Judges:16

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* Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there , and went in to her . * When the Gazites were told , "Samson has come here !" they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city . They were quiet all night , saying , "In the morning , when it is daylight , we will kill him ." * And Samson lay low till midnight ; then he arose at midnight , took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts , pulled them up , bar and all , put them on his shoulders , and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron . * Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek , whose name was Delilah . * And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her , "Entice him , and find out where his great strength lies , and by what means we may overpower him , that we may bind him to afflict him ; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver ." * So Delilah said to Samson , "Please tell me where your great strength lies , and with what you may be bound to afflict you ." * And Samson said to her , "If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings , not yet dried , then I shall become weak , and be like any other man ." * So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings , not yet dried , and she bound him with them . * Now men were lying in wait , staying with her in the room . And she said to him , "The Philistines are upon you , Samson !" But he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire . So the secret of his strength was not known . * Then Delilah said to Samson , "Look , you have mocked me and told me lies . Now , please tell me what you may be bound with ." * So he said to her , "If they bind me securely with new ropes that have never been used , then I shall become weak , and be like any other man ." * Therefore Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them , and said to him , "The Philistines are upon you , Samson !" And men were lying in wait , staying in the room . But he broke them off his arms like a thread . * Delilah said to Samson , "Until now you have mocked me and told me lies . Tell me what you may be bound with ." And he said to her , "If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom "-- * So she wove it tightly with the batten of the loom , and said to him , "The Philistines are upon you , Samson !" But he awoke from his sleep , and pulled out the batten and the web from the loom . * Then she said to him , "How can you say , "I love you ,' when your heart is not with me ? You have mocked me these three times , and have not told me where your great strength lies ." * And it came to pass , when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him , so that his soul was vexed to death , * that he told her all his heart , and said to her , "No razor has ever come upon my head , for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother 's womb . If I am shaven , then my strength will leave me , and I shall become weak , and be like any other man ." * 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 . * Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees , and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head . Then she began to torment him , and his strength left him . * And she said , "The Philistines are upon you , Samson !" So he awoke from his sleep , and said , "I will go out as before , at other times , and shake myself free !" But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him . * Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes , and brought him down to Gaza . They bound him with bronze fetters , and he became a grinder in the prison . * However , the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven . * Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god , and to rejoice . And they said : "Our god has delivered into our hands Samson our enemy !" * When the people saw him , they praised their god ; for they said : "Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy , The destroyer of our land , And the one who multiplied our dead ." * So it happened , when their hearts were merry , that they said , "Call for Samson , that he may perform for us ." So they called for Samson from the prison , and he performed for them . And they stationed him between the pillars . * Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand , "Let me feel the pillars which support the temple , so that I can lean on them ." * Now the temple was full of men and women . All the lords of the Philistines were there--about three thousand men and women on the roof watching while Samson performed . * Then Samson called to the LORD , saying , "O Lord GOD , remember me , I pray ! Strengthen me , I pray , just this once , O God , that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes !" * And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple , and he braced himself against them , one on his right and the other on his left . * Then Samson said , "Let me die with the Philistines !" And he pushed with all his might , and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it . So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life . * And his brothers and all his father 's household came down and took him , and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah . He had judged Israel twenty years .

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