| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. | 1The Israelites again did evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines for forty years. |
| 2Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children. | 2There was a man named Manoah from Zorah, from the Danite tribe. His wife was infertile and childless. |
| 3The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son. | 3The LORD's angelic messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, "You are infertile and childless, but you will conceive and have a son. |
| 4Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean. | 4Now be careful! Do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. |
| 5For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” | 5Look, you will conceive and have a son. You must never cut his hair, for the child will be dedicated to God from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power of the Philistines." |
| 6So the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. His appearance was like the angel of God, exceedingly awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. | 6The woman went and said to her husband, "A man sent from God came to me! He looked like God's angelic messenger--he was very awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. |
| 7But he said to me, ‘Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. Now, therefore, do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb until the day of his death.’ ” | 7He said to me, 'Look, you will conceive and have a son. So now, do not drink wine or beer and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. For the child will be dedicated to God from birth till the day he dies.'" |
| 8Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, “Please, O Lord, let the man of God You sent us come to us again to teach us how to raise the boy who is to be born.” | 8Manoah prayed to the LORD, "Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God to visit us again, so he can teach us how we should raise the child who will be born." |
| 9And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God returned to the woman as she was sitting in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. | 9God answered Manoah's prayer. God's angelic messenger visited the woman again while she was sitting in the field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. |
| 10The woman ran quickly to tell her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has reappeared!” | 10The woman ran at once and told her husband, "Come quickly, the man who visited me the other day has appeared to me!" |
| 11So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” “I am,” he said. | 11So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he met the man, he said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to my wife?" He said, "Yes." |
| 12Then Manoah asked, “When your words come to pass, what will be the boy’s rule of life and mission?” | 12Manoah said, "Now, when your announcement comes true, how should the child be raised and what should he do?" |
| 13So the angel of the LORD answered Manoah, “Your wife is to do everything I told her. | 13The LORD's messenger told Manoah, "Your wife should pay attention to everything I told her. |
| 14She must not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor drink any wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.” | 14She should not drink anything that the grapevine produces. She must not drink wine or beer, and she must not eat any food that will make her ritually unclean. She should obey everything I commanded her to do." |
| 15“Please stay here,” Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.” | 15Manoah said to the LORD's messenger, "Please stay here awhile, so we can prepare a young goat for you to eat." |
| 16And the angel of the LORD replied, “Even if I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” For Manoah did not know that it was the angel of the LORD. | 16The LORD's messenger said to Manoah, "If I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you want to make a burnt sacrifice to the LORD, you should offer it." (He said this because Manoah did not know that he was the LORD's messenger.) |
| 17Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes to pass?” | 17Manoah said to the LORD's messenger, "Tell us your name, so we can honor you when your announcement comes true." |
| 18“Why do you ask my name,” said the angel of the LORD, “since it is beyond comprehension?” | 18The LORD's messenger said to him, "You should not ask me my name, because you cannot comprehend it." |
| 19Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD. And as Manoah and his wife looked on, the LORD did a marvelous thing. | 19Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD. The LORD's messenger did an amazing thing as Manoah and his wife watched. |
| 20When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground. | 20As the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the LORD's messenger went up in it while Manoah and his wife watched. They fell facedown to the ground. |
| 21And when the angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it had been the angel of the LORD. | 21The LORD's messenger did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. After all this happened Manoah realized that the visitor had been the LORD's messenger. |
| 22“We are going to die,” he said to his wife, “for we have seen God!” | 22Manoah said to his wife, "We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!" |
| 23But his wife replied, “If the LORD had intended to kill us, He would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things or spoken to us this way.” | 23But his wife said to him, "If the LORD wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us. He would not have shown us all these things, or have spoken to us like this just now." |
| 24So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him. | 24Manoah's wife gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The child grew and the LORD empowered him. |
| 25And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. | 25The LORD's spirit began to control him in Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. |
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