Judges 13
13
Samson’s birth
1The Israelites again did things that the LORD saw as evil, and he handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.
2Now there was a certain man from Zorah, from the Danite clan, whose name was Manoah. His wife was unable to become pregnant and had not given birth to any children. 3The LORD’s messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, “Even though you’ve been unable to become pregnant and haven’t given birth, you are now pregnant and will give birth to a son! 4Now be careful not to drink wine or brandy or to eat anything that is ritually unclean, 5because you are pregnant and will give birth to a son. Don’t allow a razor to shave his head, because the boy is going to be a nazirite for God from birth. He’ll be the one who begins Israel’s rescue from the power of the Philistines.”
6Then the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and he looked like God’s messenger—very scary! I didn’t ask him where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7He said to me, ‘You are pregnant and will give birth to a son, so don’t drink wine or brandy or eat anything that is ritually unclean, because the boy is going to be a nazirite for God from birth until the day he dies.’”
8Manoah asked the LORD, “Please, my Lord,” he said, “let the man of God whom you sent come back to us once more, so he can teach us how we should treat the boy who is to be born.”
9God listened to Manoah, and God’s messenger came once more to the woman. She was sitting in the field, but her husband Manoah wasn’t with her. 10So the woman hurriedly ran and informed her husband. She said to him, “The man who came to me the other day has just appeared to me.”
11Manoah got up and followed his wife. He came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?”
“I am,” he replied.
12Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what should be the rules for the boy and how he should act?”
13The LORD’s messenger answered Manoah, “The woman should be careful to do everything that I told her. 14She must not consume anything that comes from the grapevine, drink wine or brandy, or eat anything that is ritually unclean. She must be careful to do everything I have commanded her.”
15Manoah said to the LORD’s messenger, “Please let us persuade you to stay so we can prepare a young goat for you.”
16But the LORD’s messenger replied to Manoah, “If you persuaded me to stay, I wouldn’t eat your food. If you prepare an entirely burned offering, offer it to the LORD.” Indeed, Manoah didn’t know that he was the LORD’s messenger. 17Manoah said to the LORD’s messenger, “What’s your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?”
18The LORD’s messenger responded to him, “Why do you ask my name? You couldn’t understand it.”
19So Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD. While Manoah and his wife were looking, an amazing thing happened: 20as the flame from the altar went up toward the sky, the LORD’s messenger went up in the altar’s flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown on the ground. 21The LORD’s messenger didn’t reappear to Manoah or his wife, and Manoah then realized that it had been the LORD’s messenger. 22Manoah said to his wife, “We are certainly going to die, because we’ve seen God!”
23But his wife replied to him, “If the LORD wanted to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted the entirely burned offering and grain offering from our hands. He wouldn’t have shown us all these things or told us all of this now.”
24The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew up, and the LORD blessed him. 25The LORD’s spirit began to move him when he was in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Judges 13
13
1And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
2And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. 3And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not; but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. 4Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: 5for, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come upon his head; for the child shall be a Nazirite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. 6Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of the angel of God, very terrible; and I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: 7but he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing; for the child shall be a Nazirite unto God from the womb to the day of his death.
8Then Manoah entreated Jehovah, and said, Oh, Lord, I pray thee, let the man of God whom thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. 9And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10And the woman made haste, and ran, and told her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day. 11And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am. 12And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass: what shall be the ordering of the child, and how shall we do unto him? 13And the angel of Jehovah said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. 14She may not eat of anything that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe.
15And Manoah said unto the angel of Jehovah, I pray thee, let us detain thee, that we may make ready a kid for thee. 16And the angel of Jehovah said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt make ready a burnt-offering, thou must offer it unto Jehovah. For Manoah knew not that he was the angel of Jehovah. 17And Manoah said unto the angel of Jehovah, What is thy name, that, when thy words come to pass, we may do thee honor? 18And the angel of Jehovah said unto him, Wherefore askest thou after my name, seeing it is wonderful? 19So Manoah took the kid with the meal-offering, and offered it upon the rock unto Jehovah: and the angel did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on. 20For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of Jehovah ascended in the flame of the altar: and Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground.
21But the angel of Jehovah did no more appear to Manoah or to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Jehovah. 22And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. 23But his wife said unto him, If Jehovah were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt-offering and a meal-offering at our hand, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would at this time have told such things as these. 24And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and Jehovah blessed him. 25And the Spirit of Jehovah began to move him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
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