Judges 16:16-21

16:16 She nagged him¹ every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it.² 16:17 Finally he told her his secret.³ He said to her, “My hair has never been cut,⁴ for I have been dedicated to God⁵ from the time I was conceived.⁶ If my head⁷ were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.” 16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret,⁸ she sent for⁹ the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me¹⁰ his secret.”¹¹ So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands. 16:19 She made him go to sleep on her lap¹² and then called a man in to shave off¹³ the seven braids of his hair.¹⁴ She made him vulnerable¹⁵ and his strength left him. 16:20 She said, “The Philistines are here,¹⁶ Samson!” He woke up¹⁷ and thought,¹⁸ “I will do as I did before¹⁹ and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him. 16:21 The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison.

¹tn Heb “forced him with her words.”

²tn Heb “and his spirit was short [i.e., impatient] to the point of death.”

³tn Heb “all his heart.”

⁴tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

⁵tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

⁶tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

⁷tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).

⁸tn Heb “all his heart.”

⁹tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”

¹⁰tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).

¹¹tn Heb “all his heart.”

¹²tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.

¹³tn Heb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See J. A. Soggin, Judges (OTL), 254.

¹⁴tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.

¹⁵tn Heb “She began to humiliate him.” Rather than referring to some specific insulting action on Delilah’s part after Samson’s hair was shaved off, this statement probably means that she, through the devious actions just described, began the process of Samson’s humiliation which culminates in the following verses.

¹⁶tn Heb “are upon you.”

¹⁷tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁸tn Heb “and said.”

¹⁹tn Heb “I will go out as before.”