1 After some days, in the time of wheat harvest, it happened that Samson visited his wife with a young goat. And he said, Let me go in to my wife, into her room. But her father would not permit him to go in.2 Her father said, I thought in my heart that you hated her like an enemy; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please, take her instead.3 And Samson said to them, This time I shall be blameless regarding the Philistines when I am doing evil to them!4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes; and he took torches, turned tail to tail, and put a torch between the two tails.5 When he had set the torches on fire, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.6 Then the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion. So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.7 And Samson said to them, Since you did a thing like this, I shall avenge myself on you, and after that I will cease.8 And he struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; and he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of Etam.9 And the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and were spread out at Lehi.10 And the men of Judah said, Why have you come up against us? So they answered, We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? What is this you have done to us? And he said to them, As they did to me, so I have done to them.12 But they said to him, We have come down to bind you, to deliver you into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.13 And they spoke to him, saying, No, but we will tie to bind you and deliver you into their hand; but we will not put you to death. And they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. And the Spirit of Jehovah rushed upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds melted from his hands.15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck a thousand men with it.16 Then Samson said: With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men!17 And so it was, when he had finished speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand, and called that place Ramath Lehi.18 And he became very thirsty; so he cried out to Jehovah and said, You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?19 And God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out, and he drank; and his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he called its name En Hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.20 And he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

1 `Forsothe aftir sum del of tyme, whanne the daies of wheete heruest neiyiden, Sampson cam, and wolde visite his wijf, and he brouyte to hir a `kide of geet; and when he wolde entre in to hir bed bi custom, `the fadir of hir forbeed hym, and seide,2 Y gesside that thou haddist hatid hir, and therfor Y yaf hir to thi freend; but sche hath a sistir, which is yongere and fairere than sche, be sche `wijf to thee for hir.3 To whom Sampson answeride, Fro this day no blame schal be in me ayens Filistees, for Y schal do yuels to you.4 And he yede, and took thre hundrid foxis, and ioynede `the tailis of hem to tailis, and boond brondis in the myddis,5 whiche he kyndlid with fier, and leet hem, that thei schulden renne aboute hidur and thidur; `which yeden anoon in to the cornes of Filisteis, bi whiche kyndlid, bothe cornes `borun now to gidere, and yit stondynge in the stobil, weren brent, in so myche that the flawme wastide vyneris, and `places of olyue trees.6 And Filisteis seiden, Who dide this thing? To whiche it was seid, Sampson, hosebonde of the `douytir of Thannathei, for he took awey Sampsones wijf, and yaf to another man, `wrouyte this thing. And Filisteis stieden, and brenten bothe the womman and hir fadir.7 To whiche Sampson seide, Thouy ye han do this, netheles yit Y schal axe veniaunce of you, and than Y schal reste.8 And he smoot hem with greet wounde, so that thei wondriden, and `puttiden the hyndrere part of the hipe on the thiy; and he yede doun, and dwellide in the denne of the stoon of Ethan.9 Therfor Filisteis stieden in to the lond of Juda, and settiden tentis in the place, that was clepid aftirward Lethi, that is, a cheke, wher `the oost of hem was spred a brood.10 And men of the lynage of Juda seiden to hem, Whi `stieden ye ayens vs? Whiche answeriden, We comen that we bynde Sampson, and yelde to hym tho thingis whiche he wrouyte in vs.11 Therfor thre thousynde of men of Juda yeden doun to the denne of the flynt of Ethan; and thei seiden to Sampson, Woost thou not, that Filisteis comaunden to vs? Why woldist thou do this thing? To whiche he seide.12 As thei diden to me, Y dide to hem. Thei seien, We comen to bynde thee, and to bitake thee in to the `hondis of Filisteis. To whiche Sampson answeride, Swere ye, and `biheete ye to me, that ye sle not me.13 And thei seiden, We schulen not sle thee, but we schulen bitake thee boundun. And thei bounden him with twei newe cordis, and token fro the stoon of Ethan.14 And whanne thei hadden come to the place of cheke, and Filisteis criynge hadden runne to hym, the spirit of the Lord felde in to hym, and as stikis ben wont to be wastid at the odour of fier, so and the bondis, with whiche he was boundun, weren scaterid and vnboundun.15 And he took a cheke foundun, that is, the lowere cheke boon of an asse, that lay, `and he killyde `with it a thousinde men; and seide,16 With the cheke of an asse, that is, with the lowere cheke of a colt of femal assis, Y dide hem awey, and Y killide a thousynde men.17 And whanne he songe these wordis, and `hadde fillid, he castide forth fro the hond the lowere cheke; and he clepide the name of that place Ramath Lethi, `which is interpretid, the reisyng of a cheke.18 And he thristide greetly, and criede to the Lord, and seide, Thou hast youe in the hond of thi seruaunt this grettest helthe and victory; and lo! Y die for thyrst, and Y schal falle in to the hondis of vncircumcidid men.19 Therfor the Lord openyde a wang tooth in the cheke boon of the asse, and watris yeden out therof, `bi whiche drunkun he refreischide the spirit, and resseuede strengthis; therfor the name of that place was clepid the Welle of the clepere of the cheke `til to present dai.20 And he demyde Israel in the daies of Filistiym twenti yeer.