ath.

16:17. Then opening the truth of the thing, he said to her: The razor
hath never come upon my head, for I am a Nazarite, that is to say,
consecrated to God from my mother's womb: If my head be shaven, my
strength shall depart from me, and I shall become weak, and shall be
like other men.

16:18. Then seeing that he had discovered to her all his mind, she sent
to the princes of the Philistines, saying: Come up this once more, for
now he hath opened his heart to me. And they went up, taking with them
the money which they had promised.

16:19. But she made him sleep upon her knees, and lay his head in her
bosom. And she called a barber and shaved his seven locks, and began to
drive him away, and thrust him from her: for immediately his strength
departed from him.

16:20. And she said: The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And awaking
from sleep, he said in his mind: I will go out as I did before, and
shake myself, not knowing that the Lord was departed from him.

16:21. Then the Philistines seized upon him, and forthwith pulled out
his eyes, and led him bound in chains to Gaza, and shutting him up in
prison made him grind.

16:22. And now his hair began to grow again,

16:23. And the princes of the Philistines assembled together, to offer
great sacrifices to Dagon their god, and to make merry, saying: Our god
hath delivered our enemy Samson into our hands.

16:24. And the people also seeing this, praised their god, and said the
same: Our god hath delivered our adversary into our hands, him that
destroyed our country, and killed very many.

16:25. And rejoicing in their feasts, when they had now taken their good
cheer, they commanded that Samson should be called, and should play
before them. And being brought out of prison, he played before them; and
they made him stand between two pillars.

16:26. And he said to the lad that guided his steps: Suffer me to touch
the pillars which support the whole house, and let me lean upon them,
and rest a little.

16:27. Now the house was full of men and women, and all the princes of
the Philistines were there. Moreover about three thousand persons of
both sexes, from the roof and the higher part of the house, were
beholding Samson's play.

16:28. But he called upon the Lord, saying: O Lord God remember me, and
restore to me now my former strength, O my God, that I may revenge
myself on my enemies, and for the loss of my two eyes I may take one
revenge.

Revenge