Bible Strands
Judges 16:10
Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me! Now please tell me how you can be tied up.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Delilah speaks to Samson in her chamber immediately after his third failed attempt to conceal his strength. She issues this demand while Philistine agents remain hidden in the room awaiting the outcome.
The words — The Hebrew הֵתַלְתָּ (he.tal.ta) literally means "you have deceived" or "you have mocked," paired with תְּדַבֵּר (te.daber) for "you have spoken." Delilah uses these terms to formally accuse Samson of fabricating lies about the source of his power.
The thread — Delilah repeats this exact accusation in Judges 16:13, showing a pattern of escalating pressure. The text parallels Proverbs 24:28's prohibition against deceiving with one's lips, while Ezekiel 33:31 illustrates the broader biblical theme of hearing words without submitting to them.
Why it lands — The passage records how persistent interrogation wears down a subject's resistance. It requires the reader to track the precise moment when a character stops testing boundaries and begins yielding compromising information.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
Cross-references
- Judges 16:13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me all along! Tell me how you can be tied up.” He told her, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the web of a loom and tighten it with a pin, I will become as weak as any other man.”
- Proverbs 24:28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.
- Ezekiel 33:31 So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.
- Luke 22:48 But Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
- Judges 16:7 Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become as weak as any other man.”
- Judges 16:15 “How can you say, ‘I love you,’” she asked, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and failed to reveal to me the source of your great strength!”
- Proverbs 23:7 for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.