New International Version
Judges 16:20
20Then 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.
Context of Judges 16:20
18When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. 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. 21Then 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. 22But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
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 lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
- Deuteronomy 32:3I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
- Isaiah 42:24Who handed Jacob over to become loot, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned? For they would not follow his ways; they did not obey his law.
- Hosea 7:9Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice.
- Numbers 14:9Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
- Joshua 7:12That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
- 1 Samuel 16:14Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from 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 departed from Saul.
- 1 Samuel 28:14“What does he look like?” he asked. “An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said. Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
- Isaiah 59:1Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
- Jeremiah 9:23This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches,
- Matthew 17:16I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
- 2 Corinthians 3:5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.
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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