| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1The Israelites again did what was evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines 40 years. | 1The Israelites again did evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines for forty years. |
| 2There was a certain man from Zorah, from the family of Dan, whose name was Manoah; his wife was unable to conceive and had no children. | 2There was a man named Manoah from Zorah, from the Danite tribe. His wife was infertile and childless. |
| 3The Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "It is true that you are unable to conceive and have no children, but you will conceive and give birth to a son. | 3The LORD's angelic messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, "You are infertile and childless, but you will conceive and have a son. |
| 4Now please be careful not to drink wine or beer, or to eat anything unclean; | 4Now be careful! Do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. |
| 5for indeed, you will conceive and give birth to a son. You must never cut his hair, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth, and he will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines." | 5Look, you will conceive and have a son. You must never cut his hair, for the child will be dedicated to God from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power of the Philistines." |
| 6Then the woman went and told her husband, "A man of God came to me. He looked like the awe-inspiring Angel of God. I didn't ask Him where He came from, and He didn't tell me His name. | 6The woman went and said to her husband, "A man sent from God came to me! He looked like God's angelic messenger--he was very awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. |
| 7He said to me, 'You will conceive and give birth to a son. Therefore, do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth until the day of his death.'" | 7He said to me, 'Look, you will conceive and have a son. So now, do not drink wine or beer and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. For the child will be dedicated to God from birth till the day he dies.'" |
| 8Manoah prayed to the LORD and said, "Please Lord, let the man of God you sent come again to us and teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born." | 8Manoah prayed to the LORD, "Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God to visit us again, so he can teach us how we should raise the child who will be born." |
| 9God listened to Manoah, and the Angel of God came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field, and her husband Manoah was not with her. | 9God answered Manoah's prayer. God's angelic messenger visited the woman again while she was sitting in the field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. |
| 10The woman ran quickly to her husband and told him, "The man who came to me today has just come back!" | 10The woman ran at once and told her husband, "Come quickly, the man who visited me the other day has appeared to me!" |
| 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. | 11So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he met the man, he said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to my wife?" He said, "Yes." |
| 12Then Manoah asked, "When Your words come true, what will the boy's responsibilities and mission be?" | 12Manoah said, "Now, when your announcement comes true, how should the child be raised and what should he do?" |
| 13The Angel of the LORD answered Manoah, "Your wife needs to do everything I told her. | 13The LORD's messenger told Manoah, "Your wife should pay attention to everything I told her. |
| 14She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine or drink wine or beer. And she must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must do everything I have commanded her."" | 14She should not drink anything that the grapevine produces. She must not drink wine or beer, and she must not eat any food that will make her ritually unclean. She should obey everything I commanded her to do." |
| 15Please stay here," Manoah told Him, "and we will prepare a young goat for You." | 15Manoah said to the LORD's messenger, "Please stay here awhile, so we can prepare a young goat for you to eat." |
| 16The Angel of the LORD said to him, "If I stay, I won't eat your food. But if you want to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD." For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD. | 16The LORD's messenger said to Manoah, "If I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you want to make a burnt sacrifice to the LORD, you should offer it." (He said this because Manoah did not know that he was the LORD's messenger.) |
| 17Then Manoah said to Him, "What is Your name, so that we may honor You when Your words come true?"" | 17Manoah said to the LORD's messenger, "Tell us your name, so we can honor you when your announcement comes true." |
| 18Why do you ask My name," the Angel of the LORD asked him, "since it is wonderful." | 18The LORD's messenger said to him, "You should not ask me my name, because you cannot comprehend it." |
| 19Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD, and He did a wonderful thing while Manoah and his wife were watching. | 19Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD. The LORD's messenger did an amazing thing as Manoah and his wife watched. |
| 20When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the Angel of the LORD went up in its flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown on the ground. | 20As the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the LORD's messenger went up in it while Manoah and his wife watched. They fell facedown to the ground. |
| 21The Angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the Angel of the LORD." | 21The LORD's messenger did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. After all this happened Manoah realized that the visitor had been the LORD's messenger. |
| 22We're going to die," he said to his wife, "because we have seen God!" | 22Manoah said to his wife, "We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!" |
| 23But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had intended to kill us, He wouldn't have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us, and He would not have shown us all these things or spoken to us now like this." | 23But his wife said to him, "If the LORD wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us. He would not have shown us all these things, or have spoken to us like this just now." |
| 24So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him. | 24Manoah's wife gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The child grew and the LORD empowered him. |
| 25Then the Spirit of the LORD began to direct him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. | 25The LORD's spirit began to control him in Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. |
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