¹ Poslije nekog vremena, o žetvi pšenice, Samson dođe da pohodi svoju ženu, donijevši joj kozle i reče: "Želim ući k svojoj ženi u ložnicu." Ali mu tast ne dopusti.

² "Mislio sam," reče mu on, "da si je zamrzio, pa sam je dao tvome drugu. Ali zar njezina mlađa sestra nije ljepša od nje? Uzmi je namjesto one!"

³ Samson mu odgovori: "Ovaj put neću biti krivac Filistejcima kad im učinim zlo."

⁴ I ode Samson, ulovi tri stotine lisica, uze luči i, okrenuvši rep prema repu, stavi jednu luč među dva repa.

⁵ Tad zapali luči, pusti lisice u filistejska polja i popali im snopove, i nepokošeno žito, i vinograde, i maslinike.

⁶ Filistejci zapitaše: "Tko je to učinio?" Odgovoriše im: "Samson, Timnjaninov zet, zato što mu tast oduze ženu i dade je njegovu drugu." Tad Filistejci odoše i spališe onu ženu i njenu obitelj.

⁷ "Kad ste to učinili", reče im Samson, "neću mirovati dok vam se ne osvetim."

⁸ I sve ih izudara uzduž i poprijeko i žestoko ih porazi. Poslije toga ode u spilju Etamske stijene i ondje se nastani.

⁹ Tad Filistejci krenuše, utaboriše se u Judi i raširiše do Lehija.

¹⁰ "Zašto ste pošli na nas?" - upitaše ih Judejci. A oni im odgovoriše: "Pošli smo da svežemo Samsona i da mu učinimo kako je on učinio nama."

¹¹ Tri tisuće Judejaca odoše tada k spilji Etamske stijene i rekoše Samsonu: "Zar ne znaš da Filistejci nama gospodare? Zašto si nam onda to učinio?" On im odgovori: "Kako oni meni, tako ja njima!" A oni mu rekoše:

¹² "Dođosmo da te svežemo i predamo u ruke Filistejaca." "Zakunite mi se", reče im, "da me nećete ubiti."

¹³ "Ne", odgovoriše mu, "mi ćemo te samo svezati i predati u njihove ruke, ali te zacijelo ne želimo pogubiti." Onda ga svezaše sa dva nova užeta i odvedoše iz spilje.

¹⁴ Kad ga dovedoše u Lehi i kad Filistejci, vičući od radosti, pojuriše na nj, duh Jahvin zahvati ga i užeta na njegovim rukama postadoše kao laneni konci, spaljeni ognjem, i spadoše mu s ruku.

¹⁵ Spazivši još sirovu magareću čeljust, pruži on ruku, uze onu čeljust i pobi njome tisuću ljudi.

¹⁶ Tad reče Samson: "Magarećom čeljusti gomile prebih, Magarećom čeljusti tisuću pobih."

¹⁷ Rekavši to, baci čeljust iz ruke. Zato odonda ono mjesto zovu Ramat Lehi.

¹⁸ Kako bijaše jako ožednio, zavapi Jahvi govoreći: "Ti si izvojštio ovu veliku pobjedu rukama svoga sluge, a zar sada moram umrijeti od žeđi i pasti u ruke neobrezanima?"

¹⁹ Tad Jahve rasiječe udubinu što je kod Lehija i voda poteče iz nje. Samson se napi i vrati mu se snaga, oživje mu duh. Zato su onom izvoru dali ime En Hakore, a postoji još i danas u Lehiju.

²⁰ Samson bijaše sudac u Izraelu za vrijeme filistejske vladavine dvadeset godina.

¹ But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

² And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

³ And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

⁴ And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

⁵ And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.

⁶ Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

⁷ And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

⁸ And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

⁹ Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.

¹⁰ And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

¹¹ Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

¹² And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

¹³ And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

¹⁴ And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

¹⁵ And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

¹⁶ And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.

¹⁷ And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi.

¹⁸ And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?

¹⁹ But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

²⁰ And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.