The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, “Entice him, and see in which his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
- KJV And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
- NKJV And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
- NASB So the governors of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and how we can overpower him so that we may bind him to humble him. Then we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”
- NLT The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice Samson to tell you what makes him so strong and how he can be overpowered and tied up securely. Then each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”
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
The Philistine lords offer Delilah a large bribe to discover the secret of Samson's strength so they can subdue him. Greed and treachery are set against Samson.
Overview
Each of the five Philistine rulers promises eleven hundred pieces of silver, a vast sum revealing how much they fear Samson. Delilah's willingness to betray the man for money exposes her character. The verse frames the coming contest as a struggle to uncover the source of Samson's power, which is ultimately his consecration to God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Judg 14:15So on the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?”
- Josh 13:3from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites;
- 1 Tim 6:9–10Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
- 1 Cor 6:15–18Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!
- Mic 7:3Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
- Judg 17:2said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have the silver here with me; I took it.” Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!”
- Prov 6:24–26to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
- Matt 26:15and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.
- Prov 2:16–19It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words
- Num 22:17–18for I will honor you richly and do whatever you say. So please come and put a curse on this people for me!’”
- Prov 5:3–11Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
- Judg 3:3the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.
- Prov 7:21–27With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him.
- Gen 33:16So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir,
- 1 Sam 29:6So Achish summoned David and told him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been upright in my sight, and it seems right that you should march in and out with me in the army, because I have found no fault in you from the day you came to me until this day. But you have no favor in the sight of the leaders.
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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 16:5 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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