Judges 16:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound.”

NIV: Then Delilah said to Samson, 'You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.'

NASB: Then Delilah said to Samson, 'Behold, you have toyed with me and told me lies; now please tell me how you may be bound.'

CSB: Then Delilah said to Samson, "You have mocked me and told me lies! Won't you please tell me how you can be tied up? "

NLT: Afterward Delilah said to him, 'You’ve been making fun of me and telling me lies! Now please tell me how you can be tied up securely.'

KJV: And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.

NKJV: Then Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with.”

Delilah's words imply she is deeply wounded in her soul. Samson did not trust her enough to reveal the secret of his supernatural strength (Judges 16:7–9). Most likely this is part of playful banter, and not entirely serious. If Samson suspects anything beyond flirtation and amusement (Judges 16:4–6), he doesn't act accordingly. Prior verses noted there were Philistines waiting in ambush but doesn't say they attacked. Whatever he might have thought when she first "warned" him, he will probably come to think these are just games (Judges 16:12, 14).

It's true that Samson has lied to Delilah. He might even be "mocking" her, to some extent. Of course, why would he ever dare to tell her the truth? Delilah's brilliant strategy, it seems, is to wear down his guard, until he fully—and foolishly—believes she means him no harm (Judges 16:20–21).

Delilah, putting on a pout, asks again to know how Samson's supernatural strength can be removed. Nothing is revealed to tell us his thoughts. We only know he continues to play out this odd game with Delilah.

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).

Accessed 5/1/2024 11:43:51 AM