Read Scripture ad-free with Bible Gateway Plus—trusted Study Bibles and commentaries beside every verse. Try it FREE for 7 days.
Log In/Sign Up

#
Judges 13
New International Version

### The Birth of Samson

13 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines(A) for forty years.(B)

2 A certain man of Zorah,(C) named Manoah,(D) from the clan of the Danites,(E) had a wife who was childless,(F) unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the Lord(G) appeared to her(H) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.(I) 4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink(J) and that you do not eat anything unclean.(K) 5 You will become pregnant and have a son(L) whose head is never to be touched by a razor(M) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,(N) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead(O) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

6 Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God(P) came to me. He looked like an angel of God,(Q) very awesome.(R) I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine(S) or other fermented drink(T) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.(U)’”

8 Then Manoah(V) prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God(W) you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”

9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me(X) the other day!”

11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”

“I am,” he said.

12 So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?”

13 The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink(Y) nor eat anything unclean.(Z) She must do everything I have commanded her.”

15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat(AA) for you.”

16 The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering,(AB) offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize(AC) that it was the angel of the Lord.)

17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name,(AD) so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”

18 He replied, “Why do you ask my name?(AE) It is beyond understanding.[a]” 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock(AF) to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20 As the flame(AG) blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.(AH) 21 When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized(AI) that it was the angel of the Lord.

22 “We are doomed(AJ) to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen(AK) God!”

23 But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”(AL)

24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.(AM) He grew(AN) and the Lord blessed him,(AO) 25 and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir(AP) him while he was in Mahaneh Dan,(AQ) between Zorah and Eshtaol.

#### Footnotes

1. Judges 13:18 Or is wonderful

#### Cross references

1. Judges 13:1 : S Jdg 3:31
2. Judges 13:1 : Jdg 14:4
3. Judges 13:2 : S Jos 15:33
4. Judges 13:2 : ver 8; Jdg 16:31
5. Judges 13:2 : S Ge 30:6
6. Judges 13:2 : S Ge 11:30
7. Judges 13:3 : S Ge 16:7
8. Judges 13:3 : ver 10
9. Judges 13:3 : Isa 7:14; Lk 1:13
10. Judges 13:4 : S Lev 10:9
11. Judges 13:4 : ver 14; Nu 6:2-4; S Lk 1:15
12. Judges 13:5 : S Ge 3:15
13. Judges 13:5 : 1Sa 1:11
14. Judges 13:5 : S Nu 6:2, 13; Am 2:11, 12
15. Judges 13:5 : 1Sa 7:13
16. Judges 13:6 : ver 8; 1Sa 2:27; 9:6; 1Ki 13:1; 17:18
17. Judges 13:6 : S Nu 22:22
18. Judges 13:6 : Ps 66:5
19. Judges 13:7 : Jer 35:6
20. Judges 13:7 : Lev 10:9
21. Judges 13:7 : 1Sa 1:11, 28
22. Judges 13:8 : S ver 2
23. Judges 13:8 : S ver 6
24. Judges 13:10 : ver 3
25. Judges 13:14 : Lev 10:9
26. Judges 13:14 : S ver 4
27. Judges 13:15 : Jdg 6:19
28. Judges 13:16 : S Jdg 11:31
29. Judges 13:16 : S Jdg 6:22
30. Judges 13:17 : S Ge 32:29
31. Judges 13:18 : S Ge 32:29
32. Judges 13:19 : Jdg 6:20
33. Judges 13:20 : S Lev 9:24
34. Judges 13:20 : S Ge 17:3
35. Judges 13:21 : S Jdg 6:22
36. Judges 13:22 : S Nu 17:12; S Dt 5:26
37. Judges 13:22 : S Ge 16:13; S Ex 3:6; S 24:10; S Jdg 6:22
38. Judges 13:23 : Ps 25:14
39. Judges 13:24 : Jdg 14:1; 15:1; 16:1; Heb 11:32
40. Judges 13:24 : 1Sa 2:21, 26; 3:19
41. Judges 13:24 : Lk 1:80
42. Judges 13:25 : S Jdg 3:10
43. Judges 13:25 : Jdg 18:12

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

### More on the NIV

- Unleash God's Word!

#### Bible Gateway Recommends

NIV Application Bible, Red Letter, Comfort Print: Bringing the Ancient Message of the Bible into Your World
Retail: $54.99
Our Price: $35.00
Save: $19.99 (36%)
Buy Now
NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible, Comfort Print: Follow God’s Redemptive Plan as It Unfolds throughout Scripture
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Red Letter Edition: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, Chronological Study Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New International Version
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $34.99
Save: $15.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, The Story, Hardcover, Comfort Print: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People
Retail: $19.98
Our Price: $7.50
Save: $12.48 (62%)
Buy Now
NIV, The Woman's Study Bible, Full-Color, Red Letter: Receiving God's Truth for Balance, Hope, and Transformation
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $34.99
Save: $15.00 (30%)
Buy Now
View more titles