Judges 16:5

Judges 16:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And 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.
• New International Version (NIV)The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And 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.”

Context of Judges 16:5

3But Samson lay there only until midnight, when he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and both gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. Then he put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron. 4Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.” 6So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.” 7Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become as weak as any other man.”

Judges 16:5 word by word

וַיַּעֲל֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יהָ סַרְנֵ֣י פְלִשְׁתִּ֗ים וַיֹּ֨אמְרוּ לָ֜הּ פַּתִּ֣י אוֹת֗וֹ וּרְאִי֙ בַּמֶּה֙ כֹּח֣וֹ גָד֔וֹל וּבַמֶּה֙ נ֣וּכַל ל֔וֹ וַאֲסַרְנֻ֖הוּ לְעַנֹּת֑וֹ וַאֲנַ֙חְנוּ֙ נִתַּן־לָ֔ךְ אִ֕ישׁ אֶ֥לֶף וּמֵאָ֖ה כָּֽסֶף׃Read the interlinear

• The lordsסֶ֫רֶןseren · lordH5633
• of the Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּיpelishtîy · PhilistineH6430
• wentעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• to herאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Enticeפָּתָהpâthâh · to enticeH6601
• himאֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• and find outרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• the source ofמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• his greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• strengthכֹּחַkôach kôach · strengthH3581
• we can overpowerיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• to tie him upאָסַר'âsar · to bindH631
• and subdue himעָנָה‛ânâh · to afflictH6031
• Then each oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• of usאֲנַ֫חְנוּ'ănachnû · weH587
• will giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• eleven hundredאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
• eleven hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
• of silverכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701

Cross-references for Judges 16:5

• Judges 3:3the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.
• Joshua 13:3All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites, from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites;
• 1 Samuel 29:6So Achish summoned David and told him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been upright, and it seems right in my sight that you should march in and out with me in the army, because I have found no fault in you from the day you came to me until this day. But you are not good in the sight of the leaders.
• Judges 14:15So on the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?”
• Proverbs 2:16It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words
• Proverbs 5:3Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
• Proverbs 6:24to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
• Proverbs 7:21With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him.
• 1 Corinthians 6:15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!
• Judges 17:2said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have the silver here with me; I took it.” Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!”
• Genesis 33:16So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir,
• Numbers 22:17for I will honor you richly and do whatever you say. So please come and put a curse on this people for me!’”
• Micah 7:3Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
• Matthew 26:15and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.
• 1 Timothy 6:9Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

Commentaries on Judges 16:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5See wherein his great strength lieth - They saw that his stature was not remarkable: and that, nevertheless, he had most extraordinary strength; therefore they supposed that it was the effect of some charm or amulet. The lords of the Philistines were the five following: Gaza, Gath, Askelon, Ekron, and Ashdod. All these considered Samson as a public enemy; and they promised this bad woman a large sum of money if she would obtain from him the important…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And the lords of the Philistines - See Judges 3:3 note. His great strength lieth - Rather, “wherein his strength is great.” Eleven hundred pieces of silver - The greatness of the bribe offered to Delilah, 5,500 shekels of silver, nearly two talents (Exodus 38:24, note), shows the importance attached to Samson‘s capture.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-17Verses 4-17 Samson had been more than once brought into mischief and danger by the love of women, yet he would not take warning, but is again taken in the same snare, and this third time is fatal. Licentiousness is one of the things that take away the heart. This is a deep pit into which many have fallen; but from which few have escaped, and those by a miracle of mercy, with the loss of reputation and usefulness, of almost all, except their souls. The…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5The Philistine leaders knew they could not defeat Samson directly, so they used deceit. The generous offer from the leaders (lords) of the five Philistine cities (Judges 3:3) shows how seriously they took this issue.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. the lords of the Philistines--The five rulers deemed no means beneath their dignity to overcome this national enemy. Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth--They probably imagined that he carried some amulet about his person, or was in the possession of some important secret by which he had acquired such herculean strength; and they bribed Delilah, doubtless by a large reward, to discover it for them. She undertook the service and made…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 16:5

• Bribery
• Conspiracy
• Deception
• Delilah
• Friends
• Philistines
• Samson
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Philistines
• Lords of the Philistines
• Delilah
• Feel
• Mock
• Quiet
• Samson
• Sport
• Told
• Dagon

Commentaries on Judges 16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings