Judges 16:21

Translations

Modern

Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison.

Traditional

But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

Literal

And the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and they brought him down to Gaza, and they bound him with bronze shackles. And he was grinding in the house of the imprisoned.

Latin

Quem cum apprehendissent Philisthiim, statim eruerunt oculos ejus, et duxerunt Gazam vinctum catenis, et clausum in carcere molere fecerunt.

Original

Hebrew

English

Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison.

Notes

Judges 16:4–22

Samson's downfall and defeat by Delilah, the temptress, is a universally appealing tragedy.

Judges 16:1–31

This last chapter of Samson's complicated history does not involve his role as a judge. Samson abandoned his calling and eventually lost his gifts. Only in his final encounter, when he prayed to the Lord again, did he regain any of his heroic stature.

Judges 13:1–16:31

Samson, who gets more attention in the book of Judges than any other judge, is more mysterious than Jephthah. Samson shows great inspiration as a leader. He also represents the unstoppable move toward chaos, which shows the need for a more organized society under a godly ruler.

Theme notes and profiles

Samson The Philistines Charismatic Leadership The Spirit’s Presence

Related verses

Proverbs 2:19
None who go to her return or negotiate the paths of life.
Proverbs 14:14
The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.
Exodus 11:5
…and every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the servant girl behind the hand mill, as well as the firstborn of all the cattle.
Matthew 24:41
Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
Isaiah 47:2
Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil; strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, and wade through the streams.
2 Kings 25:7
And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.
Proverbs 5:22
The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.
2 Chronicles 33:11
So the LORD brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.
Psalm 107:10–12
Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and chains,
Psalm 149:8
…to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with shackles of iron,

Places

Gaza: Philistine city; Samson's exploits; Philip's ministry Philistia: An ancient people and region in Canaan

Glossary

Blindness Criminal Law and Punishment Delilah Gaza Gouging Judges, Book of Mill Philistia, Philistines Samson Tribe of Dan

Topics

Brass: Articles Made of Fetters Captive: Cruelty to Blinded Conspiracy: Delilah, Against Samson Copper Brass: Made Into: Fetters Fetters: Made of Brass (Bronze) Gaza: Also Called Azzah: Samson Dies At Mill: And Captives Prisoners: Required to Labor Prisons used for Confining: Enemies Taken Captive Prisons: Persons Confined in Often Kept to Hard Labour Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Putting out the Eyes Samson is Blinded by the Philistines and Confined to Hard Labor in Prison The Eye: Often Put out As a Punishment The Philistines: Samson: Blinded and Imprisoned By

Judges 16:21

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