1And Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a prostitute, and went in to her. 2And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson has come here. And they surrounded him, and lay in wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, Let it be until morning light, then we will kill him. 3And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron. 4And it happened afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Entice him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give you every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. 6And Delilah said to Samson, Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you might be bound to afflict you. 7And Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then I shall become weak, and be as another man. 8Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9Now she had men lying in wait, staying in the inner chamber. And she said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. And he broke the cords, as a string of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known. 10And Delilah said to Samson, Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies: now please tell me with what you might be bound. 11And he said to her, If they only bind me with new ropes with which no work has been done, then I shall become weak, and be as another man. 12So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him with them, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. And the men lying in wait were staying in the inner chamber. And he broke them off his arms like a thread. 13And Delilah said to Samson, Until now you have mocked me, and told me lies: tell me with what you might be bound. And he said to her, If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web. 14And she fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web. 15And she said to him, How can you say, I love you, when your heart is not with me? you have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies. 16And it happened, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was vexed to death. 17And he told her all his heart, and said to her, A razor has not come on my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb: if I am 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 has told me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand. 19And she made him sleep on her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved 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 on you, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free. But he did not know that Yehovah had departed from him. 21And the Philistines laid hold of him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he was grinding in the prison-house. 22However, the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaved. 23And the lords of the Philistines gathered themselves together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 24And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god has delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who has slain many of us. 25And it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may entertain us. And they called for Samson out of the prison-house; and he entertained them. And they set him between the pillars: 26and Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, Allow me to feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean on them. 27Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were on the roof about three thousand men and women, who watched while Samson entertained. 28And Samson called to Yehovah, and said, O Lord Yehovah, please remember me, and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 29And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and leaned on them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left. 30And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. 31Then his brothers and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.