New Living Translation
Judges 16:2
2Word soon spread that Samson was there, so the men of Gaza gathered together and waited all night at the town gates. They kept quiet during the night, saying to themselves, “When the light of morning comes, we will kill him.”
Judges 16:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.
- New International Version (NIV)The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn we’ll kill him.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)The Gazites were told, "Samson has come here." And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, "Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him."
- New King James Version (NKJV)When the Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him.”
Context of Judges 16:2
1One day Samson went to the Philistine town of Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute. Word soon spread that Samson was there, so the men of Gaza gathered together and waited all night at the town gates. They kept quiet during the night, saying to themselves, “When the light of morning comes, we will kill him.” 3But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors of the town gate, including the two posts, and lifted them up, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them all the way to the top of the hill across from Hebron. 4Some time later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the valley of Sorek.
Read all of Judges 16Judges 16:2 word by word
לַֽעַזָּתִ֣ים׀ לֵאמֹ֗ר בָּ֤א שִׁמְשׁוֹן֙ הֵ֔נָּה וַיָּסֹ֛בּוּ וַיֶּאֶרְבוּ־ל֥וֹ כָל־הַלַּ֖יְלָה בְּשַׁ֣עַר הָעִ֑יר וַיִּתְחָרְשׁ֤וּ כָל־הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר עַד־א֥וֹר הַבֹּ֖קֶר וַהֲרְגְנֻֽהוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- the Gazitesעַזָּתִי‛azzâthîy · GazaH5841
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Samsonשִׁמְשׁוֹןshimshôn · SamsonH8123
- is comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- inסָבַבsâbab · to turn: surroundH5437
- and laid waitאָרַב'ârab · to ambushH693
- for him all nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
- in the gateשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
- of the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- and were quietחָרֵשׁchârash · be quietH2790
- In the morningבֹּ֫קֶרbôqer · morningH1242
- when it is dayאוֹר'ôr · lightH216
- we shall killהָרַגhârag · to killH2026
Cross-references for Judges 16:2
- 1 Samuel 19:11Then Saul sent troops to watch David’s house. They were told to kill David when he came out the next morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t escape tonight, you will be dead by morning.”
- 1 Samuel 23:26Saul and David were now on opposite sides of a mountain. Just as Saul and his men began to close in on David and his men,
- Psalms 118:10Though hostile nations surrounded me, I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
- Acts 9:24They were watching for him day and night at the city gate so they could murder him, but Saul was told about their plot.
- 2 Corinthians 11:32When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me.
- Judges 15:18Samson was now very thirsty, and he cried out to the Lord, “You have accomplished this great victory by the strength of your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of these pagans?”
- Matthew 21:38“But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’
- Matthew 27:1Very early in the morning the leading priests and the elders of the people met again to lay plans for putting Jesus to death.
- Acts 23:15So you and the high council should ask the commander to bring Paul back to the council again. Pretend you want to examine his case more fully. We will kill him on the way.”
Commentaries on Judges 16:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2They compassed him in - They shut up all the avenues, secured the gates, and set persons in ambush near them, that they might attack him on his leaving the city early the next morning.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3During that time, city gates were locked at night to stop anyone from entering or leaving. The men of the city, seeing the gates locked, likely slept in a gatehouse. They planned to continue their watch in the morning.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-31-2. Gaza--now Guzzah, the capital of the largest of the five Philistine principal cities, about fifteen miles southwest of Ashkelon. The object of this visit to this city is not recorded, and unless he had gone in disguise, it was a perilous exposure of his life in one of the enemy's strongholds. It soon became known that he was there; and it was immediately resolved to secure him. But deeming themselves certain of their prey, the Gazites deferred the…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 16:2
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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