Judges 16:21

Judges 16:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
• New International Version (NIV)Then 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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.

Context of Judges 16:21

19Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him. 20Then 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. So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison. 22But before long, his hair began to grow back. 23The Philistine rulers held a great festival, offering sacrifices and praising their god, Dagon. They said, “Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!”

Judges 16:21 word by word

וַיֹּאחֲז֣וּהוּ פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים וַֽיְנַקְּר֖וּ אֶת־עֵינָ֑יו וַיּוֹרִ֨ידוּ אוֹת֜וֹ עַזָּ֗תָה וַיַּאַסְר֙וּהוּ֙ בַּֽנְחֻשְׁתַּ֔יִם וַיְהִ֥י טוֹחֵ֖ן בְּבֵ֥ית הָאֲסוּרִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But the Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּיpelishtîy · PhilistineH6430
• tookאָחַז'âchaz · to graspH270
• him, and put outנָקַרnâqar · to digH5365
• his eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• and brought him downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• to Gazaעַזָּה‛azzâh · GazaH5804
• and boundאָסַר'âsar · to bindH631
• him with fetters of brassנְחֹ֫שֶׁתnechôsheth · bronzeH5178
• and he did grindטָחַןţâchan · to grindH2912
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004

Cross-references for Judges 16:21

• Proverbs 5:22An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.
• Proverbs 14:14Backsliders get what they deserve; good people receive their reward.
• Judges 2:19But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
• 2 Kings 25:7They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.
• 2 Chronicles 33:11So the Lord sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.
• Psalms 107:10Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery.
• Psalms 149:8to bind their kings with shackles and their leaders with iron chains,
• Exodus 11:5All the firstborn sons will die in every family in Egypt, from the oldest son of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the oldest son of his lowliest servant girl who grinds the flour. Even the firstborn of all the livestock will die.
• Isaiah 47:2Take heavy millstones and grind flour. Remove your veil, and strip off your robe. Expose yourself to public view.
• Matthew 24:42“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.

Commentaries on Judges 16:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Put out his eyes - Thus was the lust of the eye, in looking after and gazing on strange women, punished. As the Philistines did not know that his strength might not return, they put out his eyes, that he might never be able to plan any enterprise against them. He did grind in the prison-house - Before the invention of wind and water-mills, the grain was at first bruised between two stones, afterwards ground in hand-mills. This is practiced in China and in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Put out his eyes - Thus effectually, as they thought, preventing any future mischief on his part, while they prolonged their own triumph and revenge. (Compare Numbers 16:14; 2 Kings 25:7; Jeremiah 39:7.) They applied to the two feet fetters of brass 2 Samuel 3:34; Jeremiah 52:11, and made him “grind” - the special task of slaves and captives Exodus 11:5; Isaiah 47:2; Lamentations 5:13.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. 4-22Samson's downfall and defeat by Delilah, the temptress, is a universally appealing tragedy.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes--To this cruel privation prisoners of rank and consequence have commonly been subjected in the East. The punishment is inflicted in various ways, by scooping out the eyeballs, by piercing the eye, or destroying the sight by holding a red-hot iron before the eyes. His security was made doubly sure by his being bound with fetters of brass (copper), not of leather, like other captives. he did grind in the…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 16:21

• Brass
• Captive
• Conspiracy
• Fetters
• Gaza
• Mill
• Prisoners
• Samson

In the dictionaries

• Gaza
• Philistines
• Brass
• Chain
• Eye
• Feel
• Grind
• Mock
• Prison
• Quiet

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