13

參孫

1以色列人又行耶和華眼中看為惡的事,耶和華將他們交在非利士人手中四十年。

參孫出生

2那時,有一個支派的瑣拉人,名叫瑪挪亞。他的妻子不懷孕,不生育。 3耶和華的使者向那婦人顯現,對她說:「看哪,以前你不懷孕,不生育,如今你必懷孕生一個兒子。 4現在你要謹慎,清酒烈酒都不可喝,任何不潔之物都不可吃, 5看哪,你必懷孕,生一個兒子。不可用剃刀剃他的頭,因為這孩子一出母胎就歸給上帝作拿細耳人。他必開始拯救以色列脫離非利士人的手。」 6那婦人來對丈夫說:「有一個神人到我這裏來,他的容貌如上帝使者的容貌,非常可畏。我沒有問他從哪裏來,他也沒有把他的名字告訴我。 7他對我說:『看哪,你要懷孕,生一個兒子。現在,清酒烈酒都不可喝,任何不潔之物都不可吃,因為這孩子從出母胎一直到死的那一天,要歸給上帝作拿細耳人。』」
8瑪挪亞祈求耶和華說:「主啊,求你再差遣那神人到我們這裏來,指示我們對這將要生的孩子該怎樣作。」 9上帝垂聽了瑪挪亞的聲音。那婦人坐在田間的時候,上帝的使者又到她那裏,但是她的丈夫瑪挪亞沒有同她在一起。 10婦人急忙跑去告訴丈夫,對他說:「看哪,那日到我這裏來的人又向我顯現了。」 11瑪挪亞起來,跟隨他的妻子來到那人那裏,對他說:「你就是跟這婦人說話的那個人嗎?」他說:「是我。」 12瑪挪亞說:「現在,願你的話應驗!這孩子該如何管教呢?他當做甚麼呢?」 13耶和華的使者對瑪挪亞說:「我告訴這婦人的一切事,她都要遵守。 14葡萄樹所結的不可吃,清酒烈酒都不可喝,任何不潔之物也不可吃。凡我所吩咐的,她都當遵守。」
15瑪挪亞對耶和華的使者說:「請容許我們留你下來,好為你預備一隻小山羊。」 16耶和華的使者對瑪挪亞說:「你雖然留我,我卻不吃你的食物。你若預備燔祭,就當獻給耶和華。」因瑪挪亞不知道他是耶和華的使者。 17瑪挪亞對耶和華的使者說:「請問大名?好讓我們在你的話應驗的時候尊敬你。」 18耶和華的使者對他說:「你何必問我的名字呢?我的名字是奇妙的。」 19瑪挪亞取一隻小山羊和素祭,在磐石上獻給耶和華。他行奇妙的事,瑪挪亞和他的妻子觀看, 20火焰從壇上往上升,耶和華的使者也在壇上的火焰中升上去了。瑪挪亞和他的妻子看見,就臉伏於地。
21耶和華的使者不再向瑪挪亞和他的妻子顯現了。那時,瑪挪亞才知道他是耶和華的使者。 22瑪挪亞對他的妻子說:「我們一定會死,因為我們看見了上帝。」 23他的妻子卻對他說:「耶和華若有意要我們死,就不會從我們手中接受燔祭和素祭,不會將這一切事指示我們,這時也不會讓我們聽到這話。」 24後來婦人生了一個兒子,給他起名叫參孫。孩子漸漸長大,耶和華賜福給他。 25瑣拉以實陶之間的瑪哈尼‧但,耶和華的靈開始感動參孫

13

The Birth of Samson

1Again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
2Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. 3And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. 5For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”
6So the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. 7And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”
8Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.”
9And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!”
11So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?”
 And He said, “I am.
12Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?”
13So the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.”
15Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.”
16And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the Lord.)
17Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?”
18And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”
19So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on— 20it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. 21When the Angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the Lord.
22And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!”
23But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.”
24So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. 25And the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.