Judges 15:3-16
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 15
3Samson then said to them, 'This time I will have been blameless regarding the Philistines when I do them harm.' 4And Samson went and caught three hundred jackals, and took torches, and turned the jackals tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between two tails. 5When he had set fire to the torches, he released the jackals into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to both the bundled heaps and the standing grain, along with the vineyards and olive groves. 6Then the Philistines said, 'Who did this?' And some said, 'Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion.' So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father to death with fire. 7Then Samson said to them, 'If this is how you act, I will certainly take revenge on you, and only after that will I stop.' 8So he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter; and afterward he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
9Then the Philistines went up and camped in Judah, and spread out in Lehi.
10So the men of Judah said, 'Why have you come up against us?' And they said, 'We have come up to bind Samson in order to do to him as he did to us.'
11Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam and said to Samson, 'Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?' And he said to them, 'Just as they did to me, so I have done to them.'
12Then they said to him, 'We have come down to bind you so that we may hand you over to the Philistines.' And Samson said to them, 'Swear to me that you will not kill me.'
13So they said to him, 'No, but we will bind you tightly and give you into their hands; but we certainly will not kill you.' Then they bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.
14When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him so that the ropes that were on his arms were like flax that has burned with fire, and his restraints dropped from his hands.
15Then he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out with his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it.
King James Version
Chapter 15
3And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. 4And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. 5And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives. 6Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire. 7And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease. 8And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
9Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
10And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.
11Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.
12And 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.
13And they spake 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 cords, and brought him up from the rock.
14And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
15And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
16And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 15
3Samson said to them, "This time I will be blameless when I harm the Philistines." 4So he went out and caught three hundred foxes. He took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5Then he ignited the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned the piles of grain and the standing grain as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
7Then Samson told them, "Because you did this, I swear that I won’t rest until I have taken vengeance on you."
8He tore them limb from limb and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
14When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and the ropes that were on his arms and wrists became like burnt flax and fell off.
15He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand, took it, and killed a thousand men with it.
New Living Translation
Chapter 15
3Samson said, 'This time I cannot be blamed for everything I am going to do to you Philistines.' 4Then he went out and caught 300 foxes. He tied their tails together in pairs, and he fastened a torch to each pair of tails. 5Then he lit the torches and let the foxes run through the grain fields of the Philistines. He burned all their grain to the ground, including the sheaves and the uncut grain. He also destroyed their vineyards and olive groves.
7Because you did this,' Samson vowed, 'I won’t rest until I take my revenge on you!'
8So he attacked the Philistines with great fury and killed many of them. Then he went to live in a cave in the rock of Etam.
14As Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines came shouting in triumph. But the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson, and he snapped the ropes on his arms as if they were burnt strands of flax, and they fell from his wrists.
15Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it.
English Standard Version
Chapter 15
3And Samson said to them, "This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm." 4So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards. 6Then the Philistines said, "Who has done this?" And they said, "Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion." And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire. 7And Samson said to them, "If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit." 8And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
9Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a raid on Lehi.
10And the men of Judah said, "Why have you come up against us?" They said, "We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us."
11Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?" And he said to them, "As they did to me, so have I done to them."
12And they said to him, "We have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines." And Samson said to them, "Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves."
13They said to him, "No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
14When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands.
15And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men.
16And Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men."
New International Version
Chapter 15
3Samson said to them, "This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them." 4So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, 5lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.
6When the Philistines asked, "Who did this?" they were told, "Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his companion." So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.
7Samson said to them, "Since you’ve acted like this, I swear that I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you."
8He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.
13"Agreed," they answered. "We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock.
14As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands.
15Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.
New King James Version
Chapter 15
3And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be blameless regarding the Philistines if I harm them!” 4Then Samson went and caught three hundred foxes; and he took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5When he had set the torches on fire, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
7Samson said to them, “Since you would do a thing like this, I will surely take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.”
8So he attacked them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; then he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
14When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands.
15He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it.
