| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. | 1Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. |
| 2Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. | 2Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children. |
| 3And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. | 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. |
| 4Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. | 4Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean. |
| 5For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” | 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.” |
| 6So the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. | 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. |
| 7And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ” | 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.’ ” |
| 8Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.” | 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.” |
| 9And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. | 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. |
| 10Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!” | 10The woman ran quickly to tell her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has reappeared!” |
| 11So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?” And He said, “I am.” | 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. |
| 12Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?” | 12Then Manoah asked, “When your words come to pass, what will be the boy’s rule of life and mission?” |
| 13So the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. | 13So the angel of the LORD answered Manoah, “Your wife is to do everything I told her. |
| 14She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.” | 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.” |
| 15Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.” | 15“Please stay here,” Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.” |
| 16And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD.) | 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. |
| 17Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?” | 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?” |
| 18And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?” | 18“Why do you ask my name,” said the angel of the LORD, “since it is beyond comprehension?” |
| 19So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on— | 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. |
| 20it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. | 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. |
| 21When the Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the LORD. | 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. |
| 22And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!” | 22“We are going to die,” he said to his wife, “for we have seen God!” |
| 23But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.” | 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.” |
| 24So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. | 24So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him. |
| 25And the Spirit of the LORD began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. | 25And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. |
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