God’s Word Translation
Judges 16:20
20She said, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!” Samson woke up. He thought, “I’ll get out of this as usual and shake myself free.” (He didn’t realize that the Lord had left him.)
Judges 16:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.
- New International Version (NIV)Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And 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.
Context of Judges 16:20
18When Delilah realized that he had told her everything, she sent a message to the Philistine rulers, “Come here once more.” (She did this because Samson had told her everything.) So the Philistine rulers arrived with the money in their hands. 19Delilah put Samson to sleep on her lap. She called for a man to shave off his seven braids. Then she began to torture him because his strength had left him. She said, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!” Samson woke up. He thought, “I’ll get out of this as usual and shake myself free.” (He didn’t realize that the Lord had left him.) 21The Philistines grabbed him. They poked out his eyes and took him to the prison in Gaza. They tied him up with double chains and made him grind grain in the mill there. 22But his hair started to grow back as soon as it was shaved off.
Read all of Judges 16Judges 16:20 word by word
וַתֹּ֕אמֶר פְּלִשְׁתִּ֥ים עָלֶ֖יךָ שִׁמְשׁ֑וֹן וַיִּקַ֣ץ מִשְּׁנָת֗וֹ וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֵצֵ֞א כְּפַ֤עַם בְּפַ֙עַם֙ וְאִנָּעֵ֔ר וְהוּא֙ לֹ֣א יָדַ֔ע כִּ֥י יְהוָ֖ה סָ֥ר מֵעָלָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And she saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- The Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּיpelishtîy · PhilistineH6430
- upon thee, Samsonשִׁמְשׁוֹןshimshôn · SamsonH8123
- And he awokeיָקַץyâqats · to awakeH3364
- out of his sleepשֵׁנָהshênâh shênâ' · sleepH8142
- I will go outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- as at other times beforeפַּ֫עַםpa‛am pa‛ămâh · beatH6471
- and shakeנָעַרnâ‛ar · to shakeH5287
- myself. And he wistיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- not that the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- was departedסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: departH5493
Cross-references for Judges 16:20
- Judges 16:3But Samson was in bed ⌞with the prostitute⌟ only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors, door posts, and bar of the city gate and pulled them out. He carried them on his shoulders to the top of the hill facing Hebron.
- Deuteronomy 32:3I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Give our God the greatness he deserves!
- Isaiah 42:24Who gave Jacob away as loot and handed Israel over to robbers? Wasn’t it the Lord, against whom we have sinned? They didn’t want to live his way. They didn’t obey his teachings.
- Hosea 7:9Foreigners are using up your strength, but you don’t realize it. You have become a gray-haired, old man, but you don’t realize it.
- Numbers 14:9Don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. We will devour them like bread. They have no protection, and the Lord is with us. So don’t be afraid of them.”
- Joshua 7:12“The people of Israel will not be able to defend themselves against their enemies. They will run away from their enemies because the people of Israel are now claimed for destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy what I have claimed for myself.
- 1 Samuel 16:14Now, the Lord’s Spirit had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.
- 1 Samuel 18:12Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul.
- 1 Samuel 28:14“In what form?” he asked her. She answered, “An old man is coming up, and he’s wearing a robe.” Then Saul knew it was Samuel. Saul knelt down with his face touching the ground.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2Azariah went to Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all you men from Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you will dedicate your lives to serving him, he will accept you. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.
- Isaiah 59:1The Lord is not too weak to save or his ear too deaf to hear.
- Jeremiah 9:23This is what the Lord says: Don’t let wise people brag about their wisdom. Don’t let strong people brag about their strength. Don’t let rich people brag about their riches.
- Matthew 17:16I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t cure him.”
- 2 Corinthians 3:5By ourselves we are not qualified in any way to claim that we can do anything. Rather, God makes us qualified.
Commentaries on Judges 16:20
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20The possession of his extraordinary strength is ascribed (e. g. Judges 13:25) to the presence of the Spirit of the Lord. Now the Lord, or the Spirit of the Lord, had departed from him, and so his strength had gone too. The practical lesson against the presumption of self-dependence, and the all-importance of a hearty dependence upon God‘s Holy Spirit, must not be overlooked.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-21Verses 18-21 See the fatal effects of false security. Satan ruins men by flattering them into a good opinion of their own safety, and so bringing them to mind nothing, and fear nothing; and then he robs them of their strength and honour, and leads them captive at his will. When we sleep our spiritual enemies do not. Samson's eyes were the inlets of his sin, (ver. #(1),) and now his punishment began there. Now the Philistines blinded him, he had time to…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20Similar to the regretful but overconfident Israelites from earlier times (Numbers 14:40–45), Samson did not notice his hair was cut and that God's presence had left him (compare Hosea 7:9).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. he wist not that the Lord was departed from him--What a humiliating and painful spectacle! Deprived of the divine influences, degraded in his character, and yet, through the infatuation of a guilty passion, scarcely awake to the wretchedness of his fallen condition! Jud 16:21, 22. The Philistines Took Him and Put Out His Eyes.Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 16:20
In the dictionaries
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
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