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 tagad 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 filistieši nevaino mani, ja es tiem darīšu ļaunu." 4 Un viņš nogāja un noķēra trīs simti lapsu, tad viņš, paņēmis lāpas, pagrieza asti pret asti un iesprauda pa lāpai starp divām astēm. 5 Tad viņš pielaida uguni lāpām un palaida zvērus filistiešu vēl nenokoptajās druvās, tā nodedzinādams itin visu: sacelto, kā arī vēl nepļauto labību un pat vīna dārzus un olīvkokus. 6 Tad filistieši sacīja: "Kas to ir izdarījis?" Un viņiem sacīja: "Simsons, timnieša znots, tāpēc ka tas ir viņa sievu ņēmis un devis to vienam no viņa vedējiem." Tad filistieši cēlās un sadedzināja viņu un 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 Ētama klints aizā. 9 Tad filistieši 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 darītu tā, kā viņš ir mums darījis." 11 Tad nonāca lejā trīs tūkstoši Jūdas vīru pie Ētama klints aizas un sacīja Simsonam: "Vai tu nezini, ka filistieši pār mums valda? Kāpēc tad tu esi mums to darījis?" Un viņš tiem atbildēja: "Kā tie man ir darījuši, tā arī es esmu ar tiem izrīkojies." 12 Tad tie viņam sacīja: "Mēs esam nākuši, lai tevi saistītu un nodotu filistiešu rokā." Un Simsons tiem sacīja: "Zvēriet man, ka jūs man nenodarīsit nekā ļauna." 13 Un tie sacīja viņam: "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 filistieši, nākdami viņam pretī, uzgavilēja, bet Tā Kunga Gars nāca pār viņu, un virves, kas ap viņa elkoņiem, šķita kā linu pavedieni, kas ugunī apsviluši, un tās nokrita no viņa rokām. 15 Un viņš atrada svaigu ēzeļa žokļa kaulu, atvēza savu roku un, to satvēris, nosita tūkstoš vīru. 16 Un Simsons sacīja: "Ar ēzeļa žokļa kaulu es tos kapādams varēju sakapāt. Ar ēzeļa žokļa kaulu es nositu tūkstoš vīru." 17 Un notika, kad viņš bija beidzis runāt, tad viņš izmeta žokļa kaulu no savas rokas un nosauca to vietu: Ramat-Lehija . 18 Tad viņam ļoti slāpa un viņš skaļi piesauca To Kungu un sacīja: "Tu esi tik lielu uzvaru 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 viņa gars atgriezās viņā, un viņš atspirga; tādēļ tās vietas vārdu nosauca - Ajin-Korē , kas atrodas Lehijā līdz pat šai dienai. 20 Un viņš tiesāja Israēlu filistiešu dienās divdesmit gadus.
1 Later, during the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit the young woman he thought was still his wife. He brought along a young goat as a gift and said to her father, “I want to go into my wife's bedroom.”
“You can't do that,” he replied. 2 “When you left the way you did, I thought you were divorcing her. So I arranged for her to marry one of the young men who were at your party. But my younger daughter is even prettier, and you can have her as your wife.”
3 “This time,” Samson answered, “I have a good reason for really hurting some Philistines.”
Samson Takes Revenge
4 Samson went out and caught 300 foxes and tied them together in pairs with oil-soaked rags around their tails. 5 Then Samson took the foxes into the Philistine wheat fields that were ready to be harvested. He set the rags on fire and let the foxes go. The wheat fields went up in flames, and so did the stacks of wheat that had already been cut. Even the Philistine vineyards and olive orchards burned.
6 Some of the Philistines started asking around, “Who could have done such a thing?”
“It was Samson,” someone told them. “He married the daughter of that man in Timnah, but then the man gave Samson's wife to one of the men at the wedding.”
The Philistine leaders went to Timnah and burned to death Samson's wife and her father.
7 When Samson found out what they had done, he went to them and said, “You killed them! And I won't rest until I get even with you.” 8 Then Samson started hacking them to pieces with his sword.
Samson left Philistia and went to live in the cave at Etam Rock. 9 But it wasn't long before the Philistines invaded Judah and set up a huge army camp at Jawbone.
10 The people of Judah asked, “Why have you invaded our land?”
The Philistines answered, “We've come to get Samson. We're going to do the same things to him that he did to our people.”
11 Three thousand men from Judah went to the cave at Etam Rock and said to Samson, “Don't you know that the Philistines rule us, and they will punish us for what you did?”
“I was only getting even with them,” Samson replied. “They did the same things to me first.”
12 “We came here to tie you up and turn you over to them,” said the men of Judah.
“I won't put up a fight,” Samson answered, “but you have to promise not to hurt me yourselves.”
13-14 “We promise,” the men said. “We will only tie you up and turn you over to the Philistines. We won't kill you.” Then they tied up his hands and arms with two brand-new ropes and led him away from Etam Rock.
When the Philistines saw that Samson was being brought to their camp at Jawbone, they started shouting and ran toward him. But the Lord's Spirit took control of Samson, and Samson broke the ropes, as though they were pieces of burnt cloth. 15 Samson glanced around and spotted the jawbone of a donkey. The jawbone had not yet dried out, so it was still hard and heavy. Samson grabbed it and started hitting Philistines—he killed 1,000 of them! 16 After the fighting was over, he made up this poem about what he had done to the Philistines:
I used a donkey's jawbone
to kill a thousand men;
I beat them with this jawbone
over and over again.
17 Samson tossed the jawbone on the ground and decided to call the place Jawbone Hill. It is still called that today.
18 Samson was so thirsty that he prayed, “Our Lord, you helped me win a battle against a whole army. Please don't let me die of thirst now. Those heathen Philistines will carry off my dead body.”
19 Samson was tired and weary, but God sent water gushing from a rock. Samson drank some and felt strong again.
Samson named the place Caller Spring, because he had called out to God for help. The spring is still there at Jawbone.
20 Samson was a leader of Israel for 20 years, but the Philistines were still the rulers of Israel.
