Judges 16
16Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.H3212H8123H5804H7200H802H2181H9352When the Gazites were told, "Samson has come here!" they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, "In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him."H5841H559H8123H935H5437H693H3915H8179H5892H2790H3915H559H1242H216H20263And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.H8123H7901H2677H3915H6965H2677H3915H270H1817H8179H5892H8147H4201H5265H1280H7760H3802H5927H7218H2022H6440H22754Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.H310H157H802H5158H7796H8034H18075And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver."H5633H6430H5927H559H6601H7200H1419H3581H3201H631H6031H5414H376H505H3967H37016So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you."H1807H559H8123H5046H1419H3581H631H60317And Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man."H8123H559H631H7651H3892H3499H2717H2470H259H1208So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them.H5633H6430H5927H7651H3892H3499H2717H6319Now men were lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.H693H3427H2315H559H6430H8123H5423H3499H6616H5296H5423H7306H784H3581H304510Then Delilah said to Samson, "Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with."H1807H559H8123H2048H1696H3577H5046H63111So he said to her, "If they bind me securely with new ropes that have never been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man."H559H631H631H2319H5688H4399H6213H2470H259H12012Therefore Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And men were lying in wait, staying in the room. But he broke them off his arms like a thread.H1807H3947H2319H5688H631H559H6430H8123H693H3427H2315H5423H2220H233913Delilah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me what you may be bound with." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom"—H1807H559H8123H2008H2048H1696H3577H5046H631H559H707H7651H4253H7218H454514So she wove it tightly with the batten of the loom, and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled out the batten and the web from the loom.H8628H3489H559H6430H8123H3364H8142H5265H3489H708H454515Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies."H559H349H559H157H3820H2048H7969H6471H5046H1419H358116And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death,H6693H3117H1697H509H5315H7114H419117that he told her all his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man."H5046H3820H559H5927H4177H7218H5139H430H517H990H1548H3581H5493H2470H12018When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart." So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.H1807H7200H5046H3820H7971H7121H5633H6430H559H5927H6471H5046H3820H5633H6430H5927H5927H3701H302719Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.H3462H1290H7121H376H1548H7651H4253H7218H2490H6031H3581H549320And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" So he awoke from his sleep, and said, "I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!" But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.H559H6430H8123H3364H8142H559H3318H6471H5287H3045H3068H549321Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.H6430H270H5365H5869H3381H5804H631H5178H2912H631H100422However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven.H8181H7218H2490H6779H834H154823Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice. And they said: "Our god has delivered into our hands Samson our enemy!"H5633H6430H622H2076H1419H2077H1712H430H8057H559H430H5414H8123H341H302724When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said: "Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, The destroyer of our land, And the one who multiplied our dead."H5971H7200H1984H430H559H430H5414H3027H341H2717H776H2491H723525So it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, "Call for Samson, that he may perform for us." So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars.H3820H2896H559H7121H8123H7832H7121H8123H631H1004H6440H6711H5975H598226Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, "Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them."H8123H559H5288H2388H3027H3240H4184H3237H5982H1004H3559H817227Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there—about three thousand men and women on the roof watching while Samson performed.H1004H4390H582H802H5633H6430H1406H7969H505H376H802H7200H8123H783228Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, "O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!"H8123H7121H3068H559H136H3069H2142H2388H6471H430H259H5358H5359H6430H8147H586929And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left.H8123H3943H8147H8432H5982H1004H3559H5564H259H3225H259H804030Then Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.H8123H559H4191H5315H6430H5186H3581H1004H5307H5633H5971H4191H4191H4194H7227H4191H241631And his brothers and all his father's household came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years.H251H1004H1H3381H5375H5927H6912H6881H847H6913H4495H1H8199H3478H6242H8141
Judges 17
17Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.H376H2022H669H8034H43212And he said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you put a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it." And his mother said, "May you be blessed by the LORD, my son!"H559H517H505H3967H3701H3947H422H559H241H3701H3947H517H559H1288H3068H11213So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, "I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the LORD for my son, to make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you."H7725H505H3967H3701H517H517H559H6942H6942H3701H3068H3027H1121H6213H6459H4541H77254Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah.H7725H3701H517H517H3947H3967H3701H5414H6884H6213H6459H4541H1004H43215The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.H376H4318H1004H430H6213H646H8655H4390H3027H259H1121H35486In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.H3117H4428H3478H376H6213H3477H58697Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and was staying there.H5288H1035H3063H4940H3063H3881H14818The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.H376H3212H5892H1035H3063H1481H4672H935H2022H669H1004H4318H6213H18709And Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" So he said to him, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay."H4318H559H370H935H559H3881H1035H3063H1980H1481H467210Micah said to him, "Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance." So the Levite went in.H4318H559H3427H1H3548H5414H6235H3701H3117H6187H899H4241H3881H321211Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him.H3881H2974H3427H376H5288H259H112112So Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and lived in the house of Micah.H4318H4390H3027H3881H5288H3548H1004H431813Then Micah said, "Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since I have a Levite as priest!"H559H4318H3045H3068H3190H3881H3548
Judges 18
18In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for itself to dwell in; for until that day their inheritance among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them.H3117H4428H3478H3117H7626H1839H1245H5159H3427H3117H5159H5307H8432H7626H34782So the children of Dan sent five men of their family from their territory, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and search it. They said to them, "Go, search the land." So they went to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.H1121H1835H7971H4940H2568H582H7098H1121H2428H6881H847H7270H776H2713H559H3212H2713H776H935H2022H669H1004H4318H38853While they were at the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. They turned aside and said to him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?"H1004H4318H5234H6963H5288H3881H5493H559H935H1988H62134He said to them, "Thus and so Micah did for me. He has hired me, and I have become his priest."H559H2090H2090H6213H4318H7936H35485So they said to him, "Please inquire of God, that we may know whether the journey on which we go will be prosperous."H559H7592H430H3045H1870H1980H67436And the priest said to them, "Go in peace. The presence of the LORD be with you on your way."H3548H559H3212H7965H5227H3068H1870H32127So the five men departed and went to Laish. They saw the people who were there, how they dwelt safely, in the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure. There were no rulers in the land who might put them to shame for anything. They were far from the Sidonians, and they had no ties with anyone.H2568H582H3212H935H3919H7200H5971H7130H3427H983H4941H6722H8252H982H3423H6114H776H3637H1697H7350H6722H1697H1208Then the spies came back to their brethren at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren said to them, "What is your report?"H935H251H6881H847H251H5599So they said, "Arise, let us go up against them. For we have seen the land, and indeed it is very good. Would you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go, and enter to possess the land.H559H6965H5927H7200H776H3966H2896H2814H6101H3212H935H3423H77610"When you go, you will come to a secure people and a large land. For God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth."H935H935H5971H982H7342H776H430H5414H3027H4725H4270H1697H77611And six hundred men of the family of the Danites went from there, from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war.H5265H4940H1839H6881H847H8337H3967H376H2296H3627H442112Then they went up and encamped in Kirjath Jearim in Judah. (Therefore they call that place Mahaneh Dan to this day. There it is, west of Kirjath Jearim.)H5927H2583H7157H3063H7121H4725H4265H3117H310H715713And they passed from there to the mountains of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.H5674H2022H669H935H1004H431814Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brethren, "Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a molded image? Now therefore, consider what you should do."H6030H2568H582H1980H7270H776H3919H559H251H3045H3426H1004H646H8655H6459H4541H3045H621315So they turned aside there, and came to the house of the young Levite man—to the house of Micah—and greeted him.H5493H935H1004H5288H3881H1004H4318H7592H796516The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.H8337H3967H376H2296H3627H4421H1121H1835H5324H6607H817917Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up. Entering there, they took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image. The priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were armed with weapons of war.H2568H582H1980H7270H776H5927H935H3947H6459H646H8655H4541H3548H5324H6607H8179H8337H3967H376H2296H3627H442118When these went into Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"H935H4318H1004H3947H6459H646H8655H4541H559H3548H621319And they said to him, "Be quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us; be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the household of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?"H559H2790H7760H3027H6310H3212H1961H1H3548H2896H3548H1004H259H376H3548H7626H4940H347820So the priest's heart was glad; and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and took his place among the people.H3548H3820H3190H3947H646H8655H6459H935H7130H597121Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the goods in front of them.H6437H3212H7760H2945H4735H3520H644022When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan.H7368H1004H4318H582H1004H4318H1004H2199H1692H1121H183523And they called out to the children of Dan. So they turned around and said to Micah, "What ails you, that you have gathered such a company?"H7121H1121H1835H5437H6440H559H4318H219924So he said, "You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. Now what more do I have? How can you say to me, 'What ails you?'"H559H3947H430H6213H3548H3212H55925And the children of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry men fall upon you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household!"H1121H1835H559H6963H8085H4751H5315H582H6293H622H5315H5315H100426Then the children of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.H1121H1835H3212H1870H4318H7200H2389H6437H7725H100427So they took the things Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; and they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.H3947H4318H6213H3548H935H3919H5971H8252H982H5221H6310H2719H8313H5892H78428There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no ties with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt the city and dwelt there.H5337H7350H6721H1697H120H6010H1050H1129H5892H342729And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city formerly was Laish.H7121H8034H5892H1835H8034H1835H1H3205H3478H199H8034H5892H3919H722330Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.H1121H1835H6965H6459H3083H1121H1647H1121H4519H1121H3548H7626H1839H3117H1540H77631So they set up for themselves Micah's carved image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.H7760H4318H6459H6213H3117H1004H430H7887
Psalm 75
75To the Chief Musician. Set to 'Do Not Destroy.' A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.H5329H516H4210H7892H623H430H3034H3034H8034H7138H6381H56082"When I choose the proper time, I will judge uprightly.H3947H4150H8199H43393The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved; I set up its pillars firmly. SelahH776H3427H4127H8505H5982H55424'I said to the boastful, 'Do not deal boastfully,' And to the wicked, 'Do not lift up the horn.H559H1984H1984H7563H7311H71615Do not lift up your horn on high; Do not speak with a stiff neck.'"H7311H7161H4791H1696H6277H66776For exaltation comes neither from the east Nor from the west nor from the south.H7311H2022H4161H4628H40577But God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another.H430H8199H8213H73118For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, And the wine is red; It is fully mixed, and He pours it out; Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth Drain and drink down.H3027H3068H3563H3196H2560H4392H4538H5064H2088H8105H7563H776H4680H83549But I will declare forever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.H5046H5769H2167H430H329010'All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off, But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted."H7161H7563H1438H7161H6662H7311
Columbus, OH
