| New International Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. | 1Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, so that the LORD gave them into the hands of the Philistines forty years. |
| 2A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. | 2There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children. |
| 3The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. | 3Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. |
| 4Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. | 4"Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. |
| 5You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines." | 5"For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines." |
| 6Then the woman went to her husband and told him, "A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. | 6Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, "A man of God came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. |
| 7But he said to me, 'You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.'" | 7"But he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.'" |
| 8Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: "Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born." | 8Then Manoah entreated the LORD and said, "O Lord, please let the man of God whom You have sent come to us again that he may teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born." |
| 9God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. | 9God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her. |
| 10The woman hurried to tell her husband, "He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day!" | 10So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, "Behold, the man who came the other day has appeared to me." |
| 11Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, "Are you the man who talked to my wife?" "I am," he said. | 11Then Manoah arose and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to the woman?" And he said, "I am." |
| 12So Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy's life and work?" | 12Manoah said, "Now when your words come to pass, what shall be the boy's mode of life and his vocation?" |
| 13The angel of the LORD answered, "Your wife must do all that I have told her. | 13So the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Let the woman pay attention to all that I said. |
| 14She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her." | 14"She should not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; let her observe all that I commanded." |
| 15Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you." | 15Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a young goat for you." |
| 16The angel of the LORD replied, "Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD." (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.) | 16The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Though you detain me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD." For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD. |
| 17Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?" | 17Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that when your words come to pass, we may honor you?" |
| 18He replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding." | 18But the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?" |
| 19Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: | 19So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the LORD, and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. |
| 20As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. | 20For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. |
| 21When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD. | 21Now the angel of the LORD did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. |
| 22"We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen God!" | 22So Manoah said to his wife, "We will surely die, for we have seen God." |
| 23But his wife answered, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this." | 23But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time." |
| 24The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him, | 24Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the LORD blessed him. |
| 25and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. | 25And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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