Judges

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

1The people of Israel did evil things again. So God let the Philistines rule over them for forty years.

2And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.

2A man named Manoah lived in a town called Zorah. He was from the family group of Dan. His wife had no children.

3And the angel 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.

3The angel of the LORD came to the woman. He said, "You have had no children. But now you will have a son."

4Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

4"So be careful. Do not drink wine or any strong drink. Do not eat anything God has called unclean."

5For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

5"You will have a son. No one may ever cut his hair. He will be a Nazarite, set apart for God, from before he is born. He will start to save Israel from the Philistines."

6Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:

6The woman went and told her husband. She said, "A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God. I was full of wonder and fear. I did not ask where he came from. He did not tell me his name."

NoteThe KJV says the man looked "very terrible." In 1611 that meant awesome, filling a person with wonder and fear. It does not mean he looked bad or ugly.

7But 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.

7"He told me, 'You will have a son. Do not drink wine or strong drink. Do not eat anything unclean. The boy will be a Nazarite, set apart for God, all his life.'"

8Then Manoah intreated 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.

8Then Manoah prayed to the LORD. He said, "Please send that man of God to us again. Let him teach us how to raise the boy."

9And 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.

9God listened to Manoah. The angel of God came to the woman again. She was sitting in a field. Her husband was not with her.

10And 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.

10The woman hurried and ran to her husband. She said, "Look! The man who came to me the other day is here again!"

11And 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.

11Manoah got up and followed his wife. He came to the man and asked, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?" The man said, "I am."

12And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?

12Manoah said, "When your words come true, how should the boy live? What work will he do?"

13And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.

13The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Your wife must do everything I told her."

14She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

14"She must not eat anything that grows on a grapevine. She must not drink wine or strong drink. She must not eat anything unclean. She must do all I told her."

15And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.

15Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "Please stay a while. We will cook a young goat for you."

16And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.

16The angel said, "Even if I stay, I will not eat your food. If you make a burnt offering, give it to the LORD." Manoah still did not know he was the angel of the LORD.

17And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?

17Manoah asked the angel of the LORD, "What is your name? When your words come true, we want to honor you."

18And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?

18The angel of the LORD said, "Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful for you to understand."

NoteThe KJV says the angel's name is "secret." The old word means too wonderful to be understood, not simply hidden.

19So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.

19So Manoah took a young goat and a gift of grain. He offered them on a rock to the LORD. The LORD did an amazing thing. Manoah and his wife watched.

NoteThe KJV calls it a "meat offering." Back then "meat" meant any kind of food. This offering was made of grain, not animal meat.

20For 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.

20The flame rose up from the altar toward the sky. The angel of the LORD went up in the flame. Manoah and his wife saw it. They bowed with their faces to the ground.

21But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.

21The angel of the LORD never appeared to them again. Then Manoah knew he was the angel of the LORD.

22And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

22Manoah said to his wife, "We are going to die! We have seen God!"

23But 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 these.

23But his wife said, "If the LORD wanted to kill us, he would not have taken our gifts. He would not have shown us these things. He would not have told us this news."

24And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.

24The woman had a son. She named him Samson. The boy grew up, and the LORD blessed him.

25And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

25The Spirit of the LORD began to stir Samson at times. This happened at the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.