Judges 16:16-21

16:16 She nagged him ¹  every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it. ²  16:17 Finally he told her his secret. ³  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ⁴  for I have been dedicated to God ⁵  from the time I was conceived. ⁶  If my head ⁷  were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.” 16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret, ⁸  she sent for ⁹  the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me ¹⁰  his secret.” ¹¹  So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands. 16:19 She made him go to sleep on her lap ¹²  and then called a man in to shave off ¹³  the seven braids of his hair. ¹⁴  She made him vulnerable ¹⁵  and his strength left him. 16:20 She said, “The Philistines are here, ¹⁶  Samson!” He woke up ¹⁷  and thought, ¹⁸  “I will do as I did before ¹⁹  and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him. 16:21 The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison.

[16:16]  ¹ tn Heb “forced him with her words.”

[16:16]  ² tn Heb “and his spirit was short [i.e., impatient] to the point of death.”

[16:17]  ³ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

[16:17]  ⁵ tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

[16:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

[16:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).

[16:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”

[16:18]  ¹⁰ tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).

[16:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:19]  ¹² tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.

[16:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See J. A. Soggin, Judges (OTL), 254.

[16:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.

[16:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “She began to humiliate him.” Rather than referring to some specific insulting action on Delilah’s part after Samson’s hair was shaved off, this statement probably means that she, through the devious actions just described, began the process of Samson’s humiliation which culminates in the following verses.

[16:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:20]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and said.”

[16:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I will go out as before.”