Bible Chapter Summary
Judges 16 Summary
Samson and Delilah
Samson escapes a Gaza ambush by carrying off the city gates, then loves Delilah of the valley of Sorek. Bribed by the Philistine lords, she presses him until he reveals that his strength lies in his unshorn Nazarite hair. She has his head shaved as he sleeps; the LORD departs from him, and the Philistines blind him and set him grinding in prison. As his hair regrows, the Philistines gather to praise Dagon and mock him; Samson prays for strength once more and pulls down the temple pillars, killing more at his death than in his life.
Key themes
Key verses
Judges 16:17
“That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
Judges 16:20
“And she said, The Philistines be 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 wist not that the LORD was departed from him.”
Judges 16:30
“And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.”
Read Judges 16 in full
Study the complete chapter with interlinear Hebrew & Greek, verse-by-verse, in the Gospel Daily reader.
Open the full chapter