JUDGES 16:9 — KING JAMES VERSION 0 1
“Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.”
Delilah says to him: "You have mocked me and told me lies; please now tell me how you might be bound" (וַתֹּאמֶר דְּלִילָה אֵלָיו הִנִּשְׁמַרְתָּ וַתְּשַׁקֵּר־לִי וְעַתָּה הַגִּידָה־נָּא לִי בַּמַּה תִּאָסֵר). Her reproach is calculated to appeal to Samson's pride and his love: by accusing him of mocking and lying, she frames further revelation as a matter of proving his sincerity and trust. The Hebrew הִנִּשְׁמַרְתָּ can mean both ``you have been guarded'' (watchful) and ``you have mocked,'' suggesting a pun on his defensive wariness. She repeats the essential question—``how might you be bound''—showing relentless focus on the ultimate goal. Samson's continued engagement with her after the trap reveals a willingness to participate in what is clearly a betrayal, suggesting either a test of his own or a morally catastrophic confusion of love with manipulation.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a note on this verse
0/2000
No notes on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!