(KJV) Judges 13¹

⥃The Birth of Samson ^{[ Numbers 6:1–21 ]}

[1] And the children of Israel did² evil again in the sight³ of the Lord; and the Lord delivered⁴ them into the⁵ hand of the Philistines forty years.

[2] [¶]And there was a certain man of Zorah⁶, of the family of the Danites, whose name [was] Manoah; and his wife [was] barren⁷, and bare not. [3] And the angel⁸ of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou [art] barren, and bearest not: but thou⁹ shalt conceive, and bear a son. [4] Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not¹⁰ wine nor strong drink, and eat not¹¹ any unclean [thing]: [5] For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor¹² shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin¹³ to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

[6] [¶]Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man¹⁴ of God came unto me, and his countenance [was¹⁵] like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible¹⁶: but I asked¹⁷ him not whence he [was], neither told he me his name¹⁸:¹⁹ [7] But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean [thing]: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

[8] Then Manoah intreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us²⁰ what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. [9] And God hearkened²¹ to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband [was] not with her. [10] And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold²², the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the [other] day²³. [11] And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, [Art] thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I [am]. [12] And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child²⁴, and [how] shall we do unto him²⁵? [13] And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. [14] She may not eat of any [thing] that cometh of the vine, neither²⁶ let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean [thing]: all that I²⁷ commanded her let her observe.

[15] And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, I pray thee, let us²⁸ detain thee, until²⁹ we shall have made ready a kid for thee³⁰. [16] And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not³¹ eat of thy bread: and if³² thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. For Manoah knew not that he [was] an angel of the Lord. [17] And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, What [is] thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? [18] And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest³³ thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret³⁴? [19] So Manoah took³⁵ a kid with a meat offering, and offered [it] upon a rock unto the Lord: and [the angel] did wondrously³⁶; and Manoah and his wife looked on. [20] For it came to pass, when the flame³⁷ went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on [it], and fell on³⁸ their faces to the ground. [21] But the angel of the Lord did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew³⁹ that he [was] an angel of the Lord. [22] And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall⁴⁰ surely die, because we have⁴¹ seen God. [23] But his wife⁴² said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not⁴³ have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed⁴⁴ us all these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such things] as these.

[24] And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson⁴⁵: and the child⁴⁶ grew, and the Lord blessed him.⁴⁷ [25] And the Spirit⁴⁸ of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan⁴⁹ between⁵⁰ Zorah and Eshtaol.