One Year Bible.

Samson’s Revenge

¹Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter.

²“I was sure that you thoroughly hated her,” said her father, “so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.”

³Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in doing harm to the Philistines.”

⁴Then Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes. And he took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and fastened a torch between each pair of tails. ⁵Then he lit the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines, burning up the piles of grain and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.

⁶“Who did this?” the Philistines demanded.

“It was Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite,” they were told. “For his wife was given to his companion.”

So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.

⁷And Samson told them, “Because you have done this, I will not rest until I have taken vengeance upon you.” ⁸And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.

⁹Then the Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and deployed themselves near the town of Lehi.

¹⁰“Why have you attacked us?” said the men of Judah.

The Philistines replied, “We have come to arrest Samson and pay him back for what he has done to us.”

¹¹In response, three thousand men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, “Do you not realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?”

“I have done to them what they did to me,” he replied.

¹²But they said to him, “We have come down to arrest you and hand you over to the Philistines.”

Samson replied, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.”

¹³“No,” they answered, “we will not kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them.” So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock.

¹⁴When Samson arrived in Lehi, the Philistines came out shouting against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him. The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and the bonds broke loose from his hands. ¹⁵He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men. ¹⁶Then Samson said:

“With the jawbone of a donkey

I have piled them into heaps.

With the jawbone of a donkey

I have slain a thousand men.”

¹⁷And when Samson had finished speaking, he cast the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi.

¹⁸And being very thirsty, Samson cried out to the LORD, “You have accomplished this great deliverance through Your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”

¹⁹So God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned, and he was revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore, and it remains in Lehi to this day.

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

Samson Escapes Gaza

¹One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her.

²When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded that place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They were quiet throughout the night, saying, “Let us wait until dawn; then we will kill him.”

³But Samson lay there only until midnight, when he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and both gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. Then he put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.

Samson and Delilah

⁴Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. ⁵The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”

⁶So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”

⁷Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become as weak as any other man.”

⁸So the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them. ⁹While the men were hidden in her room, she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”

But he snapped the bowstrings like a strand of yarn seared by a flame. So the source of his strength remained unknown.

¹⁰Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me! Now please tell me how you can be tied up.”

¹¹He replied, “If they tie me up with new ropes that have never been used, I will become as weak as any other man.”

¹²So Delilah took new ropes, tied him up with them, and called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”

But while the men were hidden in her room, he snapped the ropes off his arms like they were threads.

¹³Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me all along! Tell me how you can be tied up.”

He told her, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the web of a loom and tighten it with a pin, I will become as weak as any other man.”

¹⁴So while he slept, Delilah took the seven braids of his hair and wove them into the web.Then she tightened [it] with a pin and called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”

But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin with the loom and the web.

Delilah Learns the Secret

¹⁵“How can you say, ‘I love you,’” she asked, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and failed to reveal to me the source of your great strength!”

¹⁶Finally, after she had pressed him daily with her words and pleaded until he was sick to death, ¹⁷Samson told her all that was in his heart: “My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man.”

¹⁸When Delilah realized that he had revealed to her all that was in his heart, she sent this message to the lords of the Philistines: “Come up once more, for he has revealed to me all that is in his heart.”

Then the lords of the Philistines came to her, bringing the money in their hands.

¹⁹And having lulled him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his head. In this way she began to subdue him, and his strength left him. ²⁰Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”

When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.

²¹Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison.

²²However, the hair of his head began to grow back after it had been shaved.

Samson’s Vengeance and Death

²³Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.”

²⁴And when the people saw him, they praised their god, saying:

“Our god has delivered into our hands

our enemy who destroyed our land

and multiplied our dead.”

²⁵And while their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison to entertain them. And they stationed him between the pillars.

²⁶Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Lead me where I can feel the pillars supporting the temple, so I can lean against them.”

²⁷Now the temple was full of men and women; all the lords of the Philistines were there, and about three thousand men and women were on the roof watching Samson entertain them.

²⁸Then Samson called out to the LORD: “O Lord GOD, please remember me. Strengthen me, O God, just once more, so that with one vengeful blow I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.”

²⁹And Samson reached out for the two central pillars supporting the temple. Bracing himself against them with his right hand on one pillar and his left hand on the other, ³⁰Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.”

Then he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people in it. So in his death he killed more than he had killed in his life.

³¹Then Samson’s brothers and his father’s family came down, carried him back, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. And he had judged Israel twenty years.

Reaffirm Your Love

¹So I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. ²For if I grieve you, who is left to cheer me but those whom I have grieved? ³I wrote as I did so that on my arrival I would not be grieved by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would share my joy. ⁴For through many tears I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart, not to grieve you but to let you know how much I love you.

⁵Now if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me but all of you — to some degree, not to overstate it. ⁶The punishment imposed on him by the majority is sufficient for him. ⁷So instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.

⁹My purpose in writing you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. ¹⁰If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And if I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven it in the presence of Christ for your sake, ¹¹in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Triumph in Christ

¹²Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and a door stood open for me in the Lord, ¹³I had no peace in my spirit, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

¹⁴But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. ¹⁵For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶To the one we are an odor that brings death, to the other a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?

¹⁷For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.

The Builders of the Walls

¹At the Sheep Gate, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated the wall. ²The men of Jericho built next to Eliashib, and Zaccur son of Imri built next to them.

³The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. ⁴Next to them, Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, made repairs. Next to him, Meshullam son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs; and next to him, Zadok son of Baana made repairs as well. ⁵Next to him, the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.

⁶The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. ⁷Next to them, repairs were made by Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, who were under the authority of the governor of the region west of the Euphrates. ⁸Next to them, Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. And next to him, Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs. They fortified Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.

⁹Next to them, Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, made repairs; ¹⁰next to him, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs across from his house; and next to him, Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs. ¹¹Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab repaired another section, as well as the Tower of the Ovens. ¹²And next to them, Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of the other half-district of Jerusalem, made repairs, with the help of his daughters.

¹³The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the residents of Zanoah. They rebuilt it, installed its doors, bolts, and bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.

¹⁴The Dung Gate was repaired by Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem. He rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

¹⁵The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofed it, and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the City of David.

¹⁶Beyond him, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of a half-district of Beth-zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Mighty.

¹⁷Next to him, the Levites made repairs under Rehum son of Bani, and next to him, Hashabiah, ruler of a half-district of Keilah, made repairs for his district. ¹⁸Next to him, their countrymen made repairs under Binnui son of Henadad, ruler of the other half-district of Keilah. ¹⁹And next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory, near the angle in the wall.

²⁰Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai diligently repaired another section, from the angle to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest. ²¹Next to him, Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired another section, from the doorway of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house. ²²And next to him, the priests from the surrounding area made repairs.

²³Beyond them, Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house, and next to them, Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house. ²⁴After him, Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the angle and the corner, ²⁵and Palal son of Uzai made repairs opposite the angle and the tower that juts out from the upper palace of the king near the courtyard of the guard. Next to him, Pedaiah son of Parosh ²⁶and the temple servants living on the hill of Ophel made repairs opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the tower that juts out. ²⁷And next to them, the Tekoites repaired another section, from a point opposite the great tower that juts out to the wall of Ophel.

²⁸Above the Horse Gate, each of the priests made repairs in front of his own house. ²⁹Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house, and next to him, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard of the East Gate, made repairs.

³⁰Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, as well as Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. Next to them, Meshullam son of Berechiah made repairs opposite his own quarters. ³¹Next to him, Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the upper room above the corner. ³²And between the upper room above the corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.

The Work Ridiculed

¹Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and filled with indignation. He ridiculed the Jews ²before his associates and the army of Samaria, saying, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Can they restore the wall by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?”

³Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”

⁴Hear us, O God, for we are despised. Turn their scorn back upon their own heads, and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity. ⁵Do not cover up their iniquity or let their sin be blotted out from Your sight, for they have provoked the builders.

⁶So we rebuilt the wall until all of it was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

⁷When Sanballat and Tobiah, together with the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites, heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they were furious, ⁸and all of them conspired to come and fight against Jerusalem and create a hindrance.

Discouragement Overcome

⁹So we prayed to our God and posted a guard against them day and night.

¹⁰Meanwhile, the people of Judah said:

“The strength of the laborer fails,

and there is so much rubble

that we will never be able

to rebuild the wall.”

¹¹And our enemies said, “Before they know or see a thing, we will come into their midst, kill them, and put an end to the work.”

¹²At that time the Jews who lived nearby came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

¹³So I stationed men behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows.

¹⁴After I had made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

¹⁵When our enemies heard that we were aware of their scheme and that God had frustrated it, each of us returned to his own work on the wall. ¹⁶And from that day on, half of my servants did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor.

The officers stationed themselves behind all the people of Judah ¹⁷who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried materials worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. ¹⁸And each of the builders worked with his sword strapped at his side. But the trumpeter stayed beside me.

¹⁹Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “The work is great and extensive, and we are spread out far from one another along the wall. ²⁰Wherever you hear the sound of the horn, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!”

²¹So we continued the work, while half of the men held spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. ²²At that time I also said to the people, “Let every man and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by day.”

²³So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the guards with me changed out of our clothes; each carried his weapon, even to go for water.