When Samson arrived in Lehi, the Philistines came out shouting against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him. The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and the bonds broke loose from his hands.
Parallel translations
- WEB When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. Then Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burned with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands.
- NASB When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him so that the ropes that were on his arms were like flax that has burned with fire, and his restraints dropped from his hands.
- NLT 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
As the Philistines shout in triumph, the Spirit of Yahweh rushes on Samson and the ropes melt away like burned flax. God turns capture into deliverance.
Overview
The decisive phrase is that Yahweh's Spirit came mightily upon him; Samson's strength is divine empowerment, not mere natural ability. The strong new ropes prove no obstacle to God's purpose. The Spirit's sudden enabling for deliverance points forward to the work of the Spirit who empowers God's servants for His mission.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Judg 14:19Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle. And burning with anger, Samson returned to his father’s house,
- Ps 118:11They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
- 1 Sam 11:6When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he burned with great anger.
- Judg 14:6and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.
- Judg 3:10The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.
- 1 Sam 17:35I went after it, struck it down, and delivered the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it.
- Job 20:5the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
- Mic 7:8Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
- Zech 4:6So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
- 1 Sam 4:5When the ark of the covenant of the LORD entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a great shout that it shook the ground.
- Judg 5:30‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil—a girl or two for each warrior, a plunder of dyed garments for Sisera, the spoil of embroidered garments for the neck of the looter?’
- Judg 16:9While the men were hidden in her room, she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he snapped the bowstrings like a strand of yarn seared by a flame. So the source of his strength remained unknown.
- Phil 4:3Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have labored with me for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
- Judg 16:24And when the people saw him, they praised their god, saying: “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy who destroyed our land and multiplied our dead.”
- Exod 14:5When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.”
- Exod 14:3For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in.’
- Judg 16:12So Delilah took new ropes, tied him up with them, and called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But while the men were hidden in her room, he snapped the ropes off his arms like they were threads.
- Ps 18:34He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 15:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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