were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man." Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withes which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber. And she said unto him, "The Philistines are upon thee, Samson." And he brake the withes, as a string of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength1 was not known.

And Delilah said unto Samson, "Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound." And he said unto her, "If they only bind me with new ropes wherewith no work hath been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man." So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, "The Philistines are upon thee, Samson." And the liers-in-wait were abiding in the inner chamber. And he brake them off from his arms like a thread.

And Delilah said unto Samson, "Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound." And he said unto her, "If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web." 2 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, "The Philistines are upon thee, Samson." And he awaked out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web.

And she said unto him, "How canst thou say, 'I love thee,' when thy heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth." And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that 1. The secret of his strength.

2. Delilah, using Samson's hair as the crosswise threads, wove it into the warp standing in the loom and then beat the whole tight with a wooden pin.

his soul was vexed unto death. And he told her all his heart, and said unto her, "There hath not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite1 unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man."

And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up this once, for he hath told me all his heart." Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought the money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, "The Philistines are upon thee, Samson," And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, "I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free." that Jehovah was departed from him. laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

But he knew not And the Philistines

And the lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon,2 their god, and to rejoice; for they said, "Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand." And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, "Our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who hath slain many of us." And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, "Call for Samson, that he may make us sport.”

1. A religious devotee (see Numbers vi) prohibited from using wine, from cutting the hair, and from touching a dead body. The vow could be taken for life or for a limited time.

2. The chief god of the Philistines.

And they called for Samson out of the prison-house; and he made sport before them. And they set him between the pillars: and Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, "Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house resteth, that I may lean upon them." Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

And Samson called unto Jehovah, and said, "O Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house rested, and leaned upon them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left. And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than they that he slew in his life. Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

LI

RUTH THE MOABITESS

(Ruth i-iv: 18)

And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the

name of his wife Naomi,1 and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah,2 and the name of the other Ruth:3 and they dwelt there about ten years. And Mahlon and Chilion died both of them; and the woman was left of her two children and of her husband.

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that Jehovah had visited his people in giving them bread. And she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah. And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house: Jehovah deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. Jehovah grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice, and wept. And they said unto her, "Nay, but we will return with thee unto thy people." And Naomi said, "Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, 'I have hope,' if I should even have a husband tonight, and should also bear sons; would ye therefore tarry till they were grown? would ye therefore stay

1. "Pleasant."

2. "Hind."

3. "Friendship."

4. Bereft.

from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes, for the hand of Jehovah is gone forth against me." And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother-inlaw; but Ruth clave unto her.

And she said, "Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her god: return thou after thy sister-in-law." And Ruth said, "Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: Jehovah do so to me,1 and more also, if aught but death part thee and me." And when she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking unto her.

So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and the women said, "Is this Naomi?" And she said unto them, "Call me not Naomi, call me Mara;2 for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and Jehovah hath brought me home again empty; why call ye me Naomi, seeing Jehovah hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?" So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,

1. Slay me; the words "do so to me," etc. form a part of the formula of an Hebrew oath.

2. "Bitter."