| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. | 1Again the Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines, who oppressed them for forty years. |
| 2Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children. | 2In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant, and they had no children. |
| 3The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son. | 3The angel of the LORD appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. |
| 4Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean. | 4So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. |
| 5For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” | 5You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.” |
| 6So the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. His appearance was like the angel of God, exceedingly awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. | 6The woman ran and told her husband, “A man of God appeared to me! He looked like one of God’s angels, terrifying to see. I didn’t ask where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. |
| 7But he said to me, ‘Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. Now, therefore, do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb until the day of his death.’ ” | 7But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. For your son will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the moment of his birth until the day of his death.’” |
| 8Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, “Please, O Lord, let the man of God You sent us come to us again to teach us how to raise the boy who is to be born.” | 8Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, saying, “Lord, please let the man of God come back to us again and give us more instructions about this son who is to be born.” |
| 9And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God returned to the woman as she was sitting in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. | 9God answered Manoah’s prayer, and the angel of God appeared once again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But her husband, Manoah, was not with her. |
| 10The woman ran quickly to tell her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has reappeared!” | 10So she quickly ran and told her husband, “The man who appeared to me the other day is here again!” |
| 11So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” “I am,” he said. | 11Manoah ran back with his wife and asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife the other day?” “Yes,” he replied, “I am.” |
| 12Then Manoah asked, “When your words come to pass, what will be the boy’s rule of life and mission?” | 12So Manoah asked him, “When your words come true, what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work?” |
| 13So the angel of the LORD answered Manoah, “Your wife is to do everything I told her. | 13The angel of the LORD replied, “Be sure your wife follows the instructions I gave her. |
| 14She must not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor drink any wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.” | 14She must not eat grapes or raisins, drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, or eat any forbidden food.” |
| 15“Please stay here,” Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.” | 15Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “Please stay here until we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.” |
| 16And the angel of the LORD replied, “Even if I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” For Manoah did not know that it was the angel of the LORD. | 16“I will stay,” the angel of the LORD replied, “but I will not eat anything. However, you may prepare a burnt offering as a sacrifice to the LORD.” (Manoah didn’t realize it was the angel of the LORD.) |
| 17Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes to pass?” | 17Then Manoah asked the angel of the LORD, “What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you.” |
| 18“Why do you ask my name,” said the angel of the LORD, “since it is beyond comprehension?” | 18“Why do you ask my name?” the angel of the LORD replied. “It is too wonderful for you to understand.” |
| 19Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD. And as Manoah and his wife looked on, the LORD did a marvelous thing. | 19Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered it on a rock as a sacrifice to the LORD. And as Manoah and his wife watched, the LORD did an amazing thing. |
| 20When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground. | 20As the flames from the altar shot up toward the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the fire. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell with their faces to the ground. |
| 21And when the angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it had been the angel of the LORD. | 21The angel did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Manoah finally realized it was the angel of the LORD, |
| 22“We are going to die,” he said to his wife, “for we have seen God!” | 22and he said to his wife, “We will certainly die, for we have seen God!” |
| 23But his wife replied, “If the LORD had intended to kill us, He would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things or spoken to us this way.” | 23But his wife said, “If the LORD were going to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He wouldn’t have appeared to us and told us this wonderful thing and done these miracles.” |
| 24So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him. | 24When her son was born, she named him Samson. And the LORD blessed him as he grew up. |
| 25And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. | 25And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he lived in Mahaneh-dan, which is located between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol. |
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