📖 Judges — Chapter 16 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Judges 16:1 Then went Samson to RGaza, and saw there an Tharlot, and went in unto her.
Judges 16:2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they Rcompassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were Tquiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.
Judges 16:3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and Rtook the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, Tbar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.
Judges 16:4 And it came to pass afterward, that Rhe loved a woman Tin the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
Judges 16:5 And Rthe lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to Tafflict him; and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
Judges 16:6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
Judges 16:7 And Samson said unto her, RIf they bind me with seven Tgreen withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as Tanother man.
Judges 16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven Tgreen withs which had not been dried, and she Rbound him with them.
Judges 16:9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it RTtoucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
Judges 16:10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: Rnow tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
Judges 16:11 And he said unto her, RIf they bind me fast with new ropes Tthat never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
Judges 16:12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.
Judges 16:13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
Judges 16:14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and Rwent away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
Judges 16:15 And she said unto him, RHow canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
Judges 16:16 And it came to pass, when Rshe pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was Tvexed unto death;
Judges 16:17 That he told her Rall his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
Judges 16:18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, RCome up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
Judges 16:19 And Rshe made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
Judges 16:20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, RI will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.
Judges 16:21 But the Philistines took him, Rand Tput out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
Judges 16:22 Howbeit Rthe hair of his head began to grow again Tafter he was shaven.
Judges 16:23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto RDagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
Judges 16:24 And when the people saw him, they Rpraised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, Twhich slew many of us.
Judges 16:25 And it came to pass, when Rtheir hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he Tmade them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
Judges 16:26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.
Judges 16:27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon Rthe roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
Judges 16:28 And Samson Rcalled unto the LORD, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
Judges 16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and Ton which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
Judges 16:30 And Samson said, TLet me Rdie with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
Judges 16:31 Then Rhis brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Judges 16:1–14 — Gaza and Delilah's repeated tests
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Samson escapes an ambush at Gaza by carrying away the gate. Later Delilah accepts the Philistine rulers' offer to discover how to bind him. His false answers lead to repeated tests, showing that he remains in a setting of deliberate betrayal.
Key Truth: Repeated evidence of danger is present before Samson's final disclosure.
Check What You Remember
1. From which city's gate did Samson carry the doors? (Judges 16:3)
Find it in Judges 16:3 (KJV).
2. What was the name of the woman Samson loved? (Judges 16:4)
Find it in Judges 16:4 (KJV).
3. In which valley did she live? (Judges 16:4)
Find it in Judges 16:4 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Judges 16:15–22 — Disclosure, capture, and lost sight
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Samson tells Delilah about his lifelong Nazarite calling. His hair is shaved, his strength departs, and he does not know the LORD has departed from him. Captured and blinded, he grinds in prison. The text connects the loss to the LORD's departure, rather than making hair an independent magical power.
Key Truth: Presumption on past strength blinds Samson to his present condition.
Check What You Remember
1. How many locks of hair were shaved? (Judges 16:19)
Find it in Judges 16:19 (KJV).
2. Who had departed from Samson without his knowing? (Judges 16:20)
Find it in Judges 16:20 (KJV).
3. To which city was Samson taken as a prisoner? (Judges 16:21)
Find it in Judges 16:21 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Judges 16:23–31 — Samson's last prayer and the fallen house
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The Philistines praise Dagon and bring Samson out for entertainment. Samson prays for strength and brings down the house's supporting pillars, dying with the assembled people. The story closes with burial and the length of his judgeship; this violent final act is part of the narrated conflict, not a direction to readers to harm themselves or others.
Key Truth: Samson's final appeal for strength is addressed to the LORD, whom the Philistines have mocked.
Check What You Remember
1. Which god did the Philistines praise? (Judges 16:23)
Find it in Judges 16:23 (KJV).
2. How many middle pillars did Samson grasp? (Judges 16:29)
Find it in Judges 16:29 (KJV).
3. Whose buryingplace received Samson? (Judges 16:31)
Find it in Judges 16:31 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Judges 13:5 — Samson's consecration and purpose were announced before his birth.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
How does verse 20 interpret Samson's lost strength? Trace the difference between his earlier assumption and his final prayer.
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What purpose and reward do the Philistine lords present to Delilah?
2. How does Samson connect his unshaven head with his calling?
3. What contrast appears between Samson’s expectation and the narrator’s statement?
4. How do the Philistines interpret Samson’s capture?
5. How does Samson’s final prayer differ from reliance on escaping as before?
Notes
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