Judges 16:24

16:24 When the people saw him, ¹  they praised their god, saying, “Our god has handed our enemy over to us, the one who ruined our land and killed so many of us!” ² 

Judges 16:28-30

16:28 Samson called to the Lord, “O Master, Lord, ³  remember me! Strengthen me just one more time, O God, so I can get swift revenge ⁴  against the Philistines for my two eyes!” 16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars that supported the temple ⁵  and he leaned against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other. 16:30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard ⁶  and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life. ⁷ 

[16:24]  ¹ tn Most interpret this as a reference to Samson, but this seems premature, since v. 25 suggests he was not yet standing before them. Consequently some prefer to see this statement as displaced and move it to v. 25 (see C. F. Burney, Judges, 387). It seems more likely that the pronoun refers to an image of Dagon.

[16:24]  ² tn Heb “multiplied our dead.”

[16:28]  ³ tn The Hebrew has אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה (’adonay yehovih, “Lord Yahweh”).

[16:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “so I can get revenge with one act of vengeance.”

[16:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house was founded.”

[16:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “he stretched out with strength.”

[16:30]  ⁷ tn Heb “And the ones whom he killed in his death were many more than he killed in his life.”