Judges 16:2

16:2 The Gazites were told, ¹  “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town ²  and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave. ³  They relaxed ⁴  all night, thinking, ⁵  “He will not leave ⁶  until morning comes; ⁷  then we will kill him!”

Judges 16:17-18

16:17 Finally he told her his secret. ⁸  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ⁹  for I have been dedicated to God ¹⁰  from the time I was conceived. ¹¹  If my head ¹²  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, ¹³  she sent for ¹⁴  the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me ¹⁵  his secret.” ¹⁶  So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands.

Judges 19:18

19:18 The Levite ¹⁷  said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem ¹⁸  in Judah to the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. That’s where I’m from. I had business in Bethlehem in Judah, but now I’m heading home. ¹⁹  But no one has invited me into their home.

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¹ tc Heb “To the Gazites, saying.” A verb is missing from the MT; some ancient Greek witnesses add “it was reported.”

² tn Heb “And they surrounded.” The rest of the verse suggests that “the town” is the object, not “the house.” Though the Gazites knew Samson was in the town, apparently they did not know exactly where he had gone. Otherwise, they would could have just gone into or surrounded the house and would not have needed to post guards at the city gate.

³ tn Heb “and they lay in wait for him all night in the city gate.”

⁴ tn Heb “were silent.”

⁵ tn Heb “saying.”

⁶ tn The words “He will not leave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁷ tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”

⁸ tn Heb “all his heart.”

⁹ tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

¹⁰ tn 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”).

¹¹ tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

¹² tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).

¹³ tn Heb “all his heart.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”

¹⁵ tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).

¹⁶ tn Heb “all his heart.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁸ map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

¹⁹ tn Heb “I went to Bethlehem in Judah, but [to] the house of the LORD I am going.” The Hebrew text has “house of the LORD,” which might refer to the shrine at Shiloh. The LXX reads “to my house.”