Shoftim - Chapter 13

1. And the children of Israel continued to do that which displeased the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

2. And there was one man from Zorah, from the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and had not borne.

3. And an angel of the Lord appeared to the woman, and said to her, "Behold now, you are barren, and have not borne; and you shall conceive and bear a son.

4. Consequently, beware now, and do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing.

5. Because you shall conceive, and bear a son; and a razor shall not come upon his head, for a Nazirite to God shall the lad be from the womb; and he will begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines."

6. And the woman came and said to her husband, saying, "A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of an angel of God, very awesome; and I did not ask him from where he was and his name he did not tell me.

7. And he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son; and now do not drink wine and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean (thing), for a Nazirite to God shall the lad be, from the womb until the day of his death.' "

8. And Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, "Please, O Lord, the man of God whom You sent, let him come now again to us, and teach us what we shall do to the lad that will be born."

9. And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman, and she was sitting in the field, and Manoah her husband was not with her.

10. And the woman hurried and ran, and told to her husband; and she said to him, "Behold, there has appeared to me the man that came to me on that day."

11. And Manoah arose and went after his wife; and he came to the man, and said to him, "Are you the man that spoke to the woman?" And he said, "I am."

12. And Manoah said, "Now your words will come forth; what shall be the rule for the lad, and his doing?"

13. And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman shall she beware.

14. From all that comes out of the grapevine she shall not eat, and wine or strong drink she may not drink, and any unclean (thing) she may not eat; all that I commanded her, shall she observe."

15. And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "Let us take you in now, and prepare for you a kid goat."

16. And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "If you take me in I will not eat of your bread, and if you will make a burnt-offering, you must offer it to the Lord;" For Manoah did not know that he was an angel of the Lord.

17. And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "What is your name, that when your word will come we may do you honor."

18. And the angel of the Lord said to him, "Why do you presently ask for my name; since it is hidden."

19. And Manoah took the kid goat and the meal-offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord; and (the angel) did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on.

20. And it was, when the flame went up from upon the altar toward heaven, and the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on, and they fell on their faces to the ground.

21. And the angel of the Lord did not continue to appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the Lord.

22. And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God."

23. But his wife said to him, "If the Lord wanted to kill us, He would not have received from our hand a burnt-offering and a meal-offering, and He would not have shown us all these things; and at this time He would not let us hear (such things) as these."

24. And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the lad grew, and the Lord blessed him.

25. And the spirit of the Lord began to come to him at times in the camp of Dan; between Zorah and Eshtaol.