Judges 15 :: Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

Samson Strikes Down the Philistines

Now it happened^H1961 that after^H4480 a while^H3117, in the time^H3117 of the wheat^H2406 harvest^H7105, Samson^H8123 visited^H6485 his wife^H802 with a young^H1423 goat^H5795 and said^H559, “I will go^H935 in to my wife^H802 in her room^H2315.” But her father^H1 did not let^H5414 him enter^H935.

Jdg 15:2

Jdg 15:2And her father said, “I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please let her be yours [fn]instead.”

Jdg 15:3

Jdg 15:3Samson then said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines when I do them harm.”

Jdg 15:4

Jdg 15:4So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches and turned the foxes tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between two tails.

Jdg 15:5

Jdg 15:5Then he set fire to the torches and sent [fn]the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines. So he caused both the shocks and the standing grain, along with the vineyards and groves, to burn.

Jdg 15:6

Jdg 15:6Then the Philistines said, “Who did this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because [fn]he took his wife and gave her to his companion.” So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.

Jdg 15:7

Jdg 15:7Then Samson said to them, “If you act like this, then I will surely take revenge on you, but after that I will cease.”

Jdg 15:8

Jdg 15:8And he struck them [fn]ruthlessly with a great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

Jdg 15:9

Then the Philistines^H6430 went^H5927 up^H5927 and camped^H2583 in Judah^H3063 and spread^H6566 out^H6566 in Lehi^H3896.

Jdg 15:10

Jdg 15:10So the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” And they said, “We have come up to bind Samson in order to do to him as he did to us.”

Jdg 15:11

Jdg 15:11Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”

Jdg 15:12

Jdg 15:12And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you so that we may give you into the hand of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you yourselves will not [fn]kill me.”

Jdg 15:13

Jdg 15:13So they said to [fn]him, “No, but we will bind you fast and give you into their hands; yet surely we will not put you to death.” Then they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

Jdg 15:14

When he came^H935 to Lehi^H3896, the Philistines^H6430 shouted^H7321 as they met^H7122 him. And the Spirit^H7307 of Yahweh^H3068 [fn]came^H6743 upon him mightily^H6743 so that the ropes^H5688 that were on his arms^H2220 were as flax^H6593 that is burned^H1197 with fire^H784, and his bonds^H612 [fn]dropped^H4549 from his hands^H3027.

Jdg 15:15

Jdg 15:15And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he sent forth his hand and took it and struck down 1,000 men with it.

Jdg 15:16

Jdg 15:16Then Samson said,

“With the jawbone^H3895 of a donkey^H2543,

[fn]Heaps^H2565 upon heaps^H2565,

With the jawbone^H3895 of a donkey^H2543

I have struck^H5221 down^H5221 1,000^H505 men^H376.”

Jdg 15:17

Now it happened^H1961 that when he had finished^H3615 speaking^H1696, he threw^H7993 the jawbone^H3895 from his hand^H3027; and he named^H7121 that place^H4725 [fn]Ramath-lehi^H7437.

Jdg 15:18

Jdg 15:18Then he became very thirsty, and he called to Yahweh and said, “You have given this great salvation by the hand of Your slave, but now [fn]shall I die of thirst [fn]and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”

Jdg 15:19

Jdg 15:19So God split the hollow place that is in Lehi and water came out of it. Then he drank, and his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he named it [fn]En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.

Jdg 15:20