| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 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. | 1The Israelites again did evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines for forty years. |
| 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. | 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 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. | 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. |
| 4So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. | 4Now be careful! Do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. |
| 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.” | 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." |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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.’” | 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.'" |
| 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.” | 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 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. | 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. |
| 10So she quickly ran and told her husband, “The man who appeared to me the other day is here again!” | 10The woman ran at once and told her husband, "Come quickly, the man who visited me the other day has appeared to me!" |
| 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.” | 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." |
| 12So Manoah asked him, “When your words come true, what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work?” | 12Manoah said, "Now, when your announcement comes true, how should the child be raised and what should he do?" |
| 13The angel of the LORD replied, “Be sure your wife follows the instructions I gave her. | 13The LORD's messenger told Manoah, "Your wife should pay attention to everything I told her. |
| 14She must not eat grapes or raisins, drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, or eat any forbidden food.” | 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." |
| 15Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “Please stay here until we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.” | 15Manoah said to the LORD's messenger, "Please stay here awhile, so we can prepare a young goat for you to eat." |
| 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.) | 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 asked the angel of the LORD, “What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you.” | 17Manoah said to the LORD's messenger, "Tell us your name, so we can honor you when your announcement comes true." |
| 18“Why do you ask my name?” the angel of the LORD replied. “It is too wonderful for you to understand.” | 18The LORD's messenger said to him, "You should not ask me my name, because you cannot comprehend it." |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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 did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Manoah finally realized 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. |
| 22and he said to his wife, “We will certainly die, for we have seen God!” | 22Manoah said to his wife, "We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!" |
| 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.” | 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." |
| 24When her son was born, she named him Samson. And the LORD blessed him as he grew up. | 24Manoah's wife gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The child grew and the LORD empowered him. |
| 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. | 25The LORD's spirit began to control him in Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. |
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