1  But it came to pass after a while, 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.

Jgs14:20  And the wife of Sampson was given to one of his friends, with whom he was on terms of friendship.

Jgs14:20  Then his wife took as a husband one of his friends and wedding companions.

2  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.'

2  And it came to pass after a time, in the days of wheat harvest, that Sampson visited his wife with a kid, and said, I will go in to my wife even into the chamber: but her father did not suffer him to go in.

2  Then, after some time, when the days of the wheat harvest were near, Samson arrived, intending to visit his wife, and he brought her a kid from the goats. And when he wanted to enter her bedroom, as usual, her father prohibited him, saying

3  And Samson said unto them: 'This time shall I be quits with the Philistines, when I do them a mischief.'

3  And her father spoke, saying, I said that thou didst surely hate her, and I gave her to one of thy friends: is not her younger sister better than she? let her be to thee instead of her.

3  “I thought that you would hate her, and therefore I gave her to your friend. But she has a sister, who is younger and more beautiful than she is. And she may be a wife for you, instead of her.”

4  And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the midst between every two tails.

4  And Sampson said to them, Even for once am I guiltless with regard to the Philistines, in that I do mischief among them.

5  And when he had set the torches on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and the standing corn, and also the oliveyards.

5  And Sampson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch between two tails, and fastened it.

5  And he went out and caught three hundred foxes. And he joined them tail to tail. And he tied torches between the tails.

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

6  And he set fire to the torches, and sent the foxes into the corn of the Philistines; and every thing was burnt from the threshing floor to the standing corn, and even to the vineyard and olives.

6  And setting these on fire, he released them, so that they might rush from place to place. And immediately they went into the grain fields of the Philistines, setting these on fire, both the grain that was already bound for carrying, and what was still standing on the stalk. These were completely burned up, so much so that the flame also consumed even the vineyards and the olive groves.

7  And Samson said unto them: 'If ye do after this manner, surely I will be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.'

7  And the Philistines said, Who has done these things? and they said, Sampson the son-in-law of the Thamnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to one of his friends; and the Philistines went up, and burnt her and her father’s house with fire.

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

8  And Sampson said to them, Though ye may have dealt thus with her, verily I will be avenged of you, and afterwards I will cease.

8  And Samson said to them, “Even though you have done this, I will still fulfill vengeance against you, and then I will be quieted.”

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

9  And he smote them leg on thigh with a great overthrow; and went down and dwelt in a cave of the rock Etam.

9  And he struck them with a tremendous slaughter, so much so that, out of astonishment, they laid the calf of the leg upon the thigh. And descending, he lived in a cave of the rock at Etam.

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

10  And the Philistines went up, and encamped in Juda, and spread themselves abroad in Lechi.

10  And so the Philistines, ascending into the land of Judah, made camp at the place which was later called Lehi, that is, the Jawbone, where their army spread out.

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

11  And the men of Juda said, Why are ye come up against us? and the Philistines said, We are come up to bind Sampson, and to do to him as he has done to us.

11  And some from the tribe of Judah said to them, “Why have you ascended against us?” And they responded, “We have come to bind Samson, and to repay him for what he has done to us.”

12  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.'

12  And the three thousand men of Juda went down to the hole of the rock Etam, and they said to Sampson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines rule over us? and what is this that thou hast done to us? and Sampson said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.

12  Then three thousand men of Judah descended to the cave of the rock at Etam. And they said to Samson: “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why would you want to do this?” And he said to them, “As they have done to me, so I have done to them.”

13  And they spoke 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 ropes, and brought him up from the rock.

13  And they said to him, We are come down to bind thee to deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines: and Sampson said to them, Swear to me that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

13  And they said to him, No; but we will bind you and deliver you into their hands; but surely we will not kill you. So they bound him with two new chains and brought him up from the rock.

14  When he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him; and the spirit of YHWH came mightily upon him, and the ropes that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.

14  And they spoke to him, saying, Nay, but we will only bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand, and will by no means slay thee: and they bound him with two new ropes, and brought him from that rock.

14  They said: “We will not kill you. But we will deliver you tied.” And they bound him with two new cords. And they took him from the rock at Etam.

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

15  And they came to Lechi: and the Philistines shouted, and ran to meet him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the ropes that were upon his arms became as tow which is burnt with fire; and his bonds were consumed from off his hands.

15  And when he had arrived at the place of the Jawbone, and the Philistines, shouting aloud, had met him, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him. And just as flax is usually consumed by a hint of fire, so were the ties with which he was bound broken and released.

16  And Samson said: With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of an ass have I smitten a thousand men.

16  And he found the jaw-bone of an ass that had been cast away, and he put forth his hand and took it, and smote with it a thousand men.

16  And finding a jawbone which was laying there, that is, the jawbone of a donkey, snatching it up, he put to death a thousand men with it.

17  And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramath-lehi.

17  And Sampson said, With the jaw-bone of an ass I have utterly destroyed them, for with the jaw-bone of an ass I have smitten a thousand men.

17  And he said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, with the jaw of the colt of a donkey, I have destroyed them, and I have struck down a thousand men.”

18  And he was sore athirst, and called on YHWH, and said: 'Thou hast given this great deliverance by the hand of Thy servant; and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?'

18  And it came to pass when he ceased speaking, that he cast the jaw-bone out of his hand; and he called that place the Lifting of the jaw-bone.

18  And when he had completed these words, singing, he threw the jawbone from his hand. And called the name of that place Ramath-Lehi, which is translated as ‘the elevation of the jawbone.’

19  But God cleaved the hollow place that is in Lehi, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came back, and he revived; wherefore the name thereof was called En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

19  And he was very thirsty, and wept before the Lord, and said, Thou hast been well pleased to grant this great deliverance by the hand of thy servant, and knew shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?

19  And the LORD God opened the hollow place that was in the jawbone of the ass, and there came water from it; and when he had drunk, his spirit returned and he revived; therefore he called the name of that place En-karna di paka di khmara, to this day.

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

20  And God broke open a hollow place in the jaw, and there came thence water, and he drank; and his spirit returned and he revived: therefore the name of the fountain was called «The well of the invoker,’ which is in Lechi, until this day.

20  And so the Lord opened a large tooth in the jawbone of the donkey, and water went out from it. And having drank it, his spirit was revived, and he recovered his strength. For this reason, the name of that place was called ‘the Spring called forth from the jawbone,’ even to the present day.