Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become as weak as any other man.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.”
- KJV And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
- NKJV And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
- NASB And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh animal tendons that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man.”
- NLT Samson replied, “If I were tied up with seven new bowstrings that have not yet been dried, I would become as weak as anyone else.”
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
Samson lies, saying seven fresh bowstrings would make him weak. He begins deceiving Delilah rather than fleeing temptation.
Overview
Samson treats the question of his strength as a game, not yet revealing the truth about his Nazirite consecration. His first false answer shows he senses the danger but refuses to break off the relationship. This toying with a deadly secret reveals a man presuming on God's gift while courting the very people seeking his life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Col 3:9Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices,
- Prov 12:19Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
- Gal 6:7Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
- Prov 17:7Eloquent words are unfit for a fool; how much worse are lying lips to a ruler!
- Rom 3:8Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved!
- Judg 16:10Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me! Now please tell me how you can be tied up.”
- 1 Sam 27:10who would ask him, “What have you raided today?” And David would reply, “The Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.”
- 1 Sam 21:2–3“The king has given me a mission,” David replied. “He told me no one is to know about the mission or charge. And I have directed my young men to meet me at a certain place.
- 1 Sam 19:17And Saul said to Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this? You sent my enemy away and he has escaped!” Michal replied, “He said to me, ‘Help me get away, or I will kill you!’”
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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 16:7 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.