Judges 16

Guided questions at the bottom.

1 Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute.
He went in to spend the night with her.
2 The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!”
So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate.
3 They waited all night, shouting, “Let’s kill him in the morning!”
But Samson got up at midnight, grabbed the city gates, the gateposts, and the entire gate,
and carried them to the top of a hill near Hebron.

4 Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.
5 The Philistine rulers went to her and said, “Get Samson to tell you the secret of his great strength.
Find out how we can capture him so we can tie him up and control him.
Each of us will give you eleven hundred silver coins if you do this.”

6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the secret of your great strength. How can you be tied up and controlled?”
7 Samson said, “If they tie me with seven fresh bowstrings that have never been dried, I will become as weak as any other man.”
8 So the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings, and she tied him up with them.
9 Then some men were hiding in an inner room. Delilah shouted, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking you!”
He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string and escaped.

10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me!
You told me lies. Please tell me the truth. How can you be tied up and controlled?”
11 Samson said, “If they tie me with new ropes that have never been used, I will become as weak as any other man.”
12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him up, then shouted, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking you!”
But men were hiding inside. Samson snapped the ropes and escaped.

13 Delilah begged Samson, “You’ve made a fool of me these three times!
Please tell me the truth now, so I can tie you up and control you.”
14 Samson finally told her, “If my hair is woven into seven braids and tied with a bowstring,
that is the secret of my strength. If my hair is cut, I will become as weak as any other man.”

15 Delilah lulled Samson to sleep in her lap, then called in a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair.
Then Samson’s strength left him, and he became as weak as any other man.
16 Delilah shouted, “The Philistines are attacking you, Samson!” And he woke up and thought,
“I’ll escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t know that the Lord had left him.

17 The Philistines captured Samson, gouged out his eyes, took him to Gaza,
and made him grind grain in prison.

18 While Samson was in prison, his hair began to grow again.

19 The Philistine rulers gathered to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon, and they celebrated,
saying, “Our god has given us Samson, our enemy!”
20 When the people saw Samson, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands,
the one who laid waste our land and killed many of us.”

21 While they were celebrating, Samson was brought out of prison to entertain them.
They pushed him between two pillars of the temple,
and Samson prayed, “O Sovereign Lord, please remember me.
Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.”

22 Then Samson pushed with all his strength, and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people inside.
23 Samson died there, and he brought great death to many Philistines.
24 Then his brothers and all his family came down and took his body,
and they buried him in his father’s tomb.



Questions

Why do you think Samson repeatedly falls into temptation with foreign women?


Is there an area of your life you feel more prone to struggle? What guardrails do you have set up to help you?


How would you describe this relationship based on verses 15–17? What lessons can we learn about discernment in our own relationships?


How do you think Samson felt in verse 20 when he woke up and finally realized the Lord had left him?


Do you think Samson’s prayer in verse 28 was rooted more in justice or revenge? Why?


How would you summarize the story of Samson in 10 words?


Notes