« | Judges 15 | » |
1 Later on, during the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat as a present to his wife. He said, "I'm going into my wife's room to sleep with her," but her father wouldn't let him in.
2 "I truly thought you must hate her," her father explained, "so I gave her in marriage to your best man. But look, her younger sister is even more beautiful than she is. Marry her instead."
3 Samson said, "This time I cannot be blamed for everything I am going to do to you Philistines."
4 Then he went out and caught 300 foxes. He tied their tails together in pairs, and he fastened a torch to each pair of tails.
5 Then he lit the torches and let the foxes run through the grain fields of the Philistines. He burned all their grain to the ground, including the sheaves and the uncut grain. He also destroyed their vineyards and olive groves.
6 "Who did this?" the Philistines demanded."Samson," was the reply, "because his father-in-law from Timnah gave Samson's wife to be married to his best man." So the Philistines went and got the woman and her father and burned them to death.
7 "Because you did this," Samson vowed, "I won't rest until I take my revenge on you!"
8 So he attacked the Philistines with great fury and killed many of them. Then he went to live in a cave in the rock of Etam.
9 The Philistines retaliated by setting up camp in Judah and spreading out near the town of Lehi.
10 The men of Judah asked the Philistines, "Why are you attacking us?" The Philistines replied, "We've come to capture Samson. We've come to pay him back for what he did to us."
11 So 3,000 men of Judah went down to get Samson at the cave in the rock of Etam. They said to Samson, "Don't you realize the Philistines rule over us? What are you doing to us?" But Samson replied, "I only did to them what they did to me."
12 But the men of Judah told him, "We have come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines." "All right," Samson said. "But promise that you won't kill me yourselves."
13 "We will only tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines," they replied. "We won't kill you." So they tied him up with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
14 As Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines came shouting in triumph. But the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon Samson, and he snapped the ropes on his arms as if they were burnt strands of flax, and they fell from his wrists.
15 Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it.
16 Then Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, I've piled them in heaps! With the jawbone of a donkey, I've killed a thousand men!"
17 When he finished his boasting, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was named Jawbone Hill.
18 Samson was now very thirsty, and he cried out to the LORD, "You have accomplished this great victory by the strength of your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of these pagans?"
19 So God caused water to gush out of a hollow in the ground at Lehi, and Samson was revived as he drank. Then he named that place "The Spring of the One Who Cried Out," and it is still in Lehi to this day.
20 Samson judged Israel for twenty years during the period when the Philistines dominated the land.
The New Living Translation (NLT)
The New Living Translation (NLT) is a modern English translation of the Bible that aims to make the Scriptures accessible and engaging for contemporary readers. First published in 1996 by Tyndale House Publishers, the NLT was conceived as an effort to create a translation that combines both accuracy and readability. Unlike many other translations that focus on a word-for-word rendering of the original texts, the NLT employs a thought-for-thought translation philosophy, also known as dynamic equivalence. This approach prioritizes conveying the meaning and message of the original texts in a way that is natural and understandable in modern English.
One of the defining features of the NLT is its commitment to clarity and simplicity. The translators, a team of over 90 evangelical scholars, aimed to create a text that would be approachable for a wide audience, including those who may find traditional translations challenging to read. The NLT’s language is contemporary and conversational, making it particularly effective for public reading, teaching, and personal study. This emphasis on readability helps ensure that the profound messages of the Bible are easily grasped and retained by readers from various backgrounds and levels of biblical knowledge.
The NLT also incorporates a rich array of study aids designed to enhance the reader’s understanding of the biblical text. These include book introductions, footnotes, cross-references, and explanatory notes that provide historical, cultural, and theological context. These features are particularly useful for readers who seek a deeper comprehension of the Scriptures and their application to modern life. The translation also includes clear and concise headings that help guide readers through the narrative and thematic structure of each book, making it easier to follow and comprehend the overall message.
Despite its many strengths, the New Living Translation has faced some criticism, particularly from those who favor more literal translations. Critics argue that the dynamic equivalence approach, while making the text more readable, can sometimes result in a loss of the precise nuances and literary qualities of the original languages. Some scholars believe that certain theological concepts might be oversimplified in the process of making the text more accessible. Nevertheless, the NLT remains one of the most popular and widely used translations today, valued for its readability, clarity, and ability to convey the timeless truths of the Bible in a way that resonates with contemporary readers.