Study Desk

It fortuned after certaine daies aboute the wheate haruest tyme, yt Samson visited his wife wt a kydd. And wha he thoughte, I wyl go to my wife in to the chamber, hir father wolde not let him in,

and sayde: I thoughte thou wast displeased at her, and I gaue her vnto thy frende. But she hath a yonger sister which is more beutyfull then she, let ye same be thine for her.

The sayde Samson vnto the: I haue once gotte a righte occasion agaynst the Philistynes, I wyl do you displeasure.

And Samson wete and catched thre hundreth foxes, and toke fyre brandes, and festened one tayle to another, and put euer a fyre brande betwene two tayles,

and kynled the same with fyre, and let them go amonge the Philistynes corne, and thus he brent ye stoukes and the stondinge corne, and ye vynyardes, and the olyue trees.

Then sayde the Philistynes: Who hath done this? And they sayde: Samson the husbande of the Thimnites doughter, because he toke awaye his wife from him, and gaue hir vnto his frende. Then wente the Philistynes vp, and brent her and hir father also with fyre.

But Samson sayde vnto them: I can suffre you to do this, neuertheles I wyl be aueged vpon you my selfe, and then wyl I leaue of.

And he smote them sore both vpo the shulders & loynes: and wete downe, & dwelt in the stone clyffe at Eram.

Then wente the Philistynes vp, and layed sege vnto Iuda, & pitched at Lechi.

But they of Iuda sayde: Wherfore are ye come vp against vs? They answered: we are come vp to bynde Samson, yt we maye do vnto him, as he hath done vnto vs.

Then wete there thre M. men of Iuda downe to the stone clyffe of Etam, & sayde vnto Samson: Knowest thou not that the Philistynes raigne ouer vs? Wherfore hast thou done this then vnto vs? He sayde: As they dyd vnto me, so haue I done vnto the agayne.

They sayde vnto him: We are come downe to bynde the, & to delyuer ye into the hade of the Philistynes. Samson sayde vnto the: Then sweare & promyse me, yt ye wyll not slaye me.

They answered him: We wyll not kyll the, we wil but bynde the, & delyuer the in to their hande, & wyl not slaye ye. And they bounde him with two new coardes & caried him from the stone.

And whan he came vnto Lechi, the Philistynes shouted, and rane vnto him. But ye sprete of ye LORDE came vpon him, & the coardes aboute his armes were like thredes burnt in the fyre, so yt the bondes were lowsed from his hondes.

And he founde the cheke bone of a deed asse: then put he forth his hande, and toke it, & slewe a thousande men therwith:

And Samson sayde: With an olde asses cheke bone, yee eue with the cheke bone of an asse haue I slayne a thousande men.

And whan he had sayde yt, he cast ye cheke bone out of his hande, & called the place Ramath Lechi.

But wha he was sore a thyrst, he called vpo the LORDE, & saide: Soch greate health hast thou geue by the hade of thy seruaunt, but now must I dye a thyrst, & fall in to ye hande of ye vncircucised.

The God opened a gometothe in ye chekebone, so yt water wete out: & whan he dranke, his sprete came agayne, & he was refreßshed. Therfore vnto this daye it is yet called ye well of ye cheke bone of him yt made intercession.

And he iudged Israel in the tyme of the Philistynes twetye yeare.