Judges 16:1-20

1Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in to her.1 2And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come here. And they surrounded him, 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.2 3And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.3

4And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.4 5And the lords of the Philistines came to her, and said to her, Entice him, and see where 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.5 6And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, where thy great strength lieth, and how thou mayest be bound to afflict thee. 7And Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven new cords that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.67 8Then the lords of the Philistines brought to her seven new cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.8 9Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he broke the cords, as a string of a wick is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.9 10And Delilah said to Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, how thou mayest be bound. 11And he said to her, If they bind me securely with new ropes that never were used, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.10 12Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him with them, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And there were those lying in wait abiding in the chamber. And he broke them from off his arms like a thread. 13And Delilah said to Samson, Until now thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me how thou mayest be bound. And he said to her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. 14And she fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awoke from his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. 15And she said to him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me where thy great strength lieth . 16And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed to death;11 17That he told her all his heart, and said to her, There hath not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

18And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath showed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought money in their hand. 19And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. 20And she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he knew not that the LORD had departed from him.