Judges, 13

1. 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.

1. The Israelites again treated Yahweh badly so he gave them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

2. And 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.

2. There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of Dan, called Manoah. His wife could not bear children.

3. And 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.

3. The Angel of Yahweh appeared to this woman and said to her, "You have not borne children and have not given birth, but see, you are to conceive and give birth to a son.

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

4. Because of this, take care not to take wine or any alcoholic drink, nor to eat unclean foods from now on,

5. For, 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. for you shall bear a son who shall be a Nazirite of Yahweh from the womb of his mother. Never shall his hair be cut for he is consecrated to Yahweh. He shall begin the liberation of the Israelites from the Philistine oppression."

6. Then 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:

6. The woman went to her husband and told him, "A messenger of God who bore the majesty of an angel spoke to me. I did not ask him where he came from nor did he tell me his name.

7. 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.

7. But he said to me: 'You are to conceive and give birth to a son. Henceforth, you shall not drink wine or fermented drinks, nor eat anything unclean, for your son shall be a Nazirite of God from the womb of his mother until the day of his death'."

8. Then 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.

8. Manoah called upon Yahweh and said, "I pray you, Lord, that the man of God whom you have sent may come again to us and teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born."

9. 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.

9. Yahweh listened to Manoah and the Angel of Yahweh came to the woman as she was seated in the fields. Again Manoah, her husband, was not with her when the Angel came.

10. 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.

10. The woman immediately ran to inform her husband and told him, "Look, the man who came to me the other day is here again."

11. 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].

11. Manoah rose and followed his wife. He came to the man and said to him, "Are you the man who has spoken to this woman?" He answered, "I am."

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

12. Manoah said to him, "When your word is fulfilled, what rule and direction shall the boy follow?"

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

13. The Angel of Yahweh answered Manoah, "She must abstain from all I have indicated to this woman.

14. She 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 shall not taste anything that comes from the grape, nor drink wine or fermented drinks, nor eat anything unclean, and she shall observe everything I have commanded her."

15. And 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.

15. Manoah then said to the Angel of Yahweh, "Permit us to detain you and prepare a young goat for you." (Manoah did not know that the man was the Angel of Yahweh)

16. And 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.

16. But he said to Manoah, "Even if I did stay, I would not taste your food. But if you want to offer a burnt offering, offer it to Yahweh."

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

17. So Manoah said to the Angel of Yahweh, "What is your name, that we may honor you when your word comes true."

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

18. The Angel of Yahweh answered him, "Why do you ask my name? It is Wonderful..."

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

19. Manoah then took the young goat and the cereal offering, and offered it upon the rock as a holocaust to Yahweh who does wonderful things.

20. 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.

20. And something happened as Manoah and his wife looked on. A fire broke forth from the altar rising toward heaven, and the Angel of Yahweh ascended in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell face downwards on the ground.

21. But 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.

21. When the Angel of Yahweh vanished from the sight of Manoah and his wife, Manoah knew then that he was the Angel of Yahweh.

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

22. And he said to his wife, "We shall surely die for we have seen God."

23. 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 these.

23. She answered him, "If Yahweh had wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted the holocaust or the offering from our hand; he would not have made all these things happen or said what we have just heard."

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

24. The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew and Yahweh blessed him.

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

25. Then the Spirit of Yahweh began to move him when he was in Mahane Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.