Judges 15

But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

Not long after, during the wheat harvest, Samson decided to visit his wife, bringing a young goat as a gift. He intended to spend intimate time with her. However, her father firmly denied him entry.

And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

Her father confessed, "I truly believed you despised her, so I gave her to your friend. Isn't her younger sister more beautiful? Please, take her instead."

And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

Samson declared, "Even if I do them harm this time, I'll be more innocent than the Philistines."

And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

With determination, Samson captured three hundred foxes. He then took flaming torches, tied the foxes tail-to-tail, and placed a torch between each pair of tails, igniting them with a fiery blaze.

And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.

With a heart ablaze, he unleashed the fiery brands into the Philistines' ripe fields. The flames devoured everything - the bundled sheaves, the standing grain, even the vineyards and olive groves.

Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

In disbelief, the Philistines asked, "Who is responsible for this?" The answer came, "Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, because his father-in-law took his wife and gave her to his friend." Angered, the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.

And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

Samson told them, "Even though you've done this, I will take my revenge on you, and after that I'll stop."

And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

With fierce anger and immense strength, he struck them down mercilessly in a great slaughter. Then, he descended and found solace in the solitude of the towering rock of Etam.

Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.

The Philistines advanced, setting up camp in Judah, spreading their presence like a dark shadow over Lehi.

And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

The men of Judah asked in confusion, "Why are you attacking us?" The reply was simple, "We're here to capture Samson, to treat him as he treated us."

Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

Three thousand men from Judah climbed to the peak of Etam rock, confronting Samson. "Don't you realize the Philistines rule us? Why have you brought this upon us?" they questioned. Samson simply replied, "I treated them as they treated me."

And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

They approached him, their intentions clear, "We're here to capture you and hand you over to the Philistines." Samson, with a stern gaze, replied, "Promise me, you won't harm me yourselves."

And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

They told him firmly, "We won't kill you, but we must tie you up and hand you over to them." So, they secured him with two fresh ropes and led him away from the rock.

And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines jeered at him. But, the Lord's spirit surged powerfully within him. The bindings on his arms felt like charred flax, easily breaking free, releasing his hands.

And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

He found a fresh donkey's jawbone. With a determined grip, he seized it and, fueled by a surge of courage, he used it to kill a thousand men.

And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.

Samson declared, "With nothing but a donkey's jawbone, I've taken down a thousand men, one after another."

And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.

After he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone from his hand with a sense of relief and named that place Ramathlehi, a symbol of his triumph.

And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?

He was desperately thirsty. He cried out to God, "You've granted me a great victory, but will I now die of thirst and fall into enemy hands?"

But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

God miraculously created a spring in a hollow spot, providing water. Drinking from it, his spirit was rejuvenated and he felt alive again. In gratitude, he named the place Enhakkore, a name that remains in Lehi to this day.

And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

For twenty long years, he served as Israel's fair judge during the challenging times of the Philistines.