Judges 13:3 - Forerunner Commentary

Judges 13:3

The Birth of Samson

1 Again the children of Israel ^adid evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them ^binto the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

2 Now there was a certain man from ^aZorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children.

3 And the ^aAngel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.

4 Now therefore, please be careful ^anot to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean.

5 For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no ^arazor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be ^ba Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall ^cbegin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

6 So the woman came and told her husband, saying, ^a“A Man of God came to me, and His ^bcountenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I ^cdid not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name.

7 And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”

8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.”

9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her.

10 Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!”

11 So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?” And He said, “I am.”

12 Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?”

13 So the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful.

14 She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, ^anor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.”

15 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “Please ^alet us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.”

16 And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the Lord.)

17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?”

18 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, ^a“Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”

19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, ^aand offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on—

20 it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they ^afell on their faces to the ground.

21 When the Angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, ^athen Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the Lord.

22 And Manoah said to his wife, ^a“We shall surely die, because we have seen God!”

23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.”

24 So the woman bore a son and called his name ^aSamson; and ^bthe child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

25 ^aAnd the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him at¹ Mahaneh Dan ^bbetween Zorah and ^cEshtaol.

Verse Comparison: Judges 13:3

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American Standard Version
And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not; but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.

Amplified® Bible
And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, Behold, you are barren and have no children, but you shall become pregnant and bear a son.

Contemporary English Version
but one day an angel from the LORD appeared to her and said: You have never been able to have any children, but very soon you will be pregnant and have a son. He will belong to God from the day he is born, so his hair must never be cut. And even before he is born, you must not drink any wine or beer or eat any food forbidden by God's laws. Your son will begin to set Israel free from the Philistines.

Darby English Version
And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold, you are barren and have no children; but you shall conceive and bear a son.

Good News Bible
The LORD's angel appeared to her and said, "You have never been able to have children, but you will soon be pregnant and have a son.

King James Version
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.

New American Standard Bible
Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold now, you are barren and have borne no {children,} but you shall conceive and give birth to a son.

New International Version
The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son.

New King James Version
And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold now, you find yourself barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son.

Revised Standard Version
And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold, you are barren and have no children; but you shall conceive and bear a son.

Young's Literal Translation
and a messenger of Jehovah appeareth unto the woman, and saith unto her, `Lo, I pray thee, thou `art' barren, and hast not borne; when thou hast conceived, then thou hast borne a son.

New English Translation
The Lord’s angelic¹ messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, “You² are infertile and childless,³ but you will conceive and have a son.

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