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Samson's
Weakness |
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| Judges 16:1 |
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Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there,
and went in to her. |
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| Judges 16:2 |
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When it was told to the Gazites, saying, "Samson
has come here," they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at
the gate of the city. And they kept silent all night, saying, " Let us wait until
the morning light, then we will kill him." |
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| Judges 16:3 |
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Now Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight
he arose and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled
them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and carried them
up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron. |
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| Judges 16:4 |
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After this it came about that he loved a woman
in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. |
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| Judges 16:5 |
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The lords of the Philistines came up to her
and said to her, "Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and how we
may overpower him that we may bind him to afflict him. Then we will each give
you eleven hundred pieces of silver." |
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| Judges 16:6 |
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So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where
your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you." |
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| Judges 16:7 |
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Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven
fresh cords that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any
other man." |
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| Judges 16:8 |
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Then the lords of the Philistines brought up
to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. |
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| Judges 16:9 |
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Now she had men lying in wait in an inner room.
And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he snapped the
cords as a string of tow snaps when it touches fire. So his strength was not discovered. |
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| Judges 16:10 |
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Then Delilah said to Samson, "Behold, you have
deceived me and told me lies; now please tell me how you may be bound." |
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| Judges 16:11 |
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He said to her, "If they bind me tightly with
new ropes which have not been used, then I will become weak and be like any other
man." |
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| Judges 16:12 |
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So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with
them and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" For the men were
lying in wait in the inner room. But he snapped the ropes from his arms like a
thread. |
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| Judges 16:13 |
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Then Delilah said to Samson, "Up to now you
have deceived me and told me lies; tell me how you may be bound." And he said
to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my hair with the web [and fasten it with
a pin, then I will become weak and be like any other man." |
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| Judges 16:14 |
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So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks
of his hair and wove them into the web]. And she fastened it with the pin and
said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he awoke from his sleep
and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web. |
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Delilah
Extracts His Secret |
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| Judges 16:15 |
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Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love
you,' when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and
have not told me where your great strength is." |
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| Judges 16:16 |
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It came about when she pressed him daily with
her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death. |
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| Judges 16:17 |
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So he told her all that was in his heart and
said to her, "A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to
God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and
I will become weak and be like any other man." |
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| Judges 16:18 |
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When Delilah saw that he had told her all that
was in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come
up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart." Then the lords of
the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. |
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| Judges 16:19 |
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She made him sleep on her knees, and called
for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair. Then she began to
afflict him, and his strength left him. |
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| Judges 16:20 |
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She said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!"
And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake
myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. |
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| Judges 16:21 |
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Then the Philistines seized him and gouged
out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains,
and he was a grinder in the prison. |
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| Judges 16:22 |
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However, the hair of his head began to grow
again after it was shaved off. |
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| Judges 16:23 |
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Now the lords of the Philistines assembled to
offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice, for they said, "Our
god has given Samson our enemy into our hands." |
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| Judges 16:24 |
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When the people saw him, they praised their
god, for they said, "Our god has given our enemy into our hands, Even the destroyer
of our country, Who has slain many of us." |
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| Judges 16:25 |
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It so happened when they were in high spirits,
that they said, "Call for Samson, that he may amuse us." So they called for Samson
from the prison, and he entertained them. And they made him stand between the
pillars. |
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| Judges 16:26 |
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Then Samson said to the boy who was holding
his hand, "Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against
them." |
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| Judges 16:27 |
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Now the house was full of men and women, and
all the lords of the Philistines were there. And about 3,000 men and women were
on the roof looking on while Samson was amusing them. |
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Samson
Is Avenged |
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| Judges 16:28 |
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Then Samson called to the LORD and said, "O
Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that
I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." |
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| Judges 16:29 |
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Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which
the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand
and the other with his left. |
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| Judges 16:30 |
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And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!"
And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the
people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than
those whom he killed in his life. |
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| Judges 16:31 |
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Then his brothers and all his father's household
came down, took him, brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in
the tomb of Manoah his father. Thus he had judged Israel twenty years. |
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