THE BOOK OF
JUDGES
Judges 13 ©
God delivers Israel up for their sins into the hands of the Philistines a long time, v. 1. The Angel of the Lord appears unto Manoah’s barren wife, telling her that she shall bear a son, and how she should demean herself, and how they should deal with the child, 2. Manoah having understood this of his wife, prays and obtains, that the Angel returns, and instructs them both concerning the child, 6. Manoah is desirous to provide food for the Angel, and inquires after His Name, 15. But the Angel ascends into heaven in the flame of the burnt-offering, which He requires instead of meat, 20. Whereby Manoah, being much affrighted, is comforted by his wife, 22. Who bears him Samson, 24. In whom the Spirit of God begins to work, 25.
AND the children of Israel did evila again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
¶And there was a certain man of 1Zorah, of the family of the 2Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
And the 3angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and 4drink not wineb nor strong drink, and eat not any 5unclean thing:
For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no 6razor shall come onc his head: for the child shall be a 7Nazarite unto God from 8the womb: and he shall 9begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
¶Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A 10man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very 11terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
¶Then Manoah 12intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.
And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.
And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.
And Manoah said, Now let 13thy words come to pass. How shall we 14order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman 15let her beware.
She may not eat of any thing that 16cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
¶And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid 17for thee.
And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat 18of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. 19For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.
And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee 20honour?
And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is 21secret?
So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and 22offered it upon a rock unto 23the LORD: and 24the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
But the angel of the LORD did no more 25appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.
And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall 26surely die,d because we have seen God.
But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as 27these.
¶And the woman bare a son, and called his name 28Samson:e and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
And the Spirit of the LORD began to 29move him at times in the 30camp of Dan between 31Zorah and Eshtaol.