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

3Samson spent half the night with the prostitute; then he got up in the middle of the night and left. He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron. 4After this Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley. The rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her and said to her, “Trick him! Find out what makes him so strong and how we can subdue him and humiliate him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred silver pieces.” 6So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me what makes you so strong and how you can be subdued and humiliated.” 7Samson said to her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become weak and be just like 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the lordsסֶ֫רֶןseren · lordH5633
• of the Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּיpelishtîy · PhilistineH6430
• came upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• unto her, and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto her, Enticeפָּתָהpâthâh · to enticeH6601
• him, and seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• wherein his greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• strengthכֹּחַkôach kôach · strengthH3581
• we may prevailיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• against him, that we may bindאָסַר'âsar · to bindH631
• him to afflictעָנָה‛ânâh · to afflictH6031
• him: and we will giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• thee every oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• of us eleven hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
• of us eleven hundredאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
• of silverכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701

Cross-references for Judges 16:5

• Judges 3:3These were the nations: the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo-Hamath.
• Joshua 13:3from the Shihor River east of Egypt northward to the territory of Ekron (it is regarded as Canaanite territory), including the area belonging to the five Philistine lords who ruled in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as Avvite land
• 1 Samuel 29:6So Achish summoned David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you are an honest man, and I am glad to have you serving with me in the army. I have found no fault with you from the day that you first came to me until the present time. But in the opinion of the leaders, you are not reliable.
• Judges 14:15On the fourth day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle. If you refuse, we will burn up you and your father’s family. Did you invite us here to make us poor?”
• Proverbs 2:16to deliver you from the adulteress, from the sexually loose woman who speaks flattering words;
• Proverbs 5:3For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil,
• Proverbs 6:24by keeping you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the loose woman.
• Proverbs 7:21She persuaded him with persuasive words; with her smooth talk she compelled him.
• 1 Corinthians 6:15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!
• Judges 17:2He said to his mother, “You know the eleven hundred pieces of silver which were stolen from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole it, but now I am giving it back to you.” His mother said, “May the Lord reward you, my son!”
• Genesis 33:16So that same day Esau made his way back to Seir.
• Numbers 22:17For I will honor you greatly, and whatever you tell me I will do. So come, put a curse on this nation for me.’”
• Micah 7:3They are determined to be experts at doing evil; government officials and judges take bribes, prominent men make demands, and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them.
• Matthew 26:15and said, “What will you give me to betray him into your hands?” So they set out thirty silver coins for him.
• 1 Timothy 6:9Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people 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