1. Les enfants d'Israël firent encore ce qui déplaît à l'Eternel; et l'Eternel les livra entre les mains des Philistins, pendant quarante ans.
2. Il y avait un homme de Tsorea, de la famille des Danites, et qui s'appelait Manoach. Sa femme était stérile, et n'enfantait pas.
3. Un ange de l'Eternel apparut à la femme, et lui dit: Voici, tu es stérile, et tu n'as point d'enfants; tu deviendras enceinte, et tu enfanteras un fils.
4. Maintenant prends bien garde, ne bois ni vin ni liqueur forte, et ne mange rien d'impur.
5. Car tu vas devenir enceinte et tu enfanteras un fils. Le rasoir ne passera point sur sa tête, parce que cet enfant sera consacré à Dieu dès le ventre de sa mère; et ce sera lui qui commencera à délivrer Israël de la main des Philistins.
6. La femme alla dire à son mari; Un homme de Dieu est venu vers moi, et il avait l'aspect d'un ange de Dieu, un aspect redoutable. Je ne lui ai pas demandé d'où il était, et il ne m'a pas fait connaître son nom.
7. Mais il m'a dit: Tu vas devenir enceinte, et tu enfanteras un fils; et maintenant ne bois ni vin ni liqueur forte, et ne mange rien d'impur, parce que cet enfant sera consacré à Dieu dès le ventre de sa mère jusqu'au jour de sa mort.
8. Manoach fit cette prière à l'Eternel: Ah! Seigneur, que l'homme de Dieu que tu as envoyé vienne encore vers nous, et qu'il nous enseigne ce que nous devons faire pour l'enfant qui naîtra!
9. Dieu exauça la prière de Manoach, et l'ange de Dieu vint encore vers la femme. Elle était assise dans un champ, et Manoach, son mari, n'était pas avec elle.
10. Elle courut promptement donner cette nouvelle à son mari, et lui dit: Voici, l'homme qui était venu l'autre jour vers moi m'est apparu.
11. Manoach se leva, suivit sa femme, alla vers l'homme, et lui dit: Est-ce toi qui as parlé à cette femme? Il répondit: C'est moi.
12. Manoach dit: Maintenant, si ta parole s'accomplit, que faudra-t-il observer à l'égard de l'enfant, et qu'y aura-t-il à faire?
13. L'ange de l'Eternel répondit à Manoach: La femme s'abstiendra de tout ce que je lui ai dit.
14. Elle ne goûtera d'aucun produit de la vigne, elle ne boira ni vin ni liqueur forte, et elle ne mangera rien d'impur; elle observera tout ce que je lui ai prescrit.
15. Manoach dit à l'ange de l'Eternel: Permets-nous de te retenir, et de t'apprêter un chevreau.
16. L'ange de l'Eternel répondit à Manoach: Quand tu me retiendrais, je ne mangerais pas de ton mets; mais si tu veux faire un holocauste, tu l'offriras à l'Eternel. Manoach ne savait point que ce fût un ange de l'Eternel.
17. Et Manoach dit à l'ange de l'Eternel: Quel est ton nom, afin que nous te rendions gloire, quand ta parole s'accomplira?
18. L'ange de l'Eternel lui répondit: Pourquoi demandes-tu mon nom? Il est merveilleux.
19. Manoach prit le chevreau et l'offrande, et fit un sacrifice à l'Eternel sur le rocher. Il s'opéra un prodige, pendant que Manoach et sa femme regardaient.
20. Comme la flamme montait de dessus l'autel vers le ciel, l'ange de l'Eternel monta dans la flamme de l'autel. A cette vue, Manoach et sa femme tombèrent la face contre terre.
21. L'ange de l'Eternel n'apparut plus à Manoach et à sa femme. Alors Manoach comprit que c'était l'ange de l'Eternel,
22. et il dit à sa femme: Nous allons mourir, car nous avons vu Dieu.
23. Sa femme lui répondit: Si l'Eternel eût voulu nous faire mourir, il n'aurait pas pris de nos mains l'holocauste et l'offrande, il ne nous aurait pas fait voir tout cela, et il ne nous aurait pas maintenant fait entendre pareilles choses.
24. La femme enfanta un fils, et lui donna le nom de Samson. L'enfant grandit, et l'Eternel le bénit.
25. Et l'esprit de l'Eternel commença à l'agiter à Machané-Dan, entre Tsorea et Eschthaol.
1. And the children of Israel again did evil in the eyes of the Lord; and the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
2. Now there was a certain man of Zorah of the family of the Danites, and his name was Manoah; and his wife had never given birth to a child.
3. And the angel of the Lord came to the woman, and said to her, See now! though you have never given birth to children, you will be with child and give birth to a son.
4. Now then take care to have no wine or strong drink and to take no unclean thing for food;
5. For you are with child and will give birth to a son; his hair is never to be cut, for the child is to be separate to God from his birth; and he will take up the work of freeing Israel from the hands of the Philistines.
6. Then the woman came in, and said to her husband, A man came to me, and his form was like the form of a god, causing great fear; I put no question to him about where he came from, and he did not give me his name;
7. But he said to me, You are with child and will give birth to a son; and now do not take any wine or strong drink or let anything unclean be your food; for the child will be separate to God from his birth to the day of his death.
8. Then Manoah made prayer to the Lord, and said, O Lord, let the man of God whom you sent come to us again and make clear to us what we are to do for the child who is to come.
9. And God gave ear to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came to the woman again when she was seated in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her.
10. So the woman, running quickly, gave her husband the news, saying, I have seen the man who came to me the other day.
11. And Manoah got up and went after his wife, and came up to the man and said to him, Are you the man who was talking to this woman? And he said, I am.
12. And Manoah said, Now when your words come true, what is to be the rule for the child and what will be his work?
13. And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, Let the woman take note of what I have said to her.
14. She is to have nothing which comes from the vine for her food, and let her take no wine or strong drink or anything which is unclean; let her take care to do all I have given her orders to do.
15. And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, Now let us keep you while we make ready a young goat for you.
16. And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, Though you keep me I will not take of your food; but if you will make a burned offering, let it be offered to the Lord. For it had not come into Manoah's mind that he was the angel of the Lord.
17. Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, What is your name, so that when your words come true we may give you honour?
18. But the angel of the Lord said to him, Why are you questioning me about my name, seeing that it is a wonder?
19. So Manoah took the young goat with its meal offering, offering it on the rock to the Lord, who did strange things.
20. And when the flame went up to heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar, while Manoah and his wife were looking on; and they went down on their faces to the earth.
21. But the angel of the Lord was seen no more by Manoah and his wife. Then it was clear to Manoah that he was the angel of the Lord.
22. And Manoah said to his wife, Death will certainly be our fate, for it is a god whom we have seen.
23. But his wife said to him, If the Lord was purposing our death, he would not have taken our burned offering and our meal offering, or have given us such orders about the child.
24. So the woman gave birth to a son, and gave him the name Samson; and he became a man and the blessing of the Lord was on him.
25. And the spirit of the Lord first came on him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
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