New Living Translation
Judges 16:5
5The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice Samson to tell you what makes him so strong and how he can be overpowered and tied up securely. Then each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”
Judges 16:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
- New International Version (NIV)The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
Context of Judges 16:5
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. The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice Samson to tell you what makes him so strong and how he can be overpowered and tied up securely. Then each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” 6So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong and what it would take to tie you up securely.” 7Samson replied, “If I were tied up with seven new bowstrings that have not yet been dried, I would become as weak as anyone else.”
Read all of Judges 16Judges 16:5 word by word
וַיַּעֲל֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יהָ סַרְנֵ֣י פְלִשְׁתִּ֗ים וַיֹּ֨אמְרוּ לָ֜הּ פַּתִּ֣י אוֹת֗וֹ וּרְאִי֙ בַּמֶּה֙ כֹּח֣וֹ גָד֔וֹל וּבַמֶּה֙ נ֣וּכַל ל֔וֹ וַאֲסַרְנֻ֖הוּ לְעַנֹּת֑וֹ וַאֲנַ֙חְנוּ֙ נִתַּן־לָ֔ךְ אִ֕ישׁ אֶ֥לֶף וּמֵאָ֖ה כָּֽסֶף׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the lordsסֶ֫רֶןseren · lordH5633
- of the Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּיpelishtîy · PhilistineH6430
- came upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
- unto her, and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto her, Enticeפָּתָהpâthâh · to enticeH6601
- him, and seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- wherein his greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- strengthכֹּחַkôach kôach · strengthH3581
- we may prevailיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
- against him, that we may bindאָסַר'âsar · to bindH631
- him to afflictעָנָה‛ânâh · to afflictH6031
- him: and we will giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- thee every oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- of us eleven hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- of us eleven hundredאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
- of silverכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
Cross-references for Judges 16:5
- Judges 3:3These are the nations: the Philistines (those living under the five Philistine rulers), all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.
- Joshua 13:3and the larger territory of the Canaanites, extending from the stream of Shihor on the border of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron. It includes the territory of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. The land of the Avvites
- 1 Samuel 29:6So Achish finally summoned David and said to him, “I swear by the Lord that you have been a trustworthy ally. I think you should go with me into battle, for I’ve never found a single flaw in you from the day you arrived until today. But the other Philistine rulers won’t hear of it.
- Judges 14:15On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle for us, or we will burn down your father’s house with you in it. Did you invite us to this party just to make us poor?”
- 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.
- Proverbs 6:24It will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.
- Proverbs 7:21So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery.
- 1 Corinthians 6:15Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never!
- Judges 17:2One day he said to his mother, “I heard you place a curse on the person who stole 1,100 pieces of silver from you. Well, I have the money. I was the one who took it.” “The Lord bless you for admitting it,” his mother replied.
- Genesis 33:16So Esau turned around and started back to Seir that same day.
- Numbers 22:17I will pay you very well and do whatever you tell me. Just come and curse these people for me!”
- Micah 7:3Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil! Officials and judges alike demand bribes. The people with influence get what they want, and together they scheme to twist justice.
- Matthew 26:15and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.
- 1 Timothy 6:9But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
Commentaries on Judges 16:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5See wherein his great strength lieth - They saw that his stature was not remarkable: and that, nevertheless, he had most extraordinary strength; therefore they supposed that it was the effect of some charm or amulet. The lords of the Philistines were the five following: Gaza, Gath, Askelon, Ekron, and Ashdod. All these considered Samson as a public enemy; and they promised this bad woman a large sum of money if she would obtain from him the important…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And the lords of the Philistines - See Judges 3:3 note. His great strength lieth - Rather, “wherein his strength is great.” Eleven hundred pieces of silver - The greatness of the bribe offered to Delilah, 5,500 shekels of silver, nearly two talents (Exodus 38:24, note), shows the importance attached to Samson‘s capture.Read the comment
- 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. 5The Philistine leaders knew they could not defeat Samson directly, so they used deceit. The generous offer from the leaders (lords) of the five Philistine cities (Judges 3:3) shows how seriously they took this issue.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. the lords of the Philistines--The five rulers deemed no means beneath their dignity to overcome this national enemy. Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth--They probably imagined that he carried some amulet about his person, or was in the possession of some important secret by which he had acquired such herculean strength; and they bribed Delilah, doubtless by a large reward, to discover it for them. She undertook the service and made…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 16:5
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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