1
At one time, when Samson went to Gaza, he saw there a prostitute, and he went in to her.
2
When it was told to the people of Gaza, “Samson has come here,” they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. But all that night they did nothing, for they said, “At daybreak we will kill him.”
3
But Samson lay there until midnight. At midnight he arose, took hold of the two doors of the city gate and the two posts, pulled them up together with the bar, put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
4
After this, Samson fell in love with a woman from the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5
Then the rulers of the Philistines came up to the woman and said to her, “Try to persuade him and find out what makes his strength so great, and by what means we may overpower him and bind him to subdue him. Then each of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
6
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes your strength so great, and with what you must be bound to be subdued.”
7
Samson answered her, “If I am bound with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
8
Then the rulers of the Philistines brought up to the woman seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them,
9
while men were lying in wait in the room. Then she called to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
10
Then Delilah said to Samson, “See, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now please tell me how you may be bound.”
11
He answered her, “If I am bound tightly with new ropes that have never been used for any work, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
12
So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and called to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” — while men were lying in wait in the room — but he snapped the ropes from his arms like a thread.
13
Then Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you may be bound.” He answered her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
14
Then she fastened the web with the pin again, and she cried to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But when he awoke from his sleep, he pulled out the pin of the loom and the web.
15
Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times and have not told me what makes your strength so great.”
16
And when she pressed him day after day with her words and urged him continually, his soul was vexed to death.
17
So he told her all that was in his heart, and said, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
18
When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up this once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, bringing the money in their hands.
19
She made him sleep on her knees, and she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to subdue him, for his strength had left him.
20
And she cried, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.
21
So the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. There they bound him with two bronze chains, and he ground in the prison.
22
But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
23
Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they said:
“Our god has given into our hand
Samson our enemy.”
24
And when the people saw him, they praised their god, saying:
“Our god has given into our hand
our enemy,
the destroyer of our land,
and the one who killed many of us.”
25
And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may amuse us.” So Samson was called out of the prison, and he amused them; then they made him stand between the pillars.
26
Then Samson said to the young man who led him by the hand, “Let me go, that I may feel the pillars on which the house rests, so that I may lean against them.”
27
Now the house was full of men and women; all the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about three thousand men and women, watching Samson make sport.
28
Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, “O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray, and strengthen me, I pray, only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes at once.”
29
And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned on them, one with his right hand and the other with his left.
30
Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” And he bowed himself with all his might, and the house fell on the lords and on all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed in his life.
31
Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He judged Israel twenty years.
👁️💔🏛️ Summary of Judges 16 – Samson’s Fall and His Final Victory
Judges 16 is the most tragic chapter in the story of Samson, a man filled with the Spirit of the Lord yet brought low by weakness toward women. Yet the end of his life also becomes one example of God’s grace and restoration, even in the midst of ruin.
📌 1. Samson in Gaza and the Pulling Down of the Gate (verses 1–3)
- Samson visited a prostitute in Gaza — a warning of his weakness.
- The Philistines surrounded the city to capture him.
- But at midnight, Samson lifted up the city gate of Gaza (with its posts) and carried it to the top of the mountain.
🎯 Samson was strong physically, but fragile morally.
📌 2. Samson Fell in Love with Delilah (verses 4–5)
- Samson fell in love with Delilah, a woman from the Valley of Sorek.
- The Philistine rulers bribed Delilah with 1,100 pieces of silver each, so that she would find out the secret of Samson’s strength.
🎯 The enemy could not defeat Samson by strength, so they sought his weakness through his heart.
📌 3. Delilah Betrays Samson (verses 6–20)
Delilah tried four times to make Samson reveal the secret of his strength:
- New bowstrings – failed
- New ropes – failed
- Hair woven into the loom – failed
- At last Samson gave in and said:
“My hair has never been cut… if it is cut, I become weak.”
💔 Delilah cut Samson’s hair while he slept, and God left him.
🎯 Samson lost his strength not because of his hair alone, but because he broke his vow to God.
📌 4. Samson Is Captured and Blinded (verse 21)
- The Philistines captured him, blinded him, and bound him.
- He was forced to turn the millstone in prison — slave labor.
🎯 Loss of spiritual strength brings disgrace, not only physical weakness.
📌 5. Repentance and the Final Victory (verses 22–31)
- Samson’s hair began to grow again — a sign of restoration.
- The Philistines celebrated their victory in the temple of Dagon, bringing Samson to be mocked.
- Samson prayed:
“O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray… give me strength just this once.”
- He pulled down the pillars of the temple, and in his death he killed more people than during his life.
- He died with them, and was buried by his family.
🎯 God’s grace is still available to those who truly repent — even at the end of life.
📖 Main Lessons
- True strength comes from relationship with God, not from physical gifts.
- Unwatched weakness will destroy us.
- The enemy often attacks through the areas we neglect most.
- God can restore and use us again after failure.
- True repentance can bring great victory, even after a fall.
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall!”
“My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Like the criminal on the cross, Samson at the end of his life was still given forgiveness and restoration by God.
🎯 God is not looking for the perfect — He is looking for the repentant.
“But my strength left me, and I became weak.” – Judges 16:20
“O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray…” – verse 28
“Those whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed in his life.” – verse 30
