Judges 13

1 Again the Israeli people did things that Yahweh said were very evil. So Yahweh enabled the people of Philistia to conquer them. They ruled over the Israelis for 40 years.

The Israelites continued to do what was evil in the Lord's sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines to rule them for forty years.

2 There was a man named Manoah from the descendants of Dan who lived in Zorah [town]. His wife was unable to become pregnant, so they had no children.

At that time there was a man named Manoah. He was from the tribe of Dan and lived in the town of Zorah. His wife couldn't conceive and had no children.

3 One day, Yahweh appeared to Manoah’s wife in the form of an angel, and said to her, “Even though you have not been able to give birth to any children until now, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son.

The Angel of the Lord appeared to her and told her, “It's true that you couldn't conceive, and have no children, but now you're going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.

4 [From now until he is born], you must not drink any wine or other alcoholic/fermented drink, and you must not eat any food that will make you unacceptable to God.

So then please be careful not to drink any wine or other alcoholic drink, and don't eat anything unclean.

5 After you give birth to your son, you must never allow his hair to be cut. He must be dedicated to God from the day he is born until the day he dies. He is the one who will rescue [many of] the Israeli people from the people of Philistia.”

You're going to become pregnant and have a son whose head a razor must never touch, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from birth. He will start the process of saving Israel from the Philistines.”

6 The woman ran and told her husband, “A prophet came to me. He looked awesome, like an angel from God. I did not ask where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

The woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the Angel of God, really frightening. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't did not tell me his name.

7 But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. Until then, you must not drink any wine or any alcoholic/fermented drink, and you must not eat any food that would make you unacceptable to God. Your son must be dedicated to God from the day he is born until the day he dies.’”

But he told me, ‘You're going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, and don't eat anything unclean. For the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from birth until the day of his death.’”

8 Then Manoah prayed to Yahweh, saying, “O Yahweh, I plead with you, allow that prophet whom you sent to us to come again, and teach us how we should raise the boy who will be born to us.”

Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, “Please, Lord, let the man of God you sent us return to us to explain what we're supposed to do with the boy who is to be born.”

9 God did what Manoah asked, and Yahweh again appeared to his wife in the form of an angel, while she was out in the field. But again her husband Manoah was not with her.

God responded to Manoah's request, and the Angel of God returned to the woman while she was sitting out in the field. However, her husband Manoah was not with her.

10 So she quickly ran and said to her husband, “The man who appeared to me a few days ago has come back again!”

So she ran quickly to tell her husband, “Look! The man who appeared to me the other day has come back!”

11 Manoah ran back with his wife, and asked, “Are you the man who talked with my wife a few days ago?” He replied, “Yes, I am.”

Manoah got up and went back with his wife, and asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife before?” “Yes I am,” he replied.

12 Manoah asked him, “When what you promised occurs [and my wife gives birth to a son], what rules must he obey, and what work will he do [when he grows up]?”

So Manoah said, “May your promise come true! What shall be decided for the boy, and what is to be his vocation?”

13 Yahweh replied, “Your wife must obey all the instructions I gave her.

“Make sure your wife is careful to follow everything I told her,” the angel of the Lord replied.

14 [Before the baby is born], she must not eat grapes, or drink wine or any other alcoholic/fermented drink, or eat anything that would make her unacceptable to God.”

“She must not eat anything that comes from the vine or drink wine or any other alcoholic drink. She must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must follow everything I instructed her to do.”

15 Then Manoah said, “Please stay here until we can kill and cook a young goat for you.”

Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us keep you here while we prepare a meal of a young goat for you.”

16 Yahweh replied, “I will stay here, but I will not eat anything. However, you may kill an animal and sacrifice it as a burned offering to Yahweh.” (Manoah did not realize that the [man he thought was an] angel was really Yahweh.)

The angel of the Lord replied, “I'll stay, but I won't eat your food. However, if you prepare a burnt offering, you can present it to the Lord.” (Manoah didn't know he was the angel of the Lord.)

17 Then Manoah asked him, “What is your name? When what you have promised happens, we want to honor you.”

Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so when your promise comes true we may honor you?”

18 Yahweh replied, “(Why do you ask me my name?/You should not ask me my name.) [RHQ] It is (wonderful/it cannot be understood).”

“Why do you ask this?” the angel of the Lord responded. “My name is beyond comprehension.”

19 Then Manoah killed a young goat and burned it on a rock, along with a grain offering, as a sacrifice to Yahweh. And Yahweh did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched.

Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and presented them on a rock to the Lord. As Manoah and his wife watched, the LORD did something amazing.

20 Flames from the altar blazed up toward the sky, and Yahweh ascended in the flames. When Manoah and his wife saw that, they prostrated themselves on the ground.

As the flame from the altar blazed up into the sky, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Manoah and his wife saw what happened and fell with their faces to the ground.

21 Although Yahweh did not appear in the form of an angel to Manoah and his wife again, Manoah realized that the [man they thought was an] angel was really Yahweh.

The angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah or his wife again, and Manoah realized that he was the angel of the Lord.

22 So he said, “Now we will die, because we have seen God!”

“We're definitely going to die,” he told his wife, “for we have seen God!”

23 But his wife said, “No, we will not die, because if Yahweh intended to kill us, he would not have accepted the burned offering and the grain offering. And he would not have appeared to us and told us the wonderful thing that would happen to us, and he would not have performed this miracle.”

But his wife replied, “If the Lord had wanted to kill us he wouldn't have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He wouldn't have shown us all these things, and he wouldn't have come now and announced this to us.”

24 When their son was born, they named him Samson. Yahweh blessed him as he grew up.

She gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew up, and the Lord blessed him.

25 And while he was in Mahaneh-Dan, which is between Zorah and Eshtaol [towns], Yahweh’s Spirit began to control him.

The Spirit of the Lord began to prompt him at Mahaneh Dan, a place between Zorah and Eshtaol.