Study Desk

She made Samson sleep on her knees. Then she called for a man to cut off the seven parts of Samson's hair. She began to hurt Samson, and his strength left him.

She said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" He awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as I have at other times. I will shake myself free." But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

The Philistines took hold of him and cut out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and tied him with brass chains. Samson was made to grind grain in the prison.

But the hair of his head started to grow again after it was cut off.

Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, "Let me feel the tall pillars that hold up the building. I want to rest against them."

Samson took hold of the two center pillars that held up the building. He pushed against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other.

Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" Then he pushed with all his strength so that the building fell on the leaders and all the people in it. He killed more at his death than he killed in his life.

Then his brothers and all those of his father's house came and took him. They brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the grave of his father Manoah. Samson had ruled Israel for twenty years.

He said to his mother, "There were 1,100 pieces of silver taken from you. And I heard you pray that the robber would be cursed. See, the silver is with me. I took it." His mother said, "May the Lord bring good to you, my son."

He returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And she said, "I set apart all the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son. It is to be used in making an object to look like a god. So I will return the silver to you."

When he returned the silver to his mother, she gave 200 pieces to the man who works with silver. He made them into an object to look like a god for Micah's house.

The man Micah had a special building where gods were worshiped. He made a holy vest and gods for the house. And he set apart one of his sons to be his religious leader.

So Micah set apart the Levite. The young man became his religious leader and lived in Micah's house.

The Levite said to them, "This is what Micah has done for me. He has hired me. I have become his religious leader."

The religious leader felt glad in his heart. He took the holy vest, the house gods and objects made to look like gods. And he went among the people.

Then the sons of Dan went on their way. Micah saw that they were too strong for him. So he returned to his house.

The people of Dan set up for themselves the object made to look like a god. And Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were religious leaders to the family of Dan until the day their land was taken.

There was no king in Israel in those days. And there was a certain Levite staying in a far away part of the hill country of Ephraim. He took a woman from Bethlehem in Judah to act as his wife.

But his woman was not faithful to him. She left him and went to her father's house in Bethlehem in Judah. She stayed there four months.

Then her husband got up and went after her. He was gentle in speaking to her, asking her to return with him. He brought his servant and two donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father's house. When her father saw him, he was glad to meet him.