Judges, 13

1. Again the Israelites began doing what is evil in Yahweh's eyes, and Yahweh delivered them into the power of the Philistines for forty years.

1. And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

2. There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of Dan, called Manoah. His wife was barren; she had borne no children.

2. And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Mano'ah; and his wife was barren and had no children.

3. The Angel of Yahweh appeared to this woman and said to her, 'You are barren and have had no child, but you are going to conceive and give birth to a son.

3. And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold, you are barren and have no children; but you shall conceive and bear a son.

4. From now on, take great care. Drink no wine or fermented liquor, and eat nothing unclean.

4. Therefore beware, and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean,

5. For you are going to conceive and give birth to a son. No razor is to touch his head, for the boy is to be God's nazirite from his mother's womb; and he will start rescuing Israel from the power of the Philistines.'

5. for lo, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines."

6. The woman then went and told her husband, 'A man of God has just come to me, who looked like the Angel of God, so majestic was he. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

6. Then the woman came and told her husband, "A man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the countenance of the angel of God, very terrible; I did not ask him whence he was, and he did not tell me his name;

7. But he said to me, "You are going to conceive and will give birth to a son. From now on, drink no wine or fermented liquor, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy is to be God's nazirite from his mother's womb to his dying day." '

7. but he said to me, `Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son; so then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.'"

8. Manoah then pleaded with Yahweh and said, 'I beg you, Lord, let the man of God that you sent come to us again and instruct us what to do about the child when he is born.'

8. Then Mano'ah entreated the LORD, and said, "O, LORD, I pray thee, let the man of God whom thou didst send come again to us, and teach us what we are to do with the boy that will be born."

9. Yahweh heard Manoah's prayer, and the Angel of Yahweh visited the woman again while she was sitting in a field and when her husband Manoah was not with her.

9. And God listened to the voice of Mano'ah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field; but Mano'ah her husband was not with her.

10. The woman quickly ran and told her husband, 'Look,' she said, 'the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me again.'

10. And the woman ran in haste and told her husband, "Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me."

11. Manoah got up, followed his wife, came to the man and said to him, 'Are you the man who spoke to this woman?' He replied, 'I am.'

11. And Mano'ah arose and went after his wife, and came to the man and said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to this woman?" And he said, "I am."

12. Manoah then said, 'When your words come true, what will be the boy's way of life?'

12. And Mano'ah said, "Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy's manner of life, and what is he to do?"

13. The Angel of Yahweh replied to Manoah, 'From everything that I forbade this woman, let her abstain.

13. And the angel of the LORD said to Mano'ah, "Of all that I said to the woman let her beware.

14. Let her swallow nothing that comes from the vine, let her drink no wine or fermented liquor, let her eat nothing unclean and let her obey all the orders that I have given her.'

14. She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe."

15. Manoah then said to the Angel of Yahweh, 'Allow us to detain you while we prepare a kid for you' -- for Manoah did not know that this was the Angel of Yahweh.

15. Mano'ah said to the angel of the LORD, "Pray, let us detain you, and prepare a kid for you."

16. The Angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, 'Even if you did detain me, I should not eat your food; but if you wish to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to Yahweh.'

16. And the angel of the LORD said to Mano'ah, "If you detain me, I will not eat of your food; but if you make ready a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD." (For Mano'ah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.)

17. Manoah then said to the Angel of Yahweh, 'What is your name, so that we may honour you when your words come true?'

17. And Mano'ah said to the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?"

18. The Angel of Yahweh replied, 'Why ask my name? It is a name of wonder.'

18. And the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?"

19. Manoah then took the kid and the oblation and offered it on the rock as a burnt offering to Yahweh the Wonderworker. Manoah and his wife looked on.

19. So Mano'ah took the kid with the cereal offering, and offered it upon the rock to the LORD, to him who works wonders.

20. Now, as the flame rose heavenwards from the altar, the Angel of Yahweh ascended in this flame before the eyes of Manoah and his wife, and they fell face downwards on the ground.

20. And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar while Mano'ah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground.

21. After this, the Angel of Yahweh did not appear any more to Manoah and his wife, but Manoah understood that this had been the Angel of Yahweh.

21. The angel of the LORD appeared no more to Mano'ah and to his wife. Then Mano'ah knew that he was the angel of the LORD.

22. And Manoah said to his wife, 'We are certain to die, because we have seen God.'

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

23. His wife replied, 'If Yahweh had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and oblation from us, he would not have let us see all this and, at the same time, have told us such things.'

23. But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a cereal offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these."

24. The woman gave birth to a son and called him Samson. The child grew, and Yahweh blessed him;

24. And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson; and the boy grew, and the LORD blessed him.

25. and the spirit of Yahweh began to stir him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

25. And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Ma'haneh-dan, between Zorah and Esh'ta-ol.