1 But it came to pass within a while after, 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 would not suffer him to go in. 2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.
3 ¶ And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. 4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. 5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.
6 ¶ Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
7 ¶ And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease. 8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
9 ¶ Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us. 11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them. 12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. 13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
14 ¶ And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. 15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. 16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. 17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi.
18 ¶ And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? 19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day. 20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Exploits contre les Philistins
V. 1-8: cf. Jg 14:20Jg 15:4.1 Quelque temps après, à l’époque de la moisson des blés, Samson alla voir sa femme, et lui porta un chevreau. Il dit: Je veux entrer vers ma femme dans sa chambre. Mais le père de sa femme ne lui permit pas d’entrer. 2 J’ai pensé dit-il, que tu avais pour elle de la haine, et je l’ai donnée à ton compagnon. Est-ce que sa jeune sœur n’est pas plus belle qu’elle? Prends-la donc à sa place. 3 Samson leur dit: Cette fois je ne serai pas coupable envers les Philistins, si je leur fais du mal. 4 Samson s’en alla. Il attrapa trois cents renards, et prit des flambeaux; puis il tourna queue contre queue, et mit un flambeau entre deux queues, au milieu. 5 Il alluma les flambeaux, lâcha les renards dans les blés des Philistins, et embrasa les tas de gerbes, le blé sur pied, et jusqu’aux plantations d’oliviers. 6 Les Philistins dirent: Qui a fait cela? On répondit: Samson, le gendre du Thimnien, parce que celui-ci lui a pris sa femme et l’a donnée à son compagnon. Et les Philistins montèrent, et ils la brûlèrent, elle et son père. 7 Samson leur dit: Est-ce ainsi que vous agissez? Je ne cesserai qu’après m’être vengé de vous. 8 Il les battit rudement, dos et ventre; puis il descendit, et se retira dans la caverne du rocher d’Étam.
V. 9-17: cf. (Jg 16:4-12; 3:31.) Ps 9:11.9 Alors les Philistins se mirent en marche, campèrent en Juda, et s’étendirent jusqu’à Léchi. 10 Les hommes de Juda dirent: Pourquoi êtes-vous montés contre nous? Ils répondirent: Nous sommes montés pour lier Samson, afin de le traiter comme il nous a traités. 11 Sur quoi trois mille hommes de Juda descendirent à la caverne du rocher d’Étam, et dirent à Samson: Ne sais-tu pas que les Philistins dominent sur nous? Que nous as-tu donc fait? Il leur répondit: Je les ai traités comme ils m’ont traité. 12 Ils lui dirent: Nous sommes descendus pour te lier, afin de te livrer entre les mains des Philistins. Samson leur dit: Jurez-moi que vous ne me tuerez pas. 13 Ils lui répondirent: Non; nous voulons seulement te lier et te livrer entre leurs mains, mais nous ne te ferons pas mourir. Et ils le lièrent avec deux cordes neuves, et le firent sortir du rocher. 14 Lorsqu’il arriva à Léchi, les Philistins poussèrent des cris à sa rencontre. Alors l’esprit de l’Éternel le saisit. Les cordes qu’il avait aux bras devinrent comme du lin brûlé par le feu, et ses liens tombèrent de ses mains. 15 Il trouva une mâchoire d’âne fraîche, il étendit sa main pour la prendre, et il en tua mille hommes. 16 Et Samson dit:
Avec une mâchoire d’âne, un monceau, deux monceaux;
Avec une mâchoire d’âne, j’ai tué mille hommes.
17 Quand il eut achevé de parler, il jeta de sa main la mâchoire. Et l’on appela ce lieu Ramath-Léchi.
V. 18-20: cf. Ex 17:3-6. Ps 94:17, Ps 18. És 41:17, És 18.18 Pressé par la soif, il invoqua l’Éternel, et dit: C’est toi qui as permis par la main de ton serviteur cette grande délivrance; et maintenant mourrais-je de soif, et tomberais-je entre les mains des incirconcis? 19 Dieu fendit la cavité du rocher qui est à Léchi, et il en sortit de l’eau. Samson but, son esprit se ranima, et il reprit vie. C’est de là qu’on a appelé cette source En-Hakkoré; elle existe encore aujourd’hui à Léchi. 20 Samson fut juge en Israël, au temps des Philistins, pendant vingt ans.
