1 Some time later Samson went to visit his wife during the wheat harvest and took her a young goat. He told her father, “I want to go to my wife's room.”
But he wouldn't let him go in. 2 He told Samson, “I really thought that you hated her, so I gave her to your friend. But her younger sister is prettier, anyway. You can have her, instead.”
3 Samson said, “This time I'm not going to be responsible for what I do to the Philistines!” 4 So he went and caught three hundred foxes. Two at a time, he tied their tails together and put torches in the knots. 5 Then he set fire to the torches and turned the foxes loose in the Philistine wheat fields. In this way he burned up not only the wheat that had been harvested but also the wheat that was still in the fields. The olive orchards were also burned. 6 When the Philistines asked who had done this, they learned that Samson had done it because his father-in-law, a man from Timnah, had given Samson's wife to a friend of Samson's. So the Philistines went and burned the woman to death and burned down her father's house.
7 Samson told them, “So this is how you act! I swear that I won't stop until I pay you back!” 8 He attacked them fiercely and killed many of them. Then he went and stayed in the cave in the cliff at Etam.
Samson Defeats the Philistines
9 The Philistines came and camped in Judah, and attacked the town of Lehi. 10 The men of Judah asked them, “Why are you attacking us?”
They answered, “We came to take Samson prisoner and to treat him as he treated us.” 11 So these three thousand men of Judah went to the cave in the cliff at Etam and said to Samson, “Don't you know that the Philistines are our rulers? What have you done to us?”
He answered, “I did to them just what they did to me.”
12 They told him, “We have come here to tie you up, so we can hand you over to them.”
Samson said, “Give me your word that you won't kill me yourselves.”
13 “All right,” they said, “we are only going to tie you up and hand you over to them. We won't kill you.” So they tied him up with two new ropes and brought him back from the cliff.
14 When he got to Lehi, the Philistines came running toward him, shouting at him. Suddenly the power of the Lord made him strong, and he broke the ropes around his arms and hands as if they were burnt thread. 15 Then he found a jawbone of a donkey that had recently died. He reached down and picked it up, and killed a thousand men with it. 16 So Samson sang,
“With the jawbone of a donkey I killed a thousand men;
With the jawbone of a donkey I piled them up in piles.”
17 After that, he threw the jawbone away. The place where this happened was named Ramath Lehi.
18 Then Samson became very thirsty, so he called to the Lord and said, “You gave me this great victory; am I now going to die of thirst and be captured by these heathen Philistines?” 19 Then God opened a hollow place in the ground there at Lehi, and water came out of it. Samson drank it and began to feel much better. So the spring was named Hakkore; it is still there at Lehi.
20 Samson led Israel for twenty years while the Philistines ruled the land.
1 Un notika pēc kādām dienām, ap kviešu pļaujas laiku, kad Simsons apmeklēja savu sievu, atnesdams tai kazlēnu, un sacīja: „Es gribu iet pie savas sievas istabā.“ Bet viņas tēvs neļāva viņam ieiet,
2 Sacīdams: „Es biju pilnīgi pārliecināts, ka tu viņu vairs tikai ienīsti; tāpēc es to devu par sievu kādam no taviem vedējiem. Bet viņas jaunākā māsa ir vēl skaistāka nekā viņa, to tu vari viņas vietā iegūt sev par sievu!“
3 Bet Simsons tiem sacīja: „Šoreiz lai fīlistieši nevaino mani, ja es tiem darīšu jaunu!“
4 Un viņš nogāja un noķēra trīs simti lapsu, tad viņš ņēma lāpas, pagrieza asti pret asti un iesprauda pa lāpai ik starp divām astēm.
5 Tad viņš pielaida uguni lāpām un palaida zvērus filistiešu vēl nenokoptajās druvās, tā nodedzinādams itin visu: sacelto, kā ari vēl nepļauto labību un pat vīna kalnus un olīvu kokus.
6 Tad fīlistieši sprieda: „Kas to ir izdarījis?“ Un viņiem tika pateikts: „Simsons, timnieša znots, tāpēc ka tas ir viņa sievu ņēmis un devis to vienam no viņa vedējiem.“ Tad paši fīlistieši cēlās un sadedzināja viņu pašu un visu viņas tēva namu ar uguni.
7 Bet Simsons tiem sacīja: „Ja jūs tā rīkojaties, tad es nemitēšos, kamēr nebūšu atriebies!“
8 Un viņš varenā kautiņā sadragāja to plecus un gurnus; tad viņš nogāja lejā un dzīvoja Etama kalna aizā.
9 Tad fīlistieši devās kalnup, uzcēla savas teltis Jūdas zemē un ieņēma visu apgabalu līdz Lehijai.
10 Un Jūdas vīri tiem jautāja: „Kādēļ jūs esat pret mums izgājuši karot?“ Un tie atbildēja: „Lai Simsonu sasietu važās un viņam tā darītu, kā viņš ir mums darījis.“
11 Tad nonāca lejā trīs tūkstoši Jūdas vīru pie Etama kalna klints aizas un sacīja Simsonam: „Vai tu nezini, ka fīlistieši pār mums valda? Kāpēc tad tu esi mums to darījis?“ Un viņš tiem atbildēja: „Kā tie man ir darījuši, tā es arī esmu ar tiem izrīkojies.“
12 Tad tic viņam sacīja: „Mēs esam nākuši, lai tevi saistītu un nodotu filistiešu rokās.“ Un Simsons tiem sacīja: „Zvēriet man, ka jūs man nenodarīsit nekā ļauna!“
13 Un tie sacīja viņam, teikdami: „Nē, mēs gribam tevi tikai sasiet ar saitēm un tevi viņiem izdot, bet nonāvēt tevi mēs nenonāvēsim.“ Un tie viņu saistīja ar divām jaunām virvēm un to uzveda augšā no aizas.
14 Kad viņš nonāca līdz Lehijai, tad fīlistieši, nākdami viņam pretī, uzgavilēja, bet tā Kunga gars nāca pār viņu, un virves, kas bija ap viņa elkoņiem, likās it kā linu pavedieni, kas ugunī apdedzināti, un visas saites notrūka no viņa rokām.
15 Un viņš atrada svaigu ēzeļa žokļa kaulu, atvēza savu roku un, to satvēris, nosita tūkstoš vīrus.
16 Un Simsons sacīja: „Ar ēzeļa žokļa kaulu es tos kapādams varēju sakapāt! Ar ēzeļa žokļa kaulu es nositu tūkstoš vīrus!“
17 Un notika, kad viņš bija beidzis runāt, tad viņš izmeta žokļa kaulu no savas rokas un nosauca to vietu par Ramat Lehiju.
18 Tad viņam ļoti slāpa, un viņš skaļi piesauca to Kungā un sacīja: „Tu esi tik lielu uzvanī guvis ar sava kalpa roku, vai tagad man būs slāpēs mirt un krist šo neapgraizīto rokās?“
19 Un tas Kungs pāršķēla iedobumu žokļa kaulā, no tā izvira ūdens, un viņš dzēra. Un tad viņš atkal atvilka elpu un atspirga; tādēļ tās vietas vārdu nosauca Ejin ha Korē, kas atrodas Lehijas tuvumā līdz pat šai dienai.
20 Un viņš tiesāja Israēlu filistiešu dienās divdesmit gadus.
