Bible Strands
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.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Samson speaks to Delilah during her repeated attempts to uncover the source of his strength. He proposes a conditional test to demonstrate his vulnerability under specific restraints.
The words — The Hebrew יְתָרִים לַחִים (yeta'rim la'chim) literally means "fresh cords" or "bowstrings that have not been dried." Samson specifies this material to describe the exact conditions under which he claims he will lose his strength.
The thread — The narrative of deceptive speech and its consequences runs through Proverbs 12:19, Galatians 6:7, and Colossians 3:9. These passages collectively warn that falsehood yields temporary results while truth and sowing produce lasting outcomes.
Why it lands — The text records Samson's literal claim that specific restraints will reduce him to ordinary weakness. It requires readers to confront the reality that testing divine protection through deception inevitably produces the very vulnerability one claims to avoid.
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 Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 12:19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
- Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
- Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices,
- 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.”
- 1 Samuel 19:17 And Saul said to Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this? You sent my enemy away, and he has escaped!” Michal replied, “He said to me, ‘Help me get away, or I will kill you!’”
- 1 Samuel 21:2 “The king has given me a mission,” David replied. “He told me no one is to know about the mission on which I am sending you. And I have directed my young men to meet me at a certain place.
- 1 Samuel 27:10 who would ask him, “What have you raided today?” And David would reply, “The Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.”
- Proverbs 17:7 Eloquent words are unfit for a fool; how much worse are lying lips to a ruler!
- Romans 3:8 Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved!