Then Samson called to the LORD and said: ``O Lord GOD, I pray, remember me; strengthen me, I pray, only this once, O God, that I may be avenged upon the Philistines for one of my two eyes'' (וַיִּקְרָא שִׁמְשׁוֹן אֶל־יְהוָה וַיֹּאמֶר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה זְכׇר־נָא אוֹתִי וְחַזְּקֵנִי נָא אַךְ־הַפַּעַם הַזֹּאת אֱלֹהִים וְאִנָּקְמָה נְקָמָה אַחַת מִשְׁנֵי עֵינַי אֶת־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּים) — Samson's prayer is the first unambiguous petition to God since 15:18. His language is formal and liturgical: ``O Lord GOD'' (אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה) invokes God's covenant name with appropriate reverence. He asks to be ``remembered'' (זְכׇר־נָא), suggesting that he has been forgotten or abandoned; he seeks ``strengthening'' (חַזְּקֵנִי, to be made strong), not merely physical restoration but a return of God's empowerment. Notably, he frames his request not as liberation or national deliverance but as personal revenge for his eyes (``for one of my two eyes''). Yet the structural asymmetry is significant: he has lost two eyes; he will request strength to be avenged ``for one'' of them, suggesting a proportion that does not match the damage he will ultimately inflict. The phrase ``only this once'' (אַךְ־הַפַּעַם הַזֹּאת) suggests his understanding that this will be his final act.

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