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Samson - part 4: Samson and Delilah

Delilah and the secret of Samson's strength.
Contributed by Richard Gunther
Story also available on our translated websites: Spanish, Portuguese
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One day Samson foolishly went to the Philistine city of Gaza. – Slide 1
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He was tempted by a prostitute and went to bed with her. – Slide 2
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When the Philistines of Gaza found out that Samson was there, they surrounded the place and waited for him throughout the night at the city gate. ‘We'll wait until daybreak, and then we'll kill him,’ they plotted. – Slide 3
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But Samson got out of bed at midnight. – Slide 4
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When he found the city gate locked and he was trapped, he got up and took hold of the city gate and pulled it up—doors, posts, lock, and all. – Slide 5
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He put them on his shoulders and carried them off out of the city … – Slide 6
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… to the top of the hill overlooking Hebron in Israel. – Slide 7
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After this, Samson fell in love with a Philistine woman named Delilah, who lived in Sorek Valley. – Slide 8
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The five Philistine kings went to her and said, ‘Trick Samson into telling you why he is so strong and how we can overpower him. Tie him up, and make him helpless. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.’ – Slide 9
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So Delilah said to Samson, ‘Please tell me what makes you so strong. If someone wanted to tie you up and make you helpless, how could he do it?’ – Slide 10
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Samson answered, ‘If they tie me up with seven new bowstrings that are not dried out, I'll be as weak as anybody else.’ <br/>So the Philistine kings brought Delilah seven new bowstrings that were not dried out, and she tied Samson up. – Slide 11
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She had some men waiting in another room, so she shouted, ‘Samson! The Philistines are coming!’ But he snapped the bowstrings just as thread breaks when fire touches it. So they still did not know the secret of his strength. – Slide 12
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Delilah told Samson, ‘Look, you've been making a fool of me and not telling me the truth. Please tell me how someone could tie you up.’ – Slide 13
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He told her, ‘If they tie me with new ropes that have never been used, I'll be as weak as anybody else.’ <br/>So Delilah got some new ropes and tied him up. – Slide 14
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Then she shouted, ‘Samson! The Philistines are coming!’ The men were waiting in another room. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like thread. – Slide 15
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Delilah said to Samson, ‘You're still making a fool of me and not telling me the truth. Tell me how someone could tie you up.’ <br/>He told her, ‘If you weave my seven locks of hair into a loom, and make it tight with a peg, I'll be as weak as anybody else.’ – Slide 16
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Delilah then lulled him to sleep, took his seven locks of hair, and wove them into the loom. – Slide 17
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She made it tight with a peg and shouted, ‘Samson! The Philistines are coming!’ But he woke up and pulled his hair loose from the loom. – Slide 18
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So she said to him, ‘How can you say you love me, when you don't mean it? You've made a fool of me three times, and you still haven't told me what makes you so strong.’ She kept on asking him, day after day and he got tired of her bothering him about it. – Slide 19
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What should Samson do? Find out what happened next in part 5 – ‘Samson’s final act of strength’ which can be found at FreeBibleimages.org. – Slide 20
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