New Living Translation
Judges 16:15
15Then Delilah pouted, “How can you tell me, ‘I love you,’ when you don’t share your secrets with me? You’ve made fun of me three times now, and you still haven’t told me what makes you so strong!”
Judges 16:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
- New International Version (NIV)Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.”
Context of Judges 16:15
13Then Delilah said, “You’ve been making fun of me and telling me lies! Now tell me how you can be tied up securely.” Samson replied, “If you were to weave the seven braids of my hair into the fabric on your loom and tighten it with the loom shuttle, I would become as weak as anyone else.” So while he slept, Delilah wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric. 14Then she tightened it with the loom shuttle. Again she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson woke up, pulled back the loom shuttle, and yanked his hair away from the loom and the fabric. Then Delilah pouted, “How can you tell me, ‘I love you,’ when you don’t share your secrets with me? You’ve made fun of me three times now, and you still haven’t told me what makes you so strong!” 16She tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it. 17Finally, Samson shared his secret with her. “My hair has never been cut,” he confessed, “for I was dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as anyone else.”
Read all of Judges 16Judges 16:15 word by word
וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֗יו אֵ֚יךְ תֹּאמַ֣ר אֲהַבְתִּ֔יךְ וְלִבְּךָ֖ אֵ֣ין אִתִּ֑י זֶ֣ה שָׁלֹ֤שׁ פְּעָמִים֙ הֵתַ֣לְתָּ בִּ֔י וְלֹא־הִגַּ֣דְתָּ לִּ֔י בַּמֶּ֖ה כֹּחֲךָ֥ גָדֽוֹל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And she saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto him, Howאֵיךְ'êyk 'êykâh 'êykâkâh · how?H349
- I loveאָהֵב'âhab 'âhêb · to love: loverH157
- thee, when thine heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
- not with me? thou hast mockedתָּלַלhâthal · to deceiveH2048
- me these threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
- timesפַּ֫עַםpa‛am pa‛ămâh · beatH6471
- and hast not toldנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046
- me wherein thy greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- strengthכֹּחַkôach kôach · strengthH3581
Cross-references for Judges 16:15
- Judges 14:16So Samson’s wife came to him in tears and said, “You don’t love me; you hate me! You have given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.” “I haven’t even given the answer to my father or mother,” he replied. “Why should I tell you?”
- Proverbs 2:16Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman.
- Proverbs 5:3For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil.
- Genesis 29:20So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.
- Deuteronomy 6:5And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
- 1 Samuel 15:13When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the Lord bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the Lord’s command!”
- 2 Samuel 16:17“Is this the way you treat your friend David?” Absalom asked him. “Why aren’t you with him?”
- Proverbs 23:26O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways.
- John 14:15“If you love me, obey my commandments.
- John 14:21Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
- John 15:10When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
- 2 Corinthians 5:14Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.
- 1 John 2:15Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.
- 1 John 5:3Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.
Commentaries on Judges 16:15
- 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. 4-22Samson's downfall and defeat by Delilah, the temptress, is a universally appealing tragedy.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-2016. she pressed him daily with her words--Though disappointed and mortified, this vile woman resolved to persevere; and conscious how completely he was enslaved by his passion for her, she assailed him with a succession of blandishing arts, till she at length discovered the coveted secret.Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 16:15
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries