Judges 16:3
New International Version
But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.

New Living Translation
But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors of the town gate, including the two posts, and lifted them up, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them all the way to the top of the hill across from Hebron.

English Standard Version
But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.

Berean Standard Bible
But Samson lay there only until midnight, when he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and both gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. Then he put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.

King James Bible
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.

New King James Version
And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.

New American Standard Bible
Now Samson lay asleep until midnight, and at midnight he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two doorposts, and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron.

NASB 1995
Now Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron.

NASB 1977
Now Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron.

Legacy Standard Bible
But Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and seized the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and brought them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron.

Amplified Bible
But Samson lay [resting] until midnight, then at midnight he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two door-posts, and pulled them up, [security] bar and all, and he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the hill which is opposite Hebron.

Christian Standard Bible
But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate along with the two gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But Samson stayed in bed until midnight when he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate along with the two gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.

American Standard Version
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Samson slept until the middle of the night, and he arose in the middle of the night, and he took hold on the two posts of the gate of the city, and he lifted it unto its bars and laid them on his shoulder, and he brought them up to the mountain that is before Khebrun

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Sampson slept till midnight, and rose up at midnight, and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city with the two posts, and lifted them up with the bar, and laid them on his shoulders, and he went up to the top of the mountain that is before Chebron, and laid them there.

Contemporary English Version
But Samson got up in the middle of the night and went to the town gate. He pulled the gate doors and doorposts out of the wall and put them on his shoulders. Then he carried them all the way to the top of the hill that overlooks Hebron, where he set the doors down, still closed and locked.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But Samson slept till midnight, and then rising he took both the doors of the gate, with the posts thereof, and the bolt, and laying them on his shoulders, carried them up to the top of the hill, which looketh towards Hebron.

English Revised Version
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
But Samson was in bed [with the prostitute] only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors, door posts, and bar of the city gate and pulled them out. He carried them on his shoulders to the top of the hill facing Hebron.

Good News Translation
But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up and took hold of the city gate and pulled it up--doors, posts, lock, and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them far off to the top of the hill overlooking Hebron.

International Standard Version
Meanwhile, Samson had sex until midnight, then at midnight he got up, grabbed the doors, the two door posts, and the bars of the city gate, and uprooted them. He put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the mountain opposite Hebron.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.

Literal Standard Version
And Samson lies down until the middle of the night, and rises in the middle of the night, and lays hold on the doors of the gate of the city, and on the two side-posts, and removes them with the bar, and puts [them] on his shoulders, and takes them up to the top of the hill, which [is] on the front of Hebron.

Majority Standard Bible
But Samson lay there only until midnight, when he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and both gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. Then he put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.

New American Bible
Samson lay there until midnight. Then he rose at midnight, seized the doors of the city gate and the two gateposts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He hoisted them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the ridge opposite Hebron.

NET Bible
Samson spent half the night with the prostitute; then he got up in the middle of the night and left. He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron.

New Revised Standard Version
But Samson lay only until midnight. Then at midnight he rose up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.

New Heart English Bible
Now Samson rested until midnight, but got up at midnight and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is overlooking Hebron, and set them down there.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of a hill that is before Hebron.

World English Bible
Samson lay until midnight, then arose at midnight and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city, with the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.

Young's Literal Translation
And Samson lieth down till the middle of the night, and riseth in the middle of the night, and layeth hold on the doors of the gate of the city, and on the two side posts, and removeth them with the bar, and putteth on his shoulders, and taketh them up unto the top of the hill, which is on the front of Hebron.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Samson Escapes Gaza
2When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded that place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They were quiet throughout the night, saying, “Let us wait until dawn; then we will kill him.” 3But Samson lay there only until midnight, when he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and both gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. Then he put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.

Cross References
Judges 16:2
When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded that place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They were quiet throughout the night, saying, "Let us wait until dawn; then we will kill him."

Judges 16:4
Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.


Treasury of Scripture

And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.

took

Psalm 107:16
For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

Isaiah 63:1-5
Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save…

Micah 2:13
The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.

bar and all.

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Judges 16
1. Samson at Gaza escapes, and carries away the gates of the city
4. Delilah corrupted by the Philistines, entices Samson
6. Thrice she is deceived
15. At last she overcomes him
21. The Philistines take him, and put out his eyes
22. His strength renewing, he pulls down the house upon the Philistines and dies














(3) Arose at midnight.--Apparently--but here again the narrative omits all details--he had been told of the plot, and found the gates unguarded; unless we are to suppose that he slew the guards, without awaking the city.

Took.--Rather, grasped or seized.

The two posts--i.e., the side-posts.

Went away with them, bar and all.--Rather, tore them up, with the bar; the bar was the bar which fastened the two valves together. Gaza, as we see from the site of its walls, had several gates. The site of the gate traditionally pointed out is on the south-east. It may have been the smaller gate, by the side of the main gate, which he thus tore up. In Mohammedan legend Ali uses the gate of Chaibar as a shield, which may be a sort of confused echo and parallel of this event (Po-cocke, Hist. Arab., p. 10).

That is before Hebron.--It is not implied that Samson walked with the gates and bars on his shoulders nine miles to Hebron; but probably (as the local tradition says) to El Montar, a hill in the direction of Hebron, from which the hills of Hebron are visible. Pliny, in his Natural History (vii. 19), adduces many instances of colossal strength, but in this narrative it is distinctly implied that the strength of Samson was a supernatural gift, arising from his dedication to God. The carrying away the gate of his enemies would be understood in the East as a very peculiar insult. "When Almansor took Compostella, he made the Christians carry the gates of St. James's Church on their shoulders to Cordova in sign of his victory" (Ferraras, Gesch. von Spanier, iii. 145, quoted by Cassel).

Verse 3. - Samson arose at midnight. Possibly the woman had learnt the plot, and gave Samson warning, after the manner of Rahab; or she may have been his betrayer, and reckoned upon retaining him till the morning; anyhow he arose at midnight, when the liers in wait were sleeping securely, and tearing up the two gate-pests, with the gates and the cross-bar attached to them, walked off with them "as far as the top of the hill that is before Hebron." Took the doors, etc. Rather, laid hold of. For went away with them, translate plucked them up. It is the technical word for plucking up the tent pins. Bar and all, or, with the bar. The bar was probably a strong iron or wooden crossbar, which was attached to the posts by a lock, and could only be removed by one that had the key. Samson tore up the posts with the barred gates attached to them, and, putting the whole mass upon his back walked off with it. The hill that is before Hebron. Hebron "was about nine geographical, or between ten and eleven English, miles from Gaza, situated in a deep, narrow valley, with high hills on either side." It is approached from Gaza over a high ridge, from the top of which Hebron becomes visible, lying in the valley below at fifty minutes' distance. This spot would suit very well the description, "the hill that is before Hebron." Some, however, think that the hill called el Montar, about three-quarters of an hour from Gaza, on the road to Hebron, is here meant, and that the plain before Hebron merely means towards, as in Genesis 18:16; Deuteronomy 32:49.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But Samson
שִׁמְשׁוֹן֮ (šim·šō·wn)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8123: Samson -- a deliverer of Israel

lay there
וַיִּשְׁכַּ֣ב (way·yiš·kaḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7901: To lie down

only until
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

midnight.
חֲצִ֣י (ḥă·ṣî)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2677: The half, middle

Then he got up
וַיָּ֣קָם ׀ (way·yā·qām)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6965: To arise, stand up, stand

and took hold
וַיֶּאֱחֹ֞ז (way·ye·’ĕ·ḥōz)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 270: To grasp, take hold, take possession

of the doors
בְּדַלְת֤וֹת (bə·ḏal·ṯō·wṯ)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 1817: Something swinging, the valve of a, door

of the city
הָעִיר֙ (hā·‘îr)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5892: Excitement

gate,
שַֽׁעַר־ (ša·‘ar-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8179: An opening, door, gate

along with the two
וּבִשְׁתֵּ֣י (ū·ḇiš·tê)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Number - fdc
Strong's 8147: Two (a cardinal number)

gateposts,
הַמְּזוּז֔וֹת (ham·mə·zū·zō·wṯ)
Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 4201: A doorpost, gatepost

and pulled them out,
וַיִּסָּעֵם֙ (way·yis·sā·‘êm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5265: To pull up, the tent-pins, start on a, journey

bar
הַבְּרִ֔יחַ (hab·bə·rî·aḥ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1280: A bolt

and all.
עִֽם־ (‘im-)
Preposition
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

Then he put [them]
וַיָּ֖שֶׂם (way·yā·śem)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7760: Put -- to put, place, set

on
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

his shoulders
כְּתֵפָ֑יו (kə·ṯê·p̄āw)
Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3802: The shoulder, side-piece, lateral projection of anything

and took
וַֽיַּעֲלֵם֙ (way·ya·‘ă·lêm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

them to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the top
רֹ֣אשׁ (rōš)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7218: The head

of the mountain
הָהָ֔ר (hā·hār)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2022: Mountain, hill, hill country

overlooking
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

Hebron.
חֶבְרֽוֹן׃ (ḥeḇ·rō·wn)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 2275: Hebron -- 'association, league', a city in southern Judah


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OT History: Judges 16:3 Samson lay until midnight and arose at (Jd Judg. Jdg)
Judges 16:2
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