1 Samson dro nå til Gaza, der han så en løsaktig kvinne og gikk inn til henne.

Now Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a loose woman and went in to her.

2 Gazittene fikk høre at Samson var der, og de omringet stedet og holdt vakt ved byporten hele natten, og sa: Når dagen kommer, skal vi drepe ham.

And it was said to the Gazites, Samson is here. So they went round, watching for him all day at the doorway of the town, but at night they kept quiet, saying, When daylight comes we will put him to death.

3 Men Samson ble liggende der til midnatt. Da sto han opp og grep tak i dørene til byporten med begge støttepilarene og låsene, løftet dem opp og bar dem opp til toppen av bakken foran Hebron.

And Samson was there till the middle of the night; then he got up, and took a grip on the doors of the town, pulling them up, together with their two supports and their locks, and put them on his back and took them up to the top of the hill in front of Hebron.

4 Etter dette ble han forelsket i en kvinne i Sorekdalen som het Dalila.

Now after this, he was in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek, named Delilah.

5 Fyrstene av filisterne kom opp til henne og sa: Bruk din makt over ham og finn ut hva hemmeligheten bak hans store styrke er, og hvordan vi kan overvinne ham og binde ham for å gjøre ham svak. Hver og en av oss vil gi deg elleve hundre sekel sølv.

And the chiefs of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Make use of your power over him and see what is the secret of his great strength, and how we may get the better of him, and put bands on him, so that we may make him feeble; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.

6 Så Dalila sa til Samson: Fortell meg hva hemmeligheten bak din store styrke er, og hvordan du kan bli bundet og gjort svak.

So Delilah said to Samson, Make clear to me now what is the secret of your great strength, and how you may be put in bands and made feeble.

7 Samson svarte henne: Hvis jeg blir bundet med syv ferske buestrenger som aldri har blitt tørket, vil jeg miste styrken og bli som hvem som helst annen mann.

And Samson said to her, If seven new bow-cords which have never been made dry are knotted round me, I will become feeble and will be like any other man.

8 Da brakte filisterfyrstene henne syv ferske buestrenger som aldri hadde vært tørket, og hun bandt dem stramt rundt ham.

So the chiefs of the Philistines gave her seven new bow-cords which had never been made dry, and she had them tightly knotted round him.

9 Hun hadde menn som lå i skjul i det indre rommet, og hun sa til ham: Filisterne er over deg, Samson. Men han brøt buestrengene som en flamme fortærer en tråd. Så hemmeligheten bak hans styrke ble ikke kjent.

Now she had men waiting secretly in the inner room; and she said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. And the cords were broken by him as a twist of thread is broken when touched by a flame. So the secret of his strength did not come to light.

10 Da sa Dalila til Samson: Du har bare lekt med meg med falske ord; fortell meg hvordan du kan bli bundet.

Then Delilah said to Samson, See, you have been making sport of me with false words; now, say truly how may you be put in bands?

11 Han svarte henne: Hvis de bare binder meg med nye, tykke tau som aldri har vært brukt, vil jeg bli svak og bli som hvem som helst annen mann.

And he said to her, If they only put round me new thick cords which have never been used, then I will become feeble and will be like any other man.

12 Så Dalila tok nye, tykke tau og bandt dem stramt rundt ham og sa: Filisterne er over deg, Samson. Og menn lå i skjul i det indre rommet. Tauene løsnet fra armene hans like enkelt som tråder.

So Delilah took new thick cords, knotting them tightly round him, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. And men were waiting secretly in the inner room. And the cords were broken off his arms like threads.

13 Da sa Dalila til Samson: Du har lekt med meg med falske ord inntil nå; fortell meg virkelig, hvordan kan du bli bundet? Han sa til henne: Hvis du fletter de sju hårfleksene mine inn i vev-stykket ditt og fester det med pluggen, vil jeg bli svak og bli som hvem som helst annen mann.

Then Delilah said to Samson, Up to now you have made sport of me with false words; now say truly, how may you be put in bands? And he said to her, If you get the seven twists of my hair worked into the cloth you are making and fixed with the pin, I will become feeble and will be like any other man.

14 Mens han sov, flettet hun de sju hårfleksene hans inn i vev-stykket og festet det med pluggen, og sa til ham: Filisterne er over deg, Samson. Han våknet og rev opp både vev-stykket og pluggen.

So while he was sleeping she got the seven twists of his hair worked into her cloth and fixed with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. Then awaking from his sleep, he got up quickly, pulling up cloth and machine together.

15 Hun sa til ham: Hvordan kan du si at du elsker meg når hjertet ditt ikke er med meg? Tre ganger har du lekt med meg og ikke fortalt meg hemmeligheten bak din store styrke.

And she said to him, Why do you say you are my lover when your heart is not mine? Three times you have made sport of me, and have not made clear to me the secret of your great strength.

16 Dag etter dag presset hun ham uten å gi seg, til han var så trøtt at han ønsket seg død.

So day after day she gave him no peace, for ever questioning him till his soul was troubled to death.

17 Så åpnet han hele sitt hjerte for henne og sa: Mitt hår har aldri blitt klippet, for jeg har vært viet til Gud fra min fødsel. Hvis håret mitt blir klippet, vil min styrke forsvinne, og jeg vil bli som hvem som helst annen mann.

And opening all his heart to her, he said to her, My head has never been touched by a blade, for I have been separate to God from the day of my birth: if my hair is cut off, then my strength will go from me and I will become feeble, and will be like any other man.

18 Da Dalila så at han hadde åpnet sitt hjerte for henne, sendte hun beskjed til filisterfyrstene, og sa: Kom denne gangen, for han har åpenbart hele sitt hjerte for meg. Så kom fyrstene av filisterne opp til henne, og bragte pengene med seg.

And when Delilah saw that he had let her see into his heart, she sent word to the chiefs of the Philistines saying, Come up this time, for he has let out all his heart to me. Then the chiefs of the Philistines came to her, with the money in their hands.

19 Hun fikk ham til å sove i fanget sitt, og tilkalte en mann for å klippe av de sju hårfleksene hans. Da ble han svak og mistet sin styrke.

And she made him go to sleep on her knees; and she sent for a man and had his seven twists of hair cut off; and while it was being done he became feeble and his strength went from him.

20 Dalila ropte: Filisterne er over deg, Samson! Da han våknet fra søvnen, sa han: Jeg vil gå ut som før og fri meg. Men han visste ikke at Herren hadde forlatt ham.

Then she said, The Philistines are on you, Samson. And awaking from his sleep, he said, I will go out as at other times, shaking myself free. But he was not conscious that the Lord had gone from him.

21 Så grep filisterne ham, stakk ut øynene hans, og førte ham ned til Gaza. Der lenket de ham med bronsebånd og satte ham til å male i fangehuset.

So the Philistines took him and put out his eyes; then they took him down to Gaza, and, chaining him with bands of brass, put him to work crushing grain in the prison-house.

22 Men håret hans begynte å vokse ut igjen etter at det ble klippet.

But the growth of his hair was starting again after it had been cut off.

23 Filisternes fyrster samlet seg for å gjøre en stor ofring til Dagon, deres gud, og feire, for de sa: Vår gud har gitt vår fiende Samson i vår hånd.

And the chiefs of the Philistines came together to make a great offering to Dagon their god, and to be glad; for they said, Our god has given into our hands Samson our hater.

24 Da folket så ham, hyllet de sin gud og sa: Vår gud har gitt vår fiende i vår hånd, han som la vårt land øde og drepte mange av oss.

And when the people saw him, they gave praise to their god; for they said, Our god has given into our hands the one who was fighting against us, who made our country waste, and who put great numbers of us to death.

25 Da de var i feststemning, sa de: La Samson bli hentet så han kan underholde oss. De hentet Samson fra fangehuset, og han underholdt dem, og de plasserte ham mellom søylene.

Now when their hearts were full of joy, they said, Send for Samson to make sport for us. And they sent for Samson out of the prison-house, and he made sport before them; and they put him between the pillars.

26 Samson sa til gutten som holdt ham i hånden: La meg få føle søylene som huset står på, så jeg kan lene meg mot dem.

And Samson said to the boy who took him by the hand, Let me put my hand on the pillars supporting the house, so that I may put my back against them.

27 Huset var fullt av menn og kvinner, alle filisternes fyrster var der, og omtrent tre tusen menn og kvinner sto på taket for å se på Samson mens han underholdt dem.

Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and about three thousand men and women were on the roof, looking on while Samson made sport.

28 Da ropte Samson til Herren og sa: Herre Gud, husk meg nå, styrk meg bare denne ene gangen, Gud, så jeg kan hevne meg på filisterne for mine øyne.

And Samson, crying out to the Lord, said, O Lord God, do have me now in mind, and do make me strong only this once, O God, so that I may take one last payment from the Philistines for my two eyes.

29 Samson tok tak rundt de to midtsøylene som huset hvilte på, og med den ene hånden på den ene søylen og den andre hånden på den andre, la han vekten sin mot dem.

Then Samson put his arms round the two middle pillars supporting the house, putting his weight on them, on one with his right hand and on the other with his left.

30 Så sa Samson: La meg dø med filisterne. Han presset med all sin styrke, og huset falt ned over fyrstene og alle i det. De døde som han drepte ved sin død, var flere enn dem han hadde drept i sin levetid.

And Samson said, Let death overtake me with the Philistines. And he put out all his strength, and the house came down on the chiefs and on all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he sent to destruction by his death were more than all those on whom he had sent destruction in his life.

31 Da kom hans brødre og hele hans fars hus ned og hentet ham. De gravla ham mellom Zora og Eshtaol i graven til Manoah, hans far. Han hadde vært dommer over Israel i tjue år.

Then his brothers and his father's people came down and took him up and put his body to rest in the earth between Zorah and Eshtaol in the resting-place of Manoah his father. And he had been judge of Israel for twenty years.