It came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
Parallel translations
- KJV And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
- BSB Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
- NKJV Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
- NASB After this it came about that he was in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
- NLT Some time later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the valley of Sorek.
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
Afterward Samson falls in love with a woman named Delilah in the Valley of Sorek. This attachment will lead to his destruction.
Overview
Delilah's location near Philistine territory again entangles Samson with Israel's enemies. Unlike earlier women, she is named and central, signaling her decisive role. The narrative quietly warns that misplaced love and unguarded desire can become the snare that brings down even the strongest, setting the stage for his betrayal.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Prov 22:14The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit. He who is under Yahweh’s wrath will fall into it.
- Prov 23:27For a prostitute is a deep pit; and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
- 1 Cor 10:6Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
- 1 Kgs 11:1Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites;
- Prov 27:22Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.
- Neh 13:26Didn’t Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations was there no king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless foreign women caused even him to sin.
- Prov 26:11As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.
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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 16:4 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.