Judges 16:6
New International Version
So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”

New Living Translation
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong and what it would take to tie you up securely.”

English Standard Version
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”

Berean Standard Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”

King James Bible
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

New King James Version
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.”

New American Standard Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you can be bound to humble you.”

NASB 1995
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you.”

NASB 1977
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you.”

Legacy Standard Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you.”

Amplified Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies and with what you may be bound and subdued.”

Christian Standard Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me, where does your great strength come from? How could someone tie you up and make you helpless? ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me, where does your great strength come from? How could someone tie you up and make you helpless?”

American Standard Version
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

Contemporary English Version
The next time Samson was at Delilah's house, she asked, "Samson, what makes you so strong? How can I tie you up so you can't get away? Come on, you can tell me."

English Revised Version
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me what makes you so strong. How can you be tied up so that someone could torture you?"

Good News Translation
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me what makes you so strong. If someone wanted to tie you up and make you helpless, how could he do it?"

International Standard Version
So Delilah asked Samson, "Please tell me the secret to your great strength and how you may be tied up and tortured."

Majority Standard Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”

NET Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me what makes you so strong and how you can be subdued and humiliated."

New Heart English Bible
Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you can be bound and subdued."

Webster's Bible Translation
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, in what thy great strength lieth, and with what thou mayest be bound to afflict thee.

World English Bible
Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and what you might be bound to afflict you.”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And Delilah says to Samson, “Please declare to me wherein your great power [is], and with what you are bound, to afflict you.”

Young's Literal Translation
And Delilah saith unto Samson, 'Declare, I pray thee, to me, wherein thy great power is, and wherewith thou art bound, to afflict thee.'

Smith's Literal Translation
And Delilah will say to Samson, Announce now to me in what is thy great strength, and in what thou shalt be bound to humble thee.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Dalila said to Samson: Tell me, I beseech thee, wherein thy greatest strength lieth, and what it is wherewith if thou wert bound thou couldst not break loose.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Therefore, Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me, I beg you, wherein lies your very great strength, and with what might you be bound, so that you could not break free?”

New American Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me where you get your great strength and how you may be bound so as to be made helpless.”

New Revised Standard Version
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes your strength so great, and how you could be bound, so that one could subdue you.”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me wherein your great strength lies, and with what you might be bound, and how that you may become weak.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And Daliyala said to Samson: “Show me in what is your great power and by what you are bound and if you may be deprived”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And Delilah said to Samson: 'Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Dalida said to Sampson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein is thy great strength, and wherewith thou shalt be bound that thou mayest be humbled.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Samson and Delilah
5The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.” 6So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.” 7Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become as weak as any other man.”…

Cross References
Judges 14:15
So on the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?”

Judges 14:17
She wept the whole seven days of the feast, and finally on the seventh day, because she had pressed him so much, he told her the answer. And in turn she explained the riddle to her people.

Judges 15:6
“Who did this?” the Philistines demanded. “It was Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite,” they were told. “For his wife was given to his companion.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.

Proverbs 7:21
With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him.

Proverbs 5:3-4
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil, / in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword.

Proverbs 6:26
For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.

Proverbs 7:26
For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number.

Proverbs 9:13-18
The woman named Folly is loud; she is naive and knows nothing. / She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city, / calling out to those who pass by, who make their paths straight. ...

Proverbs 21:19
Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.

Proverbs 23:27
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.

Proverbs 25:24
Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

Proverbs 27:15-16
A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike— / restraining her is like holding back the wind or grasping oil with one’s right hand.

Proverbs 31:3
Do not spend your strength on women or your vigor on those who ruin kings.

1 Kings 11:1-4
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. / These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love. / He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away. ...

Nehemiah 13:26
Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin.


Treasury of Scripture

And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray you, wherein your great strength lies, and with which you might be bound to afflict you.

Psalm 12:2
They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

Proverbs 6:26
For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.

Proverbs 7:21
With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.

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Afflict Bands Bound Clear Delilah Deli'lah Lies Mayest Mightest Please Power Samson Secret Strength Subdue Subdued Tied Wherein Wherewith
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Afflict Bands Bound Clear Delilah Deli'lah Lies Mayest Mightest Please Power Samson Secret Strength Subdue Subdued Tied Wherein Wherewith
Judges 16
1. Samson at Gaza escapes, and carries away the gates of the city
4. Delilah corrupted by the Philistines, entices Samson
6. Thrice she is deceived
15. At last she overcomes him
21. The Philistines take him, and put out his eyes
22. His strength renewing, he pulls down the house upon the Philistines and dies














So Delilah said to Samson
This phrase introduces Delilah, a central figure in the narrative of Samson. Her name, Delilah, is derived from the Hebrew root "dalal," meaning "to weaken or impoverish." This is fitting, as her role in the account is to discover the secret of Samson's strength and ultimately lead to his downfall. Delilah's interaction with Samson is pivotal, highlighting themes of temptation and betrayal. Historically, Delilah is often seen as a Philistine, though the text does not explicitly state her nationality. Her relationship with Samson, a judge of Israel, underscores the tension between the Israelites and the Philistines during this period.

Please tell me the source of your great strength
Delilah's request is direct and manipulative. The word "please" suggests a veneer of politeness or affection, yet it masks her true intentions. The phrase "the source of your great strength" is central to the narrative, as Samson's strength is a divine gift, linked to his Nazirite vow. In Hebrew culture, a Nazirite was someone set apart for God, often marked by abstaining from wine, avoiding contact with the dead, and not cutting their hair. Samson's strength is not merely physical but symbolic of his covenant with God. Delilah's inquiry is not just about physical power but about uncovering the divine mystery behind it.

and how you can be tied up and subdued
This part of the verse reveals Delilah's ulterior motive. The words "tied up and subdued" indicate a desire to render Samson powerless. The Hebrew root for "subdued" is "anah," which can mean to afflict or humble. This reflects the Philistine's broader goal of subjugating Israel. Delilah's question is not innocent curiosity but a calculated attempt to betray Samson to his enemies. This phrase foreshadows the eventual betrayal and capture of Samson, serving as a reminder of the dangers of straying from one's divine calling and the consequences of succumbing to worldly temptations.

(6) And wherewith thou mightest be bound.--The narrative, if taken as a full account of all that took place, would leave in the mind an impression of almost incredible fatuity on the part of Samson. The general lesson is that of 1 Esdras 4:26 : "Many have gone out of their wits for women, and have become slaves on account of them; many have perished and erred and sinned by reason of women." (Comp. Proverbs 7:26.) Eastern legends constantly show how women have deceived even prophets. But there was no reason why the sacred historian should linger over the details of scenes so unworthy. If Delilah spoke thus plainly at once, we can only imagine that she was professing to treat the whole matter as a jest. Josephus says: "When Samson was drinking, or at other moments, expressing admiration of his deeds, she kept scheming how to ascertain in what way he was so pre-eminent in valour." An illustration may be found in 1 Esdras 4:29 : "I saw Apame taking the crown from the king's head and setting it on her own head; she also struck the king with her left hand, and yet for all that the king gaped and gazed upon her with open mouth. If she laughed upon him, he laughed; if she took displeasure at him, he flattered her, that she may be reconciled to him." The genius of a great poet has depicted such wiles in the idyll of Merlin and Vivi-enne, and it is only by supposing that such wiles were put forth in this instance that we can retain credit for even the most ordinary sense on the part of the Danite hero. But his fault was not stupidity--it was sensual infatuation; and in the ruin and shame which this sensual weakness brought upon him, and the way in which, step by step, it led him to forfeit the great gift of God, lies the chief moral of the story. We find the same lesson in the legend of Hercules and Omphale; and even if this legend was not influenced by the story of Samson's life, yet there is a general analogy between the character of the Greek and the Jewish hero. Samson was no Solomon, and yet the heart of even Solomon--

". . . . though large,

Beguiled by fair idolatresses, fell."



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
So Delilah
דְּלִילָה֙ (də·lî·lāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1807: Delilah -- Philistine mistress of Samson

said
וַתֹּ֤אמֶר (wat·tō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

Samson,
שִׁמְשׁ֔וֹן (šim·šō·wn)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8123: Samson -- a deliverer of Israel

“Please
נָּ֣א (nā)
Interjection
Strong's 4994: I pray', 'now', 'then'

tell me
הַגִּֽידָה־ (hag·gî·ḏāh-)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 5046: To be conspicuous

the source
בַּמֶּ֖ה (bam·meh)
Preposition-b | Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

of your great
גָד֑וֹל (ḡā·ḏō·wl)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 1419: Great, older, insolent

strength
כֹּחֲךָ֣ (kō·ḥă·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 3581: A small reptile (of unknown species)

and how
וּבַמֶּ֥ה (ū·ḇam·meh)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

you could be tied up
תֵאָסֵ֖ר (ṯê·’ā·sêr)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 631: To yoke, hitch, to fasten, to join battle

and subdued.”
לְעַנּוֹתֶֽךָ׃ (lə·‘an·nō·w·ṯe·ḵā)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6031: To be bowed down or afflicted


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OT History: Judges 16:6 Delilah said to Samson Tell me Please (Jd Judg. Jdg)
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