May 29, 2013

From Gary... Lessons from Chipmunks



This morning I had a pleasant surprise.  When I sat down to the computer, there was an envelope on the keyboard.  When I opened it, I saw the image above on a card, with a "Love, Chip" at the bottom.  Chip is short for chipmunk; which is one of the pet names I gave my Linda while we were going steady in high school.  I looked around a bit and found this passage from the book of Ecclesiastes, which seemed to fit nicely...

Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9
 9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity: for that is your portion in life, and in your labor in which you labor under the sun.  10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going. 

It occurred to me that although the message is directed towards the husband in the relationship- it also applies to the wife as well.  And the verse following applies as too.  Enthusiasm after four years of going steady and forty-five years of marriage.  My guess is... we are doing OK!!!!   If you haven't given the one you love a card lately--- hummm... couldn't hurt!!!!!! 

PS.  I am supposed to be the one on the left (the larger one)

From Mark Copeland... The Healing Of Blind Bartimaeus



                          "THE GOSPEL OF MARK"

               The Healing Of Blind Bartimaeus (10:46-52)

INTRODUCTION

1. As we continue our studies in the gospel of Mark...
   a. Jesus and His disciples are making their way toward Jerusalem
      - cf. Mk 10:32
   b. We now come to the last healing miracle described in the gospel of
      Mark - Mk 10:46-52

2. It involves the healing of a blind man near the city of Jericho...
   a. Identified by name as Bartimaeus
   b. Whose persistence, faith, and gratitude can serve as an example
      for us today

[Let's first take a closer look at...]

I. THE NARRATIVE

   A. THE SETTING...
      1. The city
         a. Mark reports that the miracle occurred on the way out of
            Jericho - Mk 10:46
         b. Luke says it occurred on the way to Jericho - Lk 18:35
         c. There were two Jerichos at the time of Jesus, about 15 miles
            NE of Jerusalem
         d. The old Jericho from the days of Joshua was mostly abandoned
         e. The new Jericho built by Herod the Great was an attractive
            city
         f. It may be the miracle occurred as Jesus was leaving one and
            heading to another - Expositor's Bible Commentary
      2. The crowd
         a. Included Jesus' disciples and a 'great multitude' - Mk 10:46
         b. The multitude was likely even greater because it was the
            time many Jews were on their way to Jerusalem observe the
            Passover
      3. The blind man
         a. Matthew reveals that there were actually two blind men- Mt 20:29-32
         b. Luke focuses his account on "a certain blind man" - Lk 18:35-43
         c. Mark does also, identifying him by name, Bartimaeus - Mk 10:46
         d. Bartimaeus sat by the road, begging - Mk 10:46

   B. THE MIRACLE...
      1. The desperate plea
         a. Learning that Jesus of Nazareth was walking by, Bartimaeus
            began to cry out
         b. "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" - Mk 10:47
         c. Many sought to silence him, but he cried out all the more
         d. "Son of David, have mercy on me!" - Mk 10:48
      2. The gracious healing
         a. Jesus commanded for Bartimaeus to be called
         b. Some encourage him:  "Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling
            you." - Mk 10:49
         c. He throws aside his outer garment (which might hinder his
            steps) and comes to Jesus - Mk 10:50
         d. Jesus asks Bartimaeus what he wants Him to do - Mk 10:51
         e. "Rabboni (Master, Teacher, cf. Jn 20:16), that I may receive
            my sight."
         f. Jesus' response:  "Go your way; your faith has made you
            well." - Mk 10:52
      3. The new disciple
         a. Immediately Bartimaeus receives his sight - Mk 10:52
         b. He follows Jesus on the road, glorifying God - cf. Lk 18:43

[The people that saw this miracle also praised God (Lk 18:43).  How
might we best praise God for such a miracle?  Perhaps by learning from
the example of blind Bartimaeus.  In that regard, here are...)

II. SOME OBSERVATIONS

   A. PERSISTENCE...
      1. Bartimaeus displayed persistence despite the efforts of others
         to silence him
      2. He exemplifies the truth of what Jesus taught about persistence
         - Mt 7:7-8
      3. Are we willing to be persistent in our prayers? - cf. Lk 18:1-8

   B. FAITH...
      1. Bartimaeus was healed because of his faith
      2. Similar to the woman healed of a flow of blood - Mk 5:34
      3. Do we have the faith to receive what is God's will for us?
         - cf. 1Jn 5:14

   C. GRATITUDE...
      1. Bartimaeus followed Jesus and glorified God
      2. Like the Samaritan leper, he expressed gratitude - Lk 17:12-19
      3. Do we express gratitude for the many blessings God gives us?
         - cf. 1Th 5:14

CONCLUSION

1. Bartimaeus, who many sought to silence, has much to teach us about...
   a. Persistence
   b. Faith
   c. Gratitude

2. May the healing of blind Bartimaeus serve to always remind us to...
   a. Persist in our requests to God
   b. Develop the faith necessary to receive such requests
   c. Never fail to express gratitude when God answers our prayers

Finally, note that Bartimaeus followed Jesus.  Are you willing to show
your gratitude to Jesus by following Him as His disciple, responding to
the gospel of Christ...? - Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15-16



Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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From Jim McGuiggan... The Cross and the Godhood of Jesus Christ



The Cross and the Godhood of Jesus Christ

In Euripides's Alcestis the Spartan king, Admetos, is to die unless he gets a substitute. His wife Alcestis becomes his substitute but the thought of losing her is driving Admetos crazy. Heracles (Hercules), son of the gods and a regular guest at Admetos's house comes to visit, learns of the situation and goes out and rescues her from Death.
The poet Robert Browning zeroes in on the reputation of Heracles as a helper of mankind against the forces that are too strong for it. He makes the point that this going to humanity's defence is one of the authenticating marks of genuine godhood. Here's how he puts it:
Gladness be with thee, Helper of our world! 
I think this is the authentic sign and seal 
Of Godship, that it ever waxes glad, 
And more glad, until gladness blossoms, bursts 
Into a rage to suffer for mankind, 
And recommence at sorrow: drops like seed 
After the blossom, ultimate of all. 
Say, does the seed scorn the earth and seek the sun? 
Surely it has no other end and aim 
Than to drop, once more die into the ground, 
Taste cold and darkness and oblivion there: 
And thence rise, tree-like to grow through pain to joy, 
More joy and most joy,-do man good again.

Browning lays hold not only on the theme of suffering to help humanity, he stresses the gladness of heart in which the enterprise is undertaken. It isn't a grim, reluctant, foot-dragging approach to the matter (Heracles "strode" off to effect the rescue). And it was "for the joy set before him" our Saviour despised the pain and loss barring his way.
As P.T. Forsyth insisted, the coming of God as the weak and wounded Jesus Christ is not only not surprising, it would be astonishing if he had not come in Jesus Christ in a rage to suffer on humanity's behalf. In this, Forsyth doesn't only have in mind the tender side of God, his gentle love and compassion though he does have that in mind; he's thinking of God's infinitely holy character. If God was moved in love, it was a holy love. Christ doesn't come simply blessing, being sweet, talking kindly and taking us in his loving arms—he comes sharing the suffering of the judgment that holiness must bring upon sin in order to deal with it!
The forgiveness of sins, the reconciliation of the world is achieved through love's judgment—the word of the cross says that!
And it had to be God's cross or it wouldn't be the love of God that worked the rescue. And it had to be a representative human in and through whom reconciliation was accomplished because a repentance worthy of the sin must come from humankind. In the cross Jesus repents for us. I don't mean he repents so that we don't have to—I mean what R.W. Moberly and McCleod Campbell have taught us, that he alone could give humanity a repentance which gives complete homage to the righteousness of God and to which we can (by faith in him) add our "amen" to his.
It was God and it was God in Christ who came to our rescue. The motivation for this coming/sending of God is that God "so loved the world" (John 3:16).
Not to be able to see that in the cross blinds us to the possibility of seeing it anywhere else in the world.
Would it make any difference to our suffering if we saw it as part of the saving process? If we saw it as part of the destiny of Christ in and through the "body of Christ" as they suffer for the rescue of humanity? What if you in your pain saw it as saying you are a co-worker with God in bringing the reconciling message to the world?
[Sufferers don't suffer alone, as if they were isolated units. They're shaped and enabled by the believing community and the faith, the gospel, that that community has lived out and proclaimed down the centuries. Specific members of the body bear the specific pain and loss to be endured but they don't suffer as independent units. In and through them the body suffers. But it is the body of Christ and in and through them the Christ continues to suffer on behalf of the world, making known his once-for-all atoning sacrifice to every generation. See Colossians 1:24 and 1 Peter 4:13, for example.]

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Gary... Bible Reading and Study, May 29



Bible Reading and Study


May 29
Judges 15, 16

Jdg 15:1 But it happened after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father wouldn't allow him to go in.
Jdg 15:2 Her father said, I most certainly thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion: isn't her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her, instead.
Jdg 15:3 Samson said to them, This time shall I be blameless in regard of the Philistines, when I do them a mischief.
Jdg 15:4 Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between every two tails.
Jdg 15:5 When he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and the standing grain, and also the olive groves.
Jdg 15:6 Then the Philistines said, Who has done this? They said, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to his companion. The Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
Jdg 15:7 Samson said to them, If you behave like this, surely I will be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
Jdg 15:8 He struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
Jdg 15:9 Then the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
Jdg 15:10 The men of Judah said, Why have you come up against us? They said, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he has done to us.
Jdg 15:11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, "Don't you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?" He said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.
Jdg 15:12 They said to him, We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines. Samson said to them, Swear to me that you will not fall on me yourselves.
Jdg 15:13 They spoke to him, saying, No; but we will bind you fast, and deliver you into their hand: but surely we will not kill you. They bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.
Jdg 15:14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him: and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.
Jdg 15:15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put forth his hand, and took it, and struck a thousand men therewith.
Jdg 15:16 Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men.
Jdg 15:17 It happened, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramath Lehi.
Jdg 15:18 He was very thirsty, and called on Yahweh, and said, You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant; and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised.
Jdg 15:19 But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out of it. When he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: therefore its name was called En Hakkore, which is in Lehi, to this day.
Jdg 15:20 He judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Jdg 16:1 Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a prostitute, and went in to her.
Jdg 16:2 It was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come here. They surrounded him, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, Let be until morning light, then we will kill him.
Jdg 16:3 Samson lay until midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
Jdg 16:4 It came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
Jdg 16:5 The lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Entice him, and see in which his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will each give you of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
Jdg 16:6 Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, Please, in which your great strength lies, and with which you might be bound to afflict you.
Jdg 16:7 Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.
Jdg 16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
Jdg 16:9 Now she had an ambush waiting in the inner chamber. She said to him, "The Philistines are on you, Samson!" He broke the cords, as a string of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.
Jdg 16:10 Delilah said to Samson, Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, Please, with which you might be bound.
Jdg 16:11 He said to her, If they only bind me with new ropes with which no work has been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.
Jdg 16:12 So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. The ambush was waiting in the inner chamber. He broke them off his arms like a thread.
Jdg 16:13 Delilah said to Samson, Until now, you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me with what you might be bound. He said to her, If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web.
Jdg 16:14 She fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. He awakened out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web.
Jdg 16:15 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 in which your great strength lies.
Jdg 16:16 It happened, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was troubled to death.
Jdg 16:17 He told her all his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come on my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I will become weak, and be like any other man."
Jdg 16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he has told me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand.
Jdg 16:19 She made him sleep on her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
Jdg 16:20 She said, The Philistines are on you, Samson. He awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free. But he didn't know that Yahweh had departed from him.
Jdg 16:21 The Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he ground at the mill in the prison.
Jdg 16:22 However the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaved.
Jdg 16:23 The lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
Jdg 16:24 When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god has delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who has slain many of us.
Jdg 16:25 It happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. They called for Samson out of the prison; and he made sport before them. They set him between the pillars:
Jdg 16:26 and Samson said to the boy who held him by the hand, Allow me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house rests, that I may lean on them.
Jdg 16:27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were on the roof about three thousand men and women, who saw while Samson made sport.
Jdg 16:28 Samson called to Yahweh, and said, Lord Yahweh, remember me, Please, and strengthen me, Please, only this once, God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for ay 29
Judges 15, 16

Jdg 15:1 But it happened after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father wouldn't allow him to go in.
Jdg 15:2 Her father said, I most certainly thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion: isn't her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her, instead.
Jdg 15:3 Samson said to them, This time shall I be blameless in regard of the Philistines, when I do them a mischief.
Jdg 15:4 Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between every two tails.
Jdg 15:5 When he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and the standing grain, and also the olive groves.
Jdg 15:6 Then the Philistines said, Who has done this? They said, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to his companion. The Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
Jdg 15:7 Samson said to them, If you behave like this, surely I will be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
Jdg 15:8 He struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
Jdg 15:9 Then the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
Jdg 15:10 The men of Judah said, Why have you come up against us? They said, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he has done to us.
Jdg 15:11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, "Don't you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?" He said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.
Jdg 15:12 They said to him, We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines. Samson said to them, Swear to me that you will not fall on me yourselves.
Jdg 15:13 They spoke to him, saying, No; but we will bind you fast, and deliver you into their hand: but surely we will not kill you. They bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.
Jdg 15:14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him: and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.
Jdg 15:15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put forth his hand, and took it, and struck a thousand men therewith.
Jdg 15:16 Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men.
Jdg 15:17 It happened, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramath Lehi.
Jdg 15:18 He was very thirsty, and called on Yahweh, and said, You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant; and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised.
Jdg 15:19 But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out of it. When he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: therefore its name was called En Hakkore, which is in Lehi, to this day.
Jdg 15:20 He judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Jdg 16:1 Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a prostitute, and went in to her.
Jdg 16:2 It was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come here. They surrounded him, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, Let be until morning light, then we will kill him.
Jdg 16:3 Samson lay until midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
Jdg 16:4 It came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
Jdg 16:5 The lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Entice him, and see in which his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will each give you of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
Jdg 16:6 Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, Please, in which your great strength lies, and with which you might be bound to afflict you.
Jdg 16:7 Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.
Jdg 16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
Jdg 16:9 Now she had an ambush waiting in the inner chamber. She said to him, "The Philistines are on you, Samson!" He broke the cords, as a string of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.
Jdg 16:10 Delilah said to Samson, Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, Please, with which you might be bound.
Jdg 16:11 He said to her, If they only bind me with new ropes with which no work has been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.
Jdg 16:12 So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. The ambush was waiting in the inner chamber. He broke them off his arms like a thread.
Jdg 16:13 Delilah said to Samson, Until now, you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me with what you might be bound. He said to her, If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web.
Jdg 16:14 She fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. He awakened out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web.
Jdg 16:15 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 in which your great strength lies.
Jdg 16:16 It happened, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was troubled to death.
Jdg 16:17 He told her all his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come on my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I will become weak, and be like any other man."
Jdg 16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he has told me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand.
Jdg 16:19 She made him sleep on her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
Jdg 16:20 She said, The Philistines are on you, Samson. He awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free. But he didn't know that Yahweh had departed from him.
Jdg 16:21 The Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he ground at the mill in the prison.
Jdg 16:22 However the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaved.
Jdg 16:23 The lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
Jdg 16:24 When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god has delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who has slain many of us.
Jdg 16:25 It happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. They called for Samson out of the prison; and he made sport before them. They set him between the pillars:
Jdg 16:26 and Samson said to the boy who held him by the hand, Allow me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house rests, that I may lean on them.
Jdg 16:27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were on the roof about three thousand men and women, who saw while Samson made sport.
Jdg 16:28 Samson called to Yahweh, and said, Lord Yahweh, remember me, Please, and strengthen me, Please, only this once, God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
Jdg 16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and leaned on them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left.
Jdg 16:30 Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were therein. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life.
Jdg 16:31 Then his brothers 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 burial site of Manoah his father. He judged Israel twenty years. 
my two eyes.
Jdg 16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and leaned on them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left.
Jdg 16:30 Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were therein. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life.
Jdg 16:31 Then his brothers 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 burial site of Manoah his father. He judged Israel twenty years. 




The Composite Bible
The World English Bible
Darby's Translation
Young's Literal Translation

Judges



Judges 15 1
But it happened after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father wouldn`t allow him to go in.
And it came to pass after a time, in the days of the wheat-harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid of the goats. And he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber; but her father would not suffer him to go in.
And it cometh to pass, after [some] days, in the days of wheat-harvest, that Samson looketh after his wife, with a kid of the goats, and saith, `I go in unto my wife, to the inner chamber;` and her father hath not permitted him to go in,
Judges 15 2
Her father said, I most assuredly thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion: isn`t her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her, instead. 
And her father said, I verily thought that thou didst utterly hate her; therefore I gave her to thy companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Let her, I pray thee, be thine instead of her.
and her father saith, I certainly said, that thou didst certainly hate her, and I give her to thy companion; is not her sister -- the young one -- better than she? Let her be, I pray thee, to thee, instead of her.`
Judges 15 3
Samson said to them, This time shall I be blameless in regard of the Philistines, when I do them a mischief.
And Samson said to them, This time I am blameless toward the Philistines, though I do them harm.
And Samson saith of them, `I am more innocent this time than the Philistines, though I am doing with them evil.`
Judges 15 4
Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between every two tails.
And Samson went and caught three hundred jackals, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the midst between the two tails.
And Samson goeth and catcheth three hundred foxes, and taketh torches, and turneth tail unto tail, and putteth a torch between the two tails, in the midst,
Judges 15 5
When he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and the standing grain, and also the olive groves.
And he set the torches on fire, and let [them] run into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, and the olive gardens.
and kindleth fire in the torches, and sendeth [them] out into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burneth [it] from heap even unto standing corn, even unto vineyard -- olive-yard.
Judges 15 6
Then the Philistines said, Who has done this? They said, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to his companion. The Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
And the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burned her and her father with fire.
And the Philistines say, `Who hath done this?` And they say, `Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because he hath taken away his wife, and giveth her to his companion;` and the Philistines go up, and burn her and her father with fire.
Judges 15 7
Samson said to them, If you do after this manner, surely I will be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
And Samson said to them, If ye act thus, for a certainty I will avenge myself on you, and then I will cease.
And Samson saith to them, `Though ye do thus, nevertheless I am avenged on you, and afterwards I cease!`
Judges 15 8
He struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter. And he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the cliff Etam.
And he smiteth them hip and thigh -- a great smiting, and goeth down and dwelleth in the cleft of the rock Etam.
Judges 15 9
Then the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
And the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
And the Philistines go up, and encamp in Judah, and are spread out in Lehi,
Judges 15 10
The men of Judah said, Why are you come up against us? They said, To bind Samson are we come
up, to do to him as he has done to us.
And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they said, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he has done to us.
and the men of Judah say, `Why have ye come up against us?` and they say, `To bind Samson we have come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.`
Judges 15 11
Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, "Don`t you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?" He said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.
Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the cliff Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines rule over us? And what is this that thou hast done to us? And he said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.
And three thousand men of Judah go down unto the cleft of the rock Etam, and say to Samson, `Hast thou now known that the Philistines are rulers over us? and what [is] this thou hast done to us?` And he saith to them, `As they did to me, so I did to them.`
Judges 15 12
They said to him, We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines. Samson said to them, Swear to me that you will not fall on me yourselves.
And they said to him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may give thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Swear to me that ye will not fall on me yourselves.
And they say to him, `To bind thee we have come down -- to give thee into the hand of the Philistines.` And Samson saith to them, `Swear to me, lest ye fall upon me yourselves.`
Judges 15 13
They spoke to him, saying, No; but we will bind you fast, and deliver you into their hand: but surely we will not kill you. They bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.
And they spoke to him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand; but we certainly shall not put thee to death. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the cliff.
And they speak to him, saying, No, but we certainly bind thee, and have given thee into their hand, and we certainly do not put thee to death;` and they bind him with two thick bands, new ones, and bring him up from the rock.
Judges 15 14
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him: and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him. And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and the cords that were on his arms became as threads of flax that are burned with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
He hath come unto Lehi -- and the Philistines have shouted at meeting him -- and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and the thick bands which [are] on his arms are as flax which they burn with fire, and his bands are wasted from off his hands,
Judges 15 15
He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put forth his hand, and took it, and struck a thousand men therewith.
And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand and took it, and slew with it a thousand men.
and he findeth a fresh jaw-bone of an ass, and putteth forth his hand and taketh it, and smiteth with it -- a thousand men.
Judges 15 16
Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men.
And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, a heap, two heaps, With the jawbone of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
And Samson saith, `With a jaw-bone of the ass -- an ass upon asses -- with a jaw-bone of the ass I have smitten a thousand men.`
Judges 15 17
It happened, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramath-lehi.
And it came to pass when he had ended speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-Lehi.
And it cometh to pass when he finisheth speaking, that he casteth away the jaw-bone out of his hand, and calleth that place Ramath-Lehi;
Judges 15 18
He was very thirsty, and called on Yahweh, and said, You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant; and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised.
And he was very thirsty, and called on Jehovah, and said, Thou hast given by the hand of thy servant this great deliverance, and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
and he thirsteth exceedingly, and calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, `Thou -- Thou hast given by the hand of Thy servant this great salvation; and now, I die with thirst, and have fallen into the hand of the uncircumcised.`
Judges 15 19
But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out of it. When he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: why the name of it was called En-hakkore, which is in Lehi, to this day.
And God clave the hallow rock which was in Lehi, and water came out of it. And he drank, and his spirit came again, and he revived. Therefore its name was called En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.
And God cleaveth the hollow place which [is] in Lehi, and waters come out of it, and he drinketh, and his spirit cometh back, and he reviveth; therefore hath [one] called its name `The fountain of him who is calling,` which [is] in Lehi unto this day.
Judges 15 20
He judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
And he judgeth Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Judges 16 1
Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a prostitute, and went in to her.
And Samson went to Gazah, and saw there a harlot, and went in to her.
And Samson goeth to Gaza, and seeth there a woman, a harlot, and goeth in unto her;
Judges 16 2
[It was told] the Gazites, saying, Samson is come here. They compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, [Let be] until morning light, then we will kill him.
[And it was told] the Gazathites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they surrounded [him], and laid wait for him all night at the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning light we will kill him.
[it is told] to the Gazathites, saying, `Samson hath come in hither;` and they go round and lay wait for him all the night at the gate of the city, and keep themselves silent all the night, saying, `Till the light of the morning -- then we have slain him.`
Judges 16 3
Samson lay until midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
And Samson lay till midnight; and he arose at midnight, and seized the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and tore them up with the bar, and put [them] upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
And Samson lieth down till the middle of the night, and riseth in the middle of the night, and layeth hold on the doors of the gate of the city, and on the two side posts, and removeth them with the bar, and putteth on his shoulders, and taketh them up unto the top of the hill, which [is] on the front of Hebron.
Judges 16 4
It came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
And it came to pass afterwards that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
And it cometh to pass afterwards that he loveth a woman in the valley of Sorek, and her name [is] Delilah,
Judges 16 5
The lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Entice him, and see in which his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will each give you of us eleven hundred [pieces] of silver.
And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Persuade him, and see in what his great strength is, and with what we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to overpower him; and we will each give thee eleven hundred silver-pieces.
and the princes of the Philistines come up unto her, and say to her, `Entice him, and see wherein his great power [is], and wherein we are able for him -- and we have bound him to afflict him, and we -- we give to thee, each one, eleven hundred silverlings.`
Judges 16 6
Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, Please, in which your great strength lies, and with which you might be bound to afflict you.
Then Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, in what is thy great strength, and with what thou mightest be bound to overpower thee.
And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Declare, I pray thee, to me, wherein thy great power [is], and wherewith thou art bound, to afflict thee.`
Judges 16 7
Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.
And Samson said to her, If they should bind me with seven fresh cords which have not been dried, then should I be weak, and be as another man.
And Samson saith unto her, `If they bind me with seven green withs which have not been dried, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.`
Judges 16 8
Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
And the princes of the Philistines bring up to her seven green withs which have not been dried, and she bindeth him with them.
Judges 16 9
Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber. She said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. He broke the cords, as a string of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.
Now she had liers in wait abiding in the chamber; and she said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he broke the cords, as a thread of tow is broken when it touches the fire; and his strength was not known.
And the ambush is abiding with her in an inner chamber, and she saith unto him, `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;` and he breaketh the withs as a thread of tow is broken in its smelling fire, and his power hath not been known.
Judges 16 10
Delilah said to Samson, Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, Please, with which you might be bound.
And Delilah said to Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me and told me lies. Now tell me, I pray thee, with what thou mightest be bound.
And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Lo, thou hast played upon me, and speakest unto me lies; now, declare, I pray thee, to me, wherewith thou art bound.`
Judges 16 11
He said to her, If they only bind me with new ropes with which no work has been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.
And he said to her, If they should bind me fast with new ropes, with which no work has been done, then should I be weak, and be as another man.
And he saith unto her, `If they certainly bind me with thick bands, new ones, by which work hath not been done, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.`
Judges 16 12
So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. The liers-in-wait were abiding in the inner chamber. He broke them off his arms like a thread.
And Delilah took new ropes, and bound him with them, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! Now there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he broke them from off his arms like a thread.
And Delilah taketh thick bands, new ones, and bindeth him with them, and saith unto him, `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;` and the ambush is abiding in an inner chamber, and he breaketh them from off his arms as a thread.
Judges 16 13
Delilah said to Samson, Hitherto you have mocked me, and told me lies: tell me with which you might be bound. He said to her, If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web.
And Delilah said to Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me and told me lies. Tell me with what thou mightest be bound. And he said to her, If thou shouldest weave the seven locks of my head with the web.
And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Hitherto thou hast played upon me, and dost speak unto me lies; declare to me wherewith thou art bound.` And he saith unto her, `If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.`
Judges 16 14
She fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. He awakened out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web. 
And she fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep, and tore out the pin of the beam, and the web.
And she fixeth [it] with the pin, and saith unto him,  `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;` and he awaketh out of his sleep, and journeyeth with the pin of the weaving machine, and with the web.
Judges 16 15
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 in which your great strength lies.
Then she said to him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? these three times hast thou mocked me, and hast not told me in what is thy great strength.
And she saith unto him, `How dost thou say, I have loved thee, and thy heart is not with me? these three times thou hast played upon me, and hast not declared to me wherein thy great power [is].`
Judges 16 16
It happened, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was vexed to death.
And it came to pass when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death;
And it cometh to pass, because she distressed him with her words all the days, and doth urge him, and his soul is grieved to death,
Judges 16 17
He told her all his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come on my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother`s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I will become weak, and be like any other man."
and he told her all his heart, and said to her, There has not come a razor upon my head; for I am a Nazarite of God from my mother`s womb; if I should be shaven, then my strength would go from me, and I should be weak, and be like all mankind.
that he declareth to her all his heart, and saith to her, `A razor hath not gone up on my head, for a Nazarite to God I [am] from the womb of my mother; if I have been shaven, then hath my power turned aside from me, and I have been weak, and have been as any of the human race.`
Judges 16 18
When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he has told me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand.
And Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, and she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this time, for he has told me all his heart. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand.
And Delilah seeth that he hath declared to her all his heart, and she sendeth and calleth for the princes of the Philistines, saying, `Come up this time, for he hath declared to me all his heart;` and the princes of the Philistines have come up unto her, and bring up the money in their hand.
Judges 16 19
She made him sleep on her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
And she made him sleep upon her knees, and called a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to overpower him, and his strength went from him.
and she maketh him sleep on her knees, and calleth for a man, and shaveth the seven locks of his head, and beginneth to afflict him, and his power turneth aside from off him;
Judges 16 20
She said, The Philistines are on you, Samson. He awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free. But he didn`t know that Yahweh had departed from him.
And she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep, and thought, I will go out as at other times before, and disengage myself. And he knew not that Jehovah had departed from him.
and she saith, `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;` and he awaketh out of his sleep, and saith, `I go out as time by time, and shake myself;` and he hath not known that Jehovah hath turned aside from off him.
Judges 16 21
The Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house.
And the Philistines seized him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gazah, and bound him with fetters of bronze; and he had to grind in the prison-house.
And the Philistines seize him, and pick out his eyes, and bring him down to Gaza, and bind him with two brazen fetters; and he is grinding in the prison-house.
Judges 16 22
However the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaved.
But the hair of his head began to grow after he was shaved.
And the hair of his head beginneth to shoot up, when he hath been shaven,
Judges 16 23
The lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
Then the lords of the Philistines gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands.
and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, `Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.`
Judges 16 24
When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god has delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who has slain many of us.
And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god has given into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, even him who multiplied our slain.
And the people see him, and praise their god, for they said, `Our god hath given in our hand our enemy, and he who is laying waste our land, and who multiplied our wounded.`
Judges 16 25
It happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. They called for Samson out of the prison-house; and he made sport before them. They set him between the pillars:
And it came to pass when their 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 played before them; and they set him between the pillars.
And it cometh to pass, when their heart [is] glad, that they say, `Call for Samson, and he doth play before us;` and they call for Samson out of the prison-house, and he playeth before them, and they cause him to stand between the pillars.
Judges 16 26
and Samson said to the boy who held him by the hand, Allow me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house rests, that I may lean on them.
And Samson said to the lad that held him by the hand, Let loose of me, and suffer me to feel the pillars upon which the house stands, that I may lean upon them.
And Samson saith unto the young man who is keeping hold on his hand, `Let me alone, and let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, and I 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 on the roof about three thousand men and women, who saw while Samson made sport.
Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and upon the roof there were about three thousand men and women, who looked on while Samson made sport.
And the house hath been full of men and of women, and thither [are] all the princes of the Philistines, and on the roof [are] about three thousand men and women, who are looking on the playing of Samson.
Judges 16 28
Samson called to Yahweh, and said, Lord Yahweh, remember me, Please, and strengthen me, Please, only this once, God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
And Samson called to Jehovah, and said, Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may take one vengeance upon the Philistines for my two eyes.
And Samson calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, `Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this time, O God; and I am avenged --vengeance at once -- because of my two eyes, on the Philistines.`
Judges 16 29
Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and leaned on them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left.
And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood (and he supported himself upon them), the one with his right hand and the other with his left.
And Samson turneth aside [to] the two middle pillars, on which the house is established, and on which it is supported, [to] the one with his right hand, and one with his left;
Judges 16 30
Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were therein. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life.
And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines! And he bowed himself with might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than those whom he had slain in his life.
and Samson saith, `Let me die with the Philistines,` and he inclineth himself powerfully, and the house falleth on the princes, and on all the people who [are] in it, and the dead whom he hath put to death in his death are more than those whom he put to death in his life.
Judges 16 31
Then his brothers 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 burying-place of Manoah his father. He judged Israel twenty years.
And his brethren came down, and all the house of his father, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zoreah and Eshtaol in the sepulchre of Manoah his father. And he had judged Israel twenty years.
And his brethren come down, and all the house of his father, and lift him up, and bring him up, and bury him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the burying-place of Manoah his father; and he hath judged Israel twenty years.


Study Questions...



How did Samson kill a thousand men? 15:15-17


What was the secret of Samson's strength? 16:17