Judges 16:21

Judges 16:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
• New International Version (NIV)Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then 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.

Context of Judges 16:21

19And she made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to humble him, and his strength left him. 20She 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 departed from him. Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and restrained him with bronze chains, and he became a grinder in the prison. 22However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off. 23Now the governors of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to celebrate, for they said, “Our god has handed Samson our enemy over to us.”

Judges 16:21 word by word

וַיֹּאחֲז֣וּהוּ פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים וַֽיְנַקְּר֖וּ אֶת־עֵינָ֑יו וַיּוֹרִ֨ידוּ אוֹת֜וֹ עַזָּ֗תָה וַיַּאַסְר֙וּהוּ֙ בַּֽנְחֻשְׁתַּ֔יִם וַיְהִ֥י טוֹחֵ֖ן בְּבֵ֥ית הָאֲסוּרִֽים׃Read the interlinear

• Then the Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּיpelishtîy · PhilistineH6430
• seizedאָחַז'âchaz · to graspH270
• him and gougedנָקַרnâqar · to digH5365
• his eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• and they broughtיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• and restrainedאָסַר'âsar · to bindH631
• him with bronzeנְחֹ֫שֶׁתnechôsheth · bronzeH5178
• chainsנְחֹ֫שֶׁתnechôsheth · bronzeH5178
• and he becameהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• a grinderטָחַןţâchan · to grindH2912
• in the prisonבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004

Cross-references for Judges 16:21

• Proverbs 5:22His own wrongdoings will trap the wicked, And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.
• Proverbs 14:14One with a wayward heart will have his fill of his own ways, But a good person will be satisfied with his.
• Judges 2:19But it came about, when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their obstinate ways.
• 2 Kings 25:7And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.
• 2 Chronicles 33:11Therefore the Lord brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains, and led him to Babylon.
• Psalms 107:10There were those who lived in darkness and in the shadow of death, Prisoners in misery and chains,
• Psalms 149:8To bind their kings with chains, And their dignitaries with shackles of iron,
• Exodus 11:5and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well.
• Isaiah 47:2Take the millstones and grind flour. Remove your veil, strip off the skirt, Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.
• Matthew 24:42“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.

Commentaries on Judges 16:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Put out his eyes - Thus was the lust of the eye, in looking after and gazing on strange women, punished. As the Philistines did not know that his strength might not return, they put out his eyes, that he might never be able to plan any enterprise against them. He did grind in the prison-house - Before the invention of wind and water-mills, the grain was at first bruised between two stones, afterwards ground in hand-mills. This is practiced in China and in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Put out his eyes - Thus effectually, as they thought, preventing any future mischief on his part, while they prolonged their own triumph and revenge. (Compare Numbers 16:14; 2 Kings 25:7; Jeremiah 39:7.) They applied to the two feet fetters of brass 2 Samuel 3:34; Jeremiah 52:11, and made him “grind” - the special task of slaves and captives Exodus 11:5; Isaiah 47:2; Lamentations 5:13.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. 4-22Samson's downfall and defeat by Delilah, the temptress, is a universally appealing tragedy.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes--To this cruel privation prisoners of rank and consequence have commonly been subjected in the East. The punishment is inflicted in various ways, by scooping out the eyeballs, by piercing the eye, or destroying the sight by holding a red-hot iron before the eyes. His security was made doubly sure by his being bound with fetters of brass (copper), not of leather, like other captives. he did grind in the…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 16:21

• Brass
• Captive
• Conspiracy
• Fetters
• Gaza
• Mill
• Prisoners
• Samson

In the dictionaries

• Gaza
• Philistines
• Brass
• Chain
• Eye
• Feel
• Grind
• Mock
• Prison
• Quiet

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