Judges Chapter 13
Showing all 25 verses for Judges Chapter 13.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. "
"The Israelites did evil again in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines for forty years."
Israel falls back into the same old pattern of drifting from God, and forty years of hardship follow - not because God is cruel, but because a people who stop paying attention to love inevitably wander into harm. Even here, though, God hasn't given up on them; he's already planning a deliverer before anyone asks for one. That's grace: help arriving before repentance does.
"And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. "
"There was a man from Zorah, from the tribe of Dan, named Manoah. His wife was infertile and had never had children."
A childless, overlooked woman becomes the one through whom God chooses to act. Jesus notices exactly the people the world writes off as having nothing to offer, and he loves to work his biggest plans through the quietest, most unlikely lives.
"And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. "
"The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said, "You are infertile and childless, but you will conceive and give birth to a son.""
Before Manoah's wife has done anything to earn it, God sends an angel with a promise of new life. This is how grace always works - it meets us in our emptiness and speaks hope we didn't ask for and couldn't have arranged ourselves.
"Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: "
""So now, please be careful: don't drink wine or any alcoholic drink, and don't eat anything ritually unclean.""
God asks the mother to set herself apart even before her son is born, because a life devoted to him shapes the people around it long before it can choose anything for itself. Jesus wants us to see that our daily choices - what we take into our bodies and hearts - can be a quiet form of love for someone else's future, not just rules for their own sake.
"For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. "
""For you will conceive and bear a son. No razor is ever to touch his head, because the boy will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth, and he will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.""
Notice the word 'begin' - Samson will only start Israel's deliverance, not finish it. Jesus wants you to know that you don't have to complete every good thing you start; being faithful with the part God gives you is enough, and he will carry the rest forward through others.
"Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: "
"The woman went and told her husband, "A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God — very awe-inspiring. I didn't ask where he was from, and he didn't tell me his name.""
She doesn't demand full explanations before trusting what she's seen - she simply describes the awe of the encounter and believes. Jesus doesn't ask you to understand everything about him before you follow; reverence and trust can come before complete knowledge.
"But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death. "
""But he told me, 'You will conceive and bear a son. Now, drink no wine or alcoholic drink, and eat nothing unclean, because the boy will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth until the day he dies.'""
God repeats himself here, word for word, because he knows we need to hear important things more than once to hold onto them. Jesus is patient with our need for reminders - he'd rather say it again than watch us forget.
"Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. "
"Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, "Please, Lord, let the man of God you sent come to us again, and teach us how we should raise the child who will be born.""
Manoah doesn't pretend to know how to raise this child alone - he prays and asks for teaching. Jesus loves an honest parent's prayer that admits 'we don't know how to do this,' because that humility opens the door for him to guide you.
"And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her. "
"God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was sitting in a field — but her husband Manoah wasn't with her."
God answers by returning to the woman in the field, not to Manoah who prayed. Jesus reminds us that his presence isn't rationed by status or who asked first - he meets whoever is there, ready or not, because his grace isn't handed out by rank.
"And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day. "
"The woman hurried and ran to tell her husband, "Look, the man who appeared to me the other day has come again!""
The moment she sees him again, she runs to bring her husband in on it. Jesus delights when we share what he's doing in our lives with the people we love instead of keeping wonder to ourselves.
"And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am. "
"Manoah got up and followed his wife, came to the man, and asked, "Are you the one who spoke to my wife?" He replied, "I am.""
Manoah goes to see for himself, not out of distrust of his wife but out of a longing to share in what God is doing. Jesus welcomes that kind of eager involvement; wanting to witness his work firsthand is a healthy hunger, not a lack of faith.
"And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him? "
"Manoah said, "May your words come true. How should we raise the boy, and what should we do for him?""
Manoah's question - 'how shall we order the child?' - is every parent's honest fear of getting it wrong. Jesus hears that same question from anxious parents today and answers it patiently, because raising a child well was never meant to be done without him.
"And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. "
"The angel of the LORD told Manoah, "Your wife should be careful to do everything I told her.""
The angel doesn't give Manoah new information - he simply points back to what was already said. Jesus often answers our prayers the same way: not with something new, but by reminding us to actually hold on to what he's already told us.
"She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe. "
""She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, and she must not drink wine or any alcoholic drink, or eat anything unclean. She must keep everything I commanded her.""
The instructions are repeated because a mother's daily choices will shape the child entrusted to her. Jesus asks us to consider how our small, ordinary decisions ripple out and touch the people who depend on us, long before they can choose for themselves.
"And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. "
"Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "Please, let us keep you here while we prepare a young goat for you.""
Manoah's instinct on meeting God's messenger is generosity - he wants to feed him. Jesus loves that reflex; when grace touches us, the natural response is to want to give something back, however small.
"And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD. "
"The angel of the LORD replied, "Even if you keep me here, I will not eat your food — but if you want to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD instead." (Manoah still did not realise this was the angel of the LORD.)"
The angel refuses to be fed and points every offering back to the LORD. Jesus is always doing this - redirecting our gratitude away from the messenger and towards the God who sent him, because worship belongs to God alone.
"And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? "
"Manoah asked the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that when your words come true we can honour you?""
Manoah wants a name so he can properly honour the one who spoke to him - a generous, natural instinct. Jesus gently teaches that honour belongs first to what God has done and promised, not to identifying and elevating the messenger.
"And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? "
"The angel of the LORD answered, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.""
The angel's name is 'secret' - some things about God stay beyond our full grasp, and that's all right. Jesus doesn't need us to understand everything about him before we can trust and obey him; mystery and faith can sit together.
"So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. "
"So Manoah took a young goat along with a grain offering and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. Then the angel did something extraordinary, while Manoah and his wife watched."
Manoah offers a simple sacrifice, and God responds with something far beyond what was asked. Jesus meets our small, sincere offerings with a generosity that always outgrows what we brought to the altar.
"For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. "
"As the flame rose up from the altar towards the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell face-down on the ground."
Seeing the angel ascend in the flame, Manoah and his wife fall on their faces - awe, not terror, is the right response to glimpsing God at work. Jesus wants our encounters with him to leave us humbled and reverent rather than crushed by fear.
"But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD. "
"The angel of the LORD did not appear to Manoah and his wife again. Then Manoah finally understood that it had been the angel of the LORD."
Manoah only realises who he'd been speaking with after the angel is gone. Jesus knows that recognition often comes in hindsight - we frequently see his hand most clearly when we look back, and that delayed sight is still real faith.
"And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. "
"Manoah said to his wife, "We are certainly going to die, because we have seen God!""
Manoah's fear - 'we shall surely die, because we have seen God' - is the ancient, human dread of being too small and too flawed to stand before holiness. Jesus came for exactly this fear, to remove forever the terror of approaching God and replace it with welcome.
"But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these. "
"But his wife replied, "If the LORD wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from us, or shown us all these things, or told us what he's just told us.""
His wife reasons her way past fear using the evidence of God's kindness already shown - if he meant to kill them, why would he have blessed them first? Jesus wants us to fight our fears the same way, by remembering what God has already done for us rather than assuming the worst about him.
"And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. "
"The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew up, and the LORD blessed him."
Samson's early life is described simply: he grew, and the LORD blessed him. Jesus reminds us that most of a life devoted to God is made of ordinary growing, not constant drama - and that quiet growth under his blessing matters just as much as the dramatic moments still to come.
"And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. "
"And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him from time to time while he was in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol."
The Spirit 'began' to move Samson in the familiar, local place he grew up, between Zorah and Eshtaol. Jesus meets us in the ordinary places we already know, gently stirring us there before ever sending us further afield.