When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. Then Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burned with fire; and his bands dropped from off his hands.
Parallel Translations
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When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. Then Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burned with fire; and his bands dropped from off his hands.
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And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
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When he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the ropes that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.
Cross-references (18)
Passages linked to Judges 15:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Judges 14:19 Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck thirty men of them. He took their plunder, then gave the changes of clothing to those who declared the riddle. His anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house.
- Psalms 118:11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me. In Yahweh’s name I indeed cut them off.
- Judges 3:10 Yahweh’s Spirit came on him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and Yahweh delivered Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. His hand prevailed against Cushan Rishathaim.
- Judges 14:6 Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and he tore him as he would have torn a young goat with his bare hands, but he didn’t tell his father or his mother what he had done.
- 1 Samuel 11:6 God’s Spirit came mightily on Saul when he heard those words, and his anger burned hot.
- 1 Samuel 17:35 I went out after him, and struck him, and rescued it out of his mouth. When he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and struck him, and killed him.
- Exodus 14:3 Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are entangled in the land. The wilderness has shut them in.’
- Exodus 14:5 The king of Egypt was told that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”
- Judges 5:30 ‘Have they not found, have they not divided the plunder? A lady, two ladies to every man; to Sisera a plunder of dyed garments, a plunder of dyed garments embroidered, of dyed garments embroidered on both sides, on the necks of the plunder?’
- Judges 16:9 Now she had an ambush waiting in the inner room. She said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” He broke the cords as a flax thread is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.
- Judges 16:12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, then said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” The ambush was waiting in the inner room. He broke them off his arms like a thread.
- Judges 16:24 When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, “Our god has delivered our enemy and the destroyer of our country, who has slain many of us, into our hand.”
- 1 Samuel 4:5 When the ark of Yahweh’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded.
- Job 20:5 that the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment?
- Psalms 18:34 He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms bend a bow of bronze.
- Micah 7:8 Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light to me.
- Zechariah 4:6 Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is Yahweh’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of Armies.
- Philippians 4:3 Yes, I beg you also, true partner, help these women, for they labored with me in the Good News with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jdg 15:14 [And] when he came unto Lehi, the…
Jdg 15:14 [And] when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that [were] upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
Ver. 14. The Philistines shouted against him.] But ere long Samson made them change their note, and turn their crowing into crying. Thus the hope of the wicked perisheth - their Hilary-term is very short. "In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare," - or, a cord, to strangle his joy with, - "but the righteous sing and rejoice." {Pro 29:6}
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Became as flax.] Similia funibus ex lino ustulato.
And his bands loosed.] Heb., Melted; dissoluta dissilierunt.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The Philistines shouted against him, for joy and triumph,…
The Philistines shouted against him, for joy and triumph, because they had now their great enemy, as they supposed, in their hands.
His bands loosed, Heb. were melted, i.e. were dissolved, as things are which are melted in the fire.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when he came unto Lehi,.... The place which…
And when he came unto Lehi,.... The place which was afterwards so called, from what happened there at this time, and where the Philistines were spread, Jdg 15:9 this, according to Bunting (k), was six miles from Etam:
the Philistines shouted against him: for joy that they had got him into their hands, and in the circumstances he was, being bound, so that they had nothing to fear from him:
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and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him: as it at times did, and had done before; the Targum is,"the Spirit of might from the Lord,''which gave him courage and resolution of mind, and great strength of body, even while he was speaking, as a token of the wonders God more than he had at other times:
and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire; as easily parted as the flax when fire takes it, which is consumed at once:
and his bonds loosed off from his hands; by which it appears that both arms and hands were bound with the cords; his arms were pinioned close to his body, as well as his hands were tied together; and these, as in the original, "melted away" (l), like wax before the fire, or snow before the sun, so easily were these bands separated from him; this may be an emblem of Christ's loosing himself from the cords of death, Act 2:24.
(k) Travels, p. 116. (l) "diffuxerunt", Tigurine version; "liquefacta sunt", Piscator.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Shouted - Because they had now their enemy, as…
Shouted - Because they had now their enemy, as they supposed, in their hands. Loosed - Hebrew. were melted; that is, were dissolved, as things which are melted in the fire. This typified the resurrection of Christ, by the power of the Spirit of holiness. In this he loosed the bands of death, it being impossible he should be holden of them. And thus he triumphed over the powers of darkness, which had shouted against him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 14. When he came unto Lehi] This was…
Verse 14. When he came unto Lehi] This was the name of the place to which they brought him, either to put him to death, or keep him in perpetual confinement.
Shouted against him] His capture was a matter of public rejoicing.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Jdg 15:14. The Philistines shouted against him — Because…
Jdg 15:14. The Philistines shouted against him — Because they had now, as they supposed, their enemy in their hands. The cords became as flax, &c. — As easily broken by him. His bands loosed from off his hands — Hebrew, were melted; that is, were dissolved as things which are melted in the fire. “This,” says Henry, “typified the resurrection of Christ, by the power of the Spirit of holiness. In this he loosed the bands of death, it being impossible he should be holden of them. And thus he triumphed over the power of darkness, which had shouted against him.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The cords ... became as flax ... - i.…
The cords ... became as flax ... - i. e. were as weak against his strength as half-burned flax which yields to the least pressure.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Bone. Hebrew, "Lechi," as it was called after the…
Bone. Hebrew, "Lechi," as it was called after the slaughter made by Samson, ver. 15. It is about 20 miles to the east of Ascalon. (Calmet) --- Approach: literally, "the smell." This expression is often used to denote burning. (Septuagint; Chap xvi. 9.; Daniel iii. 94.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 14. Shouted against him — Raised a joyful shout…
14. Shouted against him — Raised a joyful shout of triumph to meet him as a bound captive and prisoner. They exulted as if their victory was now complete.
The cords… his bands — “The description rises,” says Keil, “to a poetical parallelism, to depict the triumph which Samson celebrated over the Philistines in the power of the Spirit of Jehovah.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 14. See on Jdg_14:19.
14. See on Jdg_14:19.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (14) Shouted against him.—Rather, cheered as they came to…
(14) Shouted against him.—Rather, cheered as they came to meet him (LXX., ἠλάλαξαν εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτοῦ; Vulg., cum vociferantes occurrissent ei). The verb heerioo is an onomatopœia, like our “hurrah.” This was not a war cry, as in 1Sa_17:20, but a shout of
joy.
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The cords that were upon his arms became as flax.—It seems clear that the poetical colour and rhythmic structure of the narrative are influenced by some poem which described the deeds of Samson.
That was burnt with fire.—In both the LXX. and the Vulg. we find the metaphor, “flax when it has smelt the fire.”
His bands loosed.—Literally, melted, or flowed off, a highly poetic expression. A legend of Hercules in Egypt, who suddenly burst his bonds and slew the Egyptians who were leading him to sacrifice, may possibly have been coloured by this event in the life of Samson. (See Rawlinson’s Herodotus, 2, p. 70.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain When he came, i.e. as soon as he was…
When he came, i.e. as soon as he was come to Lehi, where the Philistine camp was (ver. 9). Shouted against him. Rather, shouted as they ran out to meet him. It expresses concisely the double action of their all going out to meet him, and shouting with joy when they saw him bound and, as they thought, in their power.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR. Vers. 14-16. Imperfect means made effectual by Divine inspiration.
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It was but the jawbone of an ass, yet it slew as many as might have fallen in a battle.
I IN THE CONFLICTS OF TRUTH IT IS OF CHIEF CONSEQUENCE THAT WE BE ON THE SIDE OF TRUTH, AND ANIMATED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD.
II THROUGH GOD"S BLESSING THE GRANDEST RESULTS HAVE BEEN PRODUCED BY THE RUDEST AND SIMPLEST MEANS. The preaching of the gospel by unlettered fishermen. "The solitary monk that shook the world" with the disused weapon in God"s armoury. The "simple gospel" and the evils of our age.
III NOTWITHSTANDING OUTWARD ADVANTAGES, THE ENEMIES OF GOD ARE CERTAIN IN THE END TO BE DISCOMFITED.
IV THE ABSOLUTENESS AND SPLENDOUR OF SPIRITUAL ACHIEVEMENTS. Pentecost; missionary triumphs; the song of Moses and of the Lamb. M.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 When he came
When he came
Samson was not travelling alone, he was being led by the men who had tied him with ropes. AT: "When they came" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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Lehi
This is the name of a town in Judah. See how you translated this in Judges 15:9.
came on him with power
The phrase "came on" means that Yahweh's Spirit influenced Samson. In this case, he made him very strong. AT: "made Samson very strong" (See: Idiom)
The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax
Samson easily broken the ropes that bound his hands. The author describes how easily he broke the ropes by saying it was as if they had become burnt flax. AT: "He snapped the ropes on his arms as easily as if they had been stalks of burned flax" (See: Simile)
flax
fibers from the flax plant used for making threads and cloth
translationWords
Philistines
Yahweh
Holy Spirit
power
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.