Judges 16:25

Judges 16:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And when their hearts were merry, they said, "Call Samson, that he may entertain us." So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Half drunk by now, the people demanded, “Bring out Samson so he can amuse us!” So he was brought from the prison to amuse them, and they had him stand between the pillars supporting the roof.

Context of Judges 16:25

23Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.” 24When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain.” While they were in high spirits, they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them. When they stood him among the pillars, 26Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” 27Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.

Judges 16:25 word by word

וַֽיְהִי֙ כְּט֣וֹב לִבָּ֔ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ קִרְא֥וּ לְשִׁמְשׁ֖וֹן וִישַֽׂחֶק־לָ֑נוּ וַיִּקְרְא֨וּ לְשִׁמְשׁ֜וֹן מִבֵּ֣ית הָאֲסוּרִ֗ים וַיְצַחֵק֙ לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם וַיַּעֲמִ֥ידוּ אוֹת֖וֹ בֵּ֥ין הָעַמּוּדִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it came to pass, when their heartsלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• were merryטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• that they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Callקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
• for Samsonשִׁמְשׁוֹןshimshôn · SamsonH8123
• that he may make us sportשָׂחַקώâchaq · to laughH7832
• out of the prisonאָסַר'âsar · to bindH631
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• and he made themפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• sportצָחַקtsâchaq · to laughH6711
• and they setעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
• him between the pillarsעַמּוּד‛ammûd ‛ammûd · pillarH5982

Cross-references for Judges 16:25

• Judges 9:27After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelek.
• Judges 18:20The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people.
• Judges 19:6So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Afterward the woman’s father said, “Please stay tonight and enjoy yourself.”
• 2 Samuel 13:28Absalom ordered his men, “Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Haven’t I given you this order? Be strong and brave.”
• 1 Kings 20:12Ben-Hadad heard this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he ordered his men: “Prepare to attack.” So they prepared to attack the city.
• Esther 3:15The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.
• Isaiah 22:13But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!”
• Daniel 5:1King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them.
• Matthew 14:6On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much
• Job 30:9“And now those young men mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.
• Psalms 35:15But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; assailants gathered against me without my knowledge. They slandered me without ceasing.
• Psalms 69:12Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards.
• Proverbs 24:17Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,
• Micah 7:8Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.
• Matthew 26:67Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him
• Matthew 27:29and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.

Commentaries on Judges 16:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25Call for Samson, that he may make us sport - What the sport was we cannot tell; probably it was an exhibition of his prodigious strength. This seems to be intimated by what is said, Judges 16:22, of the restoration of his hair; and the exertions he was obliged to make will account for the weariness which gave him the pretense to ask for leave to lean against the pillars. Some think he was brought out to be a laughing-stock, and that he was variously…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25That he may make us sport - Rather, “that he may play for us,” i. e. dance and make music. At an idolatrous feast, dancing was always accompanied with vocal and instrumental music.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-31Verses 25-31 Nothing fills up the sins of any person or people faster than mocking and misusing the servants of God, even thought it is by their own folly that they are brought low. God put it into Samson's heart, as a public person, thus to avenge on them God's quarrel, Israel's, and his own. That strength which he had lost by sin, he recovers by prayer. That it was not from passion or personal revenge, but from holy zeal for the glory of God and Israel…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-31This last chapter of Samson's complicated history does not involve his role as a judge. Samson abandoned his calling and eventually lost his gifts. Only in his final encounter, when he prayed to the Lord again, did he regain any of his heroic stature.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 23-2523. the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon--It was a common practice in heathen nations, on the return of their solemn religious festivals, to bring forth their war prisoners from their places of confinement or slavery; and, in heaping on them every species of indignity, they would offer their grateful tribute to the gods by whose aid they had triumphed over their enemies. Dagon was a sea idol…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 16:25

• Amusements and Worldly Pleasures
• Gaza
• Samson

In the dictionaries

• Samson
• Dagon
• Feel
• Gaza
• Mock
• Prison
• Quiet
• Sport
• Told
• Delilah

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