." The Philistine leaders came to her and brought the silver with them.

NLT: Delilah 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.

KJV: And 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.

NKJV: When 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.

Delilah knew this conversation with Samson was different from the others. He probably thought her previous questions were part of a teasing lover's game (Judges 16:6–14). Over time, she lulled him into a false sense of security and applied incredible emotional pressure. Finally, sick at heart to prove himself to the woman he loved (Judges 16:15–17), he had been open with her like never before. He had been genuine. Samson likely thought Delilah loved him too much to do something as drastic as shaving his head. She could tell he kept nothing back from her.

Had Samson and Delilah had been a committed married couple going through counseling together, this might have been a positive breakthrough leading to lasting intimacy. Instead, it is a breakdown leading to Delilah's fortune. She knows she has broken Samson, at last. The men who'd proposed to offer her riches if she captured him would have to pay up (Judges 16:4–5).

During their previous rounds of their "game," Delilah had kept men waiting to ambush Samson if he had lost his power. That detail wasn't noted in the last attempt (Judges 16:14). Now that she's entirely sure of her victory, Delilah contacts the Philistine nobles who hired her and tells them to bring their men and her money. They do so, eager to pounce on Samson as soon as he is weak.

The price of Samson's constant carelessness with women was a heart always drawn to follow his physical desires (Proverbs 5:3–14). Rather than seeking the Lord's guidance, he was led by his lesser instincts, and into destruction (Judges 16:19–21; James 1:15). Even so, God uses even Samson's failure to continue to work out His plan: shaking Israel free from submission under the Philistines (Judges 13:5; 14:4). Philistine arrogance and complacency will provide an opportunity for one last vengeful strike from Samson (Judges 16:22, 28–30).

Judges 16:4–22 finds Samson falling in love with Delilah. In exchange for an outrageous sum of money, she agrees to seduce him so she can pass along the secret of Samson's strength to his Philistine enemies. This begins a pattern Samson probably thought was a lover's game, where he repeatedly lies about his secret. Eventually, however, he tells her the truth: shaving his head will make him weak. She has his head shaved as he sleeps and then turns him over to the Philistines, who gouge his eyes out and make him into a slave.

After escaping an ambush in the Philistine city of Gaza, Samson rips the city gates out and walks away with them. When he falls deeply in love with Delilah, Philistine nobles pay her a fortune to seduce Samson into revealing the secret of his strength. She eventually succeeds, shaving his head while he sleeps. The Philistines gouge out Samson's eyes and put him in prison in Gaza. He is put on display at a celebration for the Philistine idol Dagon. God grants a last moment of supernatural power in response to Samson prayer. Samson collapses the support beams of the temple, crushing himself along with thousands of Philistine leaders.

Samson's story began in chapter 14 and will end here. His time as a judge lasted twenty years (Judges 15:20), but Scripture records only a few major incidents from his life. No specific times are assigned to these events. Samson humiliates Gaza by ripping out the city gates with his bare hands. He then falls for Delilah, who finds out the secret of his strength and betrays him. The Philistines blind Samson and enslave him in a prison near Gaza. They then parade him around during a noblemen's celebration in the temple of Dagon. With power from the Lord, granted as a last request, Samson collapses the temple's support pillars. This kills everyone inside, including himself. This begins the process of Israel's liberation (Judges 13:5), which later men such as Samuel will complete (1 Samuel 7:11–14).

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).