1And Samson went to Gaza , and saw there a harlot , and went in unto her . 2And it was told the Gazites , saying, Samson is come hither . And they compassed him in , and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city , and were quiet all the night , saying, Let be till morning light, then we will kill him . 3And Samson lay till midnight , and arose at midnight , and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city , and the two posts , and plucked them up , bar and all , and put them upon his shoulders , and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron . 4And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek , whose name was Delilah . 5And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her , and said unto her , Entice him , and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him , that we may bind him to afflict him : and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver .
The Betrayal
6And Delilah said to Samson , Tell me , I pray thee , wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee . 7And Samson said unto her , If they bind me with seven green withes that were never dried , then shall I become weak , and be as another man. 8Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withes which had not been dried , and she bound him with them . 9Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber . And she said unto him , The Philistines are upon thee, Samson . And he brake the withes, as a string of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known . 10And Delilah said unto Samson , Behold , thou hast mocked me , and told me lies : now tell me , I pray thee , wherewith thou mightest be bound. 11And he said unto her , If they only bind me with new ropes wherewith no work hath been done , then shall I become weak , and be as another man. 12So Delilah took new ropes , and bound him therewith, and said unto him , The Philistines are upon thee , Samson . And the liers-in-wait were abiding in the inner chamber . And he brake them off his arms like a thread . 13And Delilah said unto Samson , Hitherto thou hast mocked me , and told me lies : tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her , If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web . 14And she fastened it with the pin , and said unto him , The Philistines are upon thee, Samson . And he awaked out of his sleep , and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web .
Samson's Capture
15And she said unto him , How canst thou say, I love thee , when thy heart is not with me ? thou hast mocked me these three times , and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. 16And it came to pass , when she pressed him daily with her words , and urged him , that his soul was vexed unto death . 17And he told her all his heart , and said unto her , There hath not come a razor upon my head ; for I have been a Nazirite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven , then my strength will go from me , and I shall become weak , and be like any other man . 18And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart , she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines , saying, Come up this once , for he hath told me all his heart . Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her , and brought the money in their hand . 19And she made him sleep upon her knees ; and she called for a man , and shaved off the seven locks of his head ; and she began to afflict him , and his strength went from him . 20And she said , The Philistines are upon thee, Samson . And he awoke out of his sleep , and said , I will go out as at other times , and shake myself free . But he knew not that Jehovah was departed from him . 21And the Philistines laid hold on him , and put out his eyes ; and they brought him down to Gaza , and bound him with fetters of brass ; and he did grind in the prison-house.
Samson's Redemption
22Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven . 23And the lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god , and to rejoice ; for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand . 24And when the people saw him , they praised their god ; for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who hath slain many of us . 25And it came to pass , when their hearts were merry , that they said , Call for Samson , that he may make us sport . And they called for Samson out of the prison-house; and he made sport before them . And they set him between the pillars : 26and Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand , Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house resteth , that I may lean upon them . 27Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there ; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport . 28And Samson called unto Jehovah , and said , O Lord Jehovah , remember me , I pray thee , and strengthen me , I pray thee , only this once , O God , that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes . 29And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house rested , and leaned upon them , the one with his right hand , and the other with his left . 30And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines . And he bowed himself with all his might ; and the house fell upon the lords , and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than they that he slew in his life . 31Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down , and took him , and brought him up , and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years .