Judges 13 Servitude of the Israelites under the Philistines and the birth of Samson

Judges 13

Servitude of the Israelites under the Philistines and the birth of Samson

1 And the children of Israel did again what seemed evil in the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.

2 And there was a man from Zorah, from the tribe of Dan, whose name was Manua: and his wife was barren, and had no children.

3 And the angel of the Lord appeared to this woman, and said to her, Behold, you are now barren, and you have never conceived; but you will conceive, and you will have a son.

4 Now therefore, beware that you drink wine, or strong drink, or eat unclean things.

5 For, behold, you will conceive and you will have a son on whose head no razor will pass: because the child will be a Nazirite of God from the womb: and he will begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.

6 Then the woman came in and spoke to her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, whose sight was similar to that of an angel of God, most terrifying: and I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name:

7 But he said to me, Behold, you will conceive and have a son; now do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat unclean things; because the child will be a Nazirite of God, from the womb to the day of his death.

8 Then Manua immediately prayed to the Lord, and said, Ah! My Lord, I beg you that the man of God you sent, still come to us again and teach us what we must do to the child that is to be born.

9 And God heard the voice of Manua: and the angel of God came to the woman again and she was in the field, but her husband Manua was not with her.

10 So the woman hurried and ran and reported it to her husband, and said to her, See, that man who came to me the other day appeared to me.

11 Then Manua arose, and followed his wife, and came to that man, and said to him, Are you that man that you spoke to this woman? And he said: I am.

12 Then Manua said, "Keep your words to yourself: but what will be the boy's way of life and service?"

13 And the angel of the Lord said to Manua, All that I have said to the woman shall she be kept.

14 He will not eat of all that comes from the vine of wine, nor wine or strong drink, nor unclean thing he will eat: all that I have commanded him will keep.

15 Then Manua said to the angel of the Lord, Now let us stop you, and prepare a kid for you.

16 But the angel of the Lord said to Manua, "Though you hold me back, I will not eat your bread; and if you make a burnt offering, you will offer it to the Lord. Because Manua did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.

17 And Manua said to the angel of the Lord, What is your name? so that when your word is fulfilled, we will honor you.

18 And the angel of the Lord said to him, Why do you ask about my name, since it is wonderful?

19 Then Manua took a kid and a meal offering, and offered them on the rock to the Lord: and the angel worked wonderfully, when Manua and his wife saw him.

20 And it came to pass, when the flame of the altar went up to heaven, that the angel of the Lord went up into the flame of the altar: when he saw Manua and his wife, they fell to the ground on their faces.

21 And the angel of the Lord never appeared to Manua, nor to his wife: then he met Manua, who was the angel of the Lord.

22 And Manua said to his wife, We will surely die, because we have seen God.

23 But his wife said to him, If the Lord had wanted to kill us, he would not accept the burnt offering and the gift of food from our hand, nor show us all this, nor let us hear such things at this time.

24 After this woman had a son and called his name Samson: and the boy grew up, and the Lord blessed him.

25 And the spirit of the Lord began to urge him from time to time to the field of Dan, between Zorah and Estaol.