Iudicum 15
1 Post aliquantulum autem temporis, cum dies triticeæ messis instarent, venit Samson, invisere volens uxorem suam, et attulit ei hœdum de capris. Cumque cubiculum eius solito vellet intrare, prohibuit eum pater illius, dicens:
Now a short time after, at the time of the grain-cutting, Samson, taking with him a young goat, went to see his wife; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the bride's room. But her father would not let him go in.
2 Putavi quod odisses eam, et ideo tradidi illam amico tuo: sed habet sororem, quæ iunior et pulchrior illa est, sit tibi pro ea uxor.
And her father said, It seemed to me that you had only hate for her; so I gave her to your friend: but is not her younger sister fairer than she? so please take her in place of the other.
3 Cui Samson respondit: Ab hac die non erit culpa in me contra Philisthæos: faciam enim vobis mala.
Then Samson said to them, This time I will give payment in full to the Philistines, for I am going to do them great evil.
4 Perrexitque et cepit trecentas vulpes, caudasque earum iunxit ad caudas, et faces ligavit in medio:
So Samson went and got three hundred foxes and some sticks of fire-wood; and he put the foxes tail to tail with a stick between every two tails;
5 quas igne succendens, dimisit, ut huc illucque discurrerent. Quæ statim perrexerunt in segetes Philisthinorum. Quibus succensis, et comportatæ iam fruges, et adhuc stantes in stipula, concrematæ sunt, in tantum, ut vineas quoque et oliveta flamma consumeret.
Then firing the sticks, he let the foxes loose among the uncut grain of the Philistines, and all the corded stems as well as the living grain and the vine-gardens and the olives went up in flames.
6 Dixeruntque Philisthiim: Quis fecit hanc rem? Quibus dictum est: Samson gener Thamnathæi: quia tulit uxorem eius, et alteri tradidit, hæc operatus est. Ascenderuntque Philisthiim: et combusserunt tam mulierem quam patrem eius.
Then the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they said, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his friend. So the Philistines came up and had her and her father's house burned.
7 Quibus ait Samson: Licet hæc feceritis, tamen adhuc ex vobis expetam ultionem, et tunc quiescam.
And Samson said to them, If you go on like this, truly I will take my full payment from you; and that will be the end of it.
8 Percussitque eos ingenti plaga, ita ut stupentes suram femori imponerent. Et descendens habitavit in spelunca petræ Etam.
And he made an attack on them, driving them in uncontrolled flight, and causing great destruction; then he went away to his safe place in the crack of the rock at Etam.
9 Igitur ascendentes Philisthiim in Terram Iuda castrametati sunt in loco, qui postea vocatus est Lechi, id est, Maxilla, ubi eorum effusus est exercitus.
Then the Philistines went and put up their tents in Judah, all round Lehi.
10 Dixeruntque ad eos de tribu Iuda: Cur ascendistis adversum nos? Qui responderunt: Ut ligemus Samson, venimus, et reddamus ei quæ in nos operatus est.
And the men of Judah said, Why have you come up against us? And they said, We have come up to take Samson, and to do to him as he has done to us.
11 Descenderunt ergo tria millia virorum de Iuda, ad specum silicis Etam, dixeruntque ad Samson: Nescis quod Philisthiim imperent nobis? Quare hoc facere voluisti? Quibus ille ait: Sicut fecerunt mihi, sic feci eis.
Then three thousand of the men of Judah went down to the crack of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, Is it not clear to you that the Philistines are our rulers? What is this you have done to us? And he said to them, I only did to them as they did to me.
12 Ligare, inquiunt, te venimus, et tradere in manus Philisthinorum. Quibus Samson, Iurate, ait, et spondete mihi quod non occidatis me.
Then they said to him, We have come down to take you and give you up into the hands of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Give me your oath that you will not make an attack on me yourselves.
13 Dixerunt: Non te occidemus, sed vinctum trademus. Ligaveruntque eum duobus novis funibus, et tulerunt eum de petra Etam.
And they said, No; we will take you and give you up into their hands, but truly we will not put you to death. So knotting two new cords round him they took him up from the rock.
14 Qui cum venisset ad locum Maxillæ, et Philisthiim vociferantes occurrissent ei, irruit Spiritus Domini in eum: et sicut solent ad odorem ignis lina consumi, ita vincula quibus ligatus erat, dissipata sunt et soluta.
And when he came to Lehi, the Philistines came out, meeting him with loud cries; then the spirit of the Lord came rushing on him, and the cords on his arms became like grass which has been burned with fire, and the bands came falling off his hands.
15 Inventamque maxillam, id est, mandibulam asini, quæ iacebat, arripiens, interfecit in ea mille viros,
And taking up the mouth-bone of an ass newly dead, which he saw by chance on the earth, he put to death a thousand men with it.
16 et ait: In maxilla asini, in mandibula pulli asinarum delevi eos, et percussi mille viros.
And Samson said, With a red ass's mouth-bone I have made them red with blood, with a red ass's mouth-bone I have sent destruction on a thousand men.
17 Cumque hæc verba canens complesset, proiecit mandibulam de manu, et vocavit nomen loci illius Ramathlechi, quod interpretatur Elevatio Maxillæ.
And having said these words, he let the mouth-bone go out of his hand; so that place was named Ramath-lehi.
18 Sitiensque valde, clamavit ad Dominum, et ait: Tu dedisti in manu servi tui salutem hanc maximam atque victoriam: en siti morior, incidamque in manus incircumcisorum.
After this, he was in great need of water, and crying out to the Lord, he said, You have given this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and now need of water will be my death; and I will be given into the hands of this people who are without circumcision.
19 Aperuit itaque Dominus molarem dentem in maxilla asini, et egressæ sunt ex eo aquæ. Quibus haustis, refocillavit spiritum, et vires recepit. Idcirco appellatum est nomen loci illius, Fons invocantis de maxilla, usque in præsentem diem.
Then God made a crack in the hollow rock in Lehi and water came out of it; and after drinking, his spirit came back to him and he was strong again; so that place was named En-hakkore; it is in Lehi to this day.
20 Iudicavitque Israel in diebus Philisthiim viginti annis.
And he was judge of Israel in the days of the Philistines for twenty years.
