Judges 16:17-28

¹⁷Then he opened the truth of the thing, and said to her, Iron came never yet upon mine head, for I am a Nazarite, that is, hallowed to the Lord, from my mother’s womb; if mine head be shaven, my strength shall go away from me, and I shall fail, and I shall be as other men.

¹⁸And she saw that he had acknowledged to her all his will, either heart; and she sent to the princes of Philistines, and commanded, Go ye up yet once more, for now he hath opened his heart to me. The which went up, the money taken with them that they promised.

¹⁹And she made him sleep upon her knees, and to lay his head in her bosom; and she called a barber, and he shaved seven gobbets of hairs of him; and she began to shove him away, and to put him from her; for anon the strength went away from him.

²⁰And she said, Samson, the Philistines be upon thee! And he rose from sleep, and said in his soul, I shall go out, as I did before, and I shall shake me from these bonds; and he knew not, that the Lord had gone away from him.

²¹And when the Philistines had taken him, anon they put out his eyes, and led him bound with chains to Gaza, and they enclosed him in prison, and made him to grind.

²²And then his hairs began to grow again;

²³and the princes of Philistines came together to offer great sacrifices to Dagon, their god, and they made feasts and ate, saying, Our god hath betaken Samson, our enemy, into our hands.

²⁴And the people seeing also this thing praised their god, and said the same things, Our god hath betaken our adversary into our hands, which did away our land, and killed full many men.

²⁵And they were gladdened by making of feasts, and then when they had eaten, they commanded that Samson should be called, and play before them; the which was led out of prison, and played before them; and they made him stand betwixt two pillars.

²⁶And Samson said to the boy that governed his steps, Suffer thou me, that I touch the pillars on which all the house standeth, that I be bowed upon those or them, and rest a little.

²⁷And the house was full of men and of women, and the princes of the Philistines were there, and about three thousand of men and of women, beholding from the roof, and from the solar, Samson playing.

²⁸And he called inwardly the Lord, and said, My Lord God, have mind on me, and my God, yield thou now to me the former strength, that I avenge me of mine enemies, and that I take one vengeance for the loss of my two eyes.