| New King James Version | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. | 1The Israelites again did what was evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines forty years. |
| 2Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. | 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. |
| 3And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. | 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. |
| 4Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. | 4Now please be careful not to drink wine or beer, or to eat anything unclean; |
| 5For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” | 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." |
| 6So the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. | 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. |
| 7And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ” | 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.'" |
| 8Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.” | 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." |
| 9And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. | 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. |
| 10Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!” | 10The woman ran quickly to her husband and told him, "The man who came to me the other day has just come back!" |
| 11So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?” And He said, “I am.” | 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. |
| 12Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?” | 12Then Manoah asked, "When your words come true, what will be the boy's responsibilities and work?" |
| 13So the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. | 13The angel of the LORD answered Manoah, "Your wife needs to do everything I told her. |
| 14She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.” | 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." |
| 15Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.” | 15"Please stay here," Manoah told him, "and we will prepare a young goat for you." |
| 16And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD.) | 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." (Manoah did not know he was the angel of the LORD.) |
| 17Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?” | 17Then Manoah said to him, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?" |
| 18And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?” | 18"Why do you ask my name," the angel of the LORD asked him, "since it is beyond understanding." |
| 19So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on— | 19Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD, who did something miraculous while Manoah and his wife were watching. |
| 20it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. | 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. |
| 21When the Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the LORD. | 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. |
| 22And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!” | 22"We're certainly going to die," he said to his wife, "because we have seen God!" |
| 23But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.” | 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 like this." |
| 24So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. | 24So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him. |
| 25And the Spirit of the LORD began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. | 25Then the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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