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Bishop's Bible

Judges 15:16

And Samson sayde: With the iawe of an Asse, heapes vpon heapes: with the iawe of an Asse haue I slayne a thousande men.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ass (Donkey);   Lehi;   Samson;   Scofield Reference Index - Miracles;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Philistines, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Etam;   Lehi;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Ramath-Lehi;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Etam;   Shamgar;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Music, Instruments, Dancing;   Poetry;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ass;   Israel;   Levi;   Marriage;   Philistines;   Samson;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Lehi ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Makaz;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Ass;   Heap;   Number;   Samson;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Alliteration and Kindred Figures;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Samson said:
Hebrew Names Version
Shimshon said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men.
King James Version
And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
Lexham English Bible
And Samson said, "With the jawbone of the donkey, heap upon heap; with the jawbone of the donkey, I struck dead one thousand men."
English Standard Version
And Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men."
New Century Version
Then Samson said, "With a donkey's jawbone I made donkeys out of them. With a donkey's jawbone I killed a thousand men!"
New English Translation
Samson then said, "With the jawbone of a donkey I have left them in heaps; with the jawbone of a donkey I have struck down a thousand men!"
Amplified Bible
Then Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have struck down a thousand men."
New American Standard Bible
And Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have killed a thousand men."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Samson sayd, With the iaw of an asse are heapes vpon heapes: with the iawe of an asse haue I slaine a thousand men.
Legacy Standard Bible
These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; and their mouth speaks arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of their own benefit.
Contemporary English Version
After the fighting was over, he made up this poem about what he had done to the Philistines: I used a donkey's jawbone to kill a thousand men; I beat them with this jawbone over and over again.
Complete Jewish Bible
Shimshon said, "With the jawbone of a donkey I left heaps piled on heaps! With the jawbone of a donkey I killed a thousand men!"
Darby Translation
And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, a heap, two heaps, With the jawbone of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
Easy-to-Read Version
Then Samson said, "With a donkey's jawbone, I killed 1000 men! With a donkey's jawbone, I piled them into a tall pile."
George Lamsa Translation
And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass I have made heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of an ass I have slain a thousand men.
Good News Translation
So Samson sang, "With the jawbone of a donkey I killed a thousand men; With the jawbone of a donkey I piled them up in piles."
Literal Translation
And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, a heap, two heaps, with the jawbone of an ass I have killed a thousand men.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Samson sayde: With an olde asses cheke bone, yee eue with the cheke bone of an asse haue I slayne a thousande men.
American Standard Version
And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of an ass have I smitten a thousand men.
Bible in Basic English
And Samson said, With a red ass's mouth-bone I have made them red with blood, with a red ass's mouth-bone I have sent destruction on a thousand men.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Samson said: With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of an ass have I smitten a thousand men.
King James Version (1611)
And Samson said, With the iawbone of an asse, heapes vpon heapes, with the iaw of an asse haue I slaine a thousand men.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Sampson said, With the jaw-bone of an ass I have utterly destroyed them, for with the jaw-bone of an ass I have smitten a thousand men.
English Revised Version
And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of an ass have I smitten a thousand men.
Berean Standard Bible
Then Samson said: "With the jawbone of a donkey I have piled them into heaps. With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
With the cheke of an asse, that is, with the lowere cheke of a colt of femal assis, Y dide hem awey, and Y killide a thousynde men.
Young's Literal Translation
And Samson saith, `With a jaw-bone of the ass -- an ass upon asses -- with a jaw-bone of the ass I have smitten a thousand men.'
Update Bible Version
And Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, I have thrashed them good, With the jawbone of a donkey I have smitten a thousand men.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Samson said, With the jaw-bone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
World English Bible
Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men.
New King James Version
Then Samson said: "With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men!"
New Living Translation
Then Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, I've piled them in heaps! With the jawbone of a donkey, I've killed a thousand men!"
New Life Bible
Then Samson said, "With the bone of a donkey there are bodies upon bodies. With the bone of a donkey I have killed 1,000 men."
New Revised Standard
And Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, - have I piled them up in heaps! With the jawbone of an ass, have I smitten a thousand men!
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said: With the jawbone of an ass, with the jaw of the colt of asses, I have destroyed them, and have slain a thousand men.
Revised Standard Version
And Samson said, "With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of an ass have I slain a thousand men."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have killed a thousand men."

Contextual Overview

9 Then the Philistines came vp, and pytched in Iuda, and camped in Lehi. 10 And the men of Iuda sayde: Why are ye come vp vnto vs? They aunswered: To bynde Samson are we come vp, & to do to hym, as he hath done to vs. 11 Then three thonsande men of Iuda went to the toppe of the rocke Etam, & sayde to Samson: Wottest thou not that the Philistines are rulers ouer vs? Wherfore then hast thou done thus vnto vs? He aunswered them: As they dyd vnto me, so haue I done vnto them. 12 And they sayd vnto him agayne: We are come to bynde thee, and to deliuer thee into ye hande of the Philistines. And Samson said vnto them: Sweare vnto me, that ye shall not fal vpon me your selues. 13 They aunswered him, saying: No, but we will bynde thee, & delyuer thee vnto their handes: but we wyll not kyll thee. And they bounde hym with two new cordes, and brought him from the rocke. 14 And when he came to Lehi, the Philistines showted agaynst him: And the spirite of the Lord came vpon him, and the cordes that were vpon his armes, became as flaxe that was burnt with fire, for the bandes loosed from of his handes. 15 And he founde a newe iawe bone of an Asse, & put foorth his hande, and caught it, and slue a thousande men therwith. 16 And Samson sayde: With the iawe of an Asse, heapes vpon heapes: with the iawe of an Asse haue I slayne a thousande men. 17 And when he had left speakyng, he cast away the iawe bone out of his hande, and called the place Ramath Lehi.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

with the jawbone: There is here a fine paronomasia upon the word chamor, "an ass," which also signifies "a heap;" bilchee hachamor, chamor chamorathayim, "With the jaw-bone of an ass, a heap upon two heaps."

heaps upon heaps: Heb. an heap, two heaps, Judges 15:16

Reciprocal: Judges 16:24 - which slew many of us 1 Samuel 17:40 - staff 1 Corinthians 1:25 - the foolishness

Cross-References

Genesis 15:5
And he brought hym out, and sayde: loke vp vnto heauen, and tell the starres, if thou be able to number them. And he sayde vnto hym: euen so shall thy seede be.
Genesis 15:8
And he sayde: Lorde God wherby shall I knowe that I shall inherite it?
Genesis 15:9
He aunswered vnto hym: Take an Heyfer of three yere olde, & a she Goate of three yere olde, and a three yere olde Ramme, a turtle Doue also, & a young Pigeon.
Genesis 15:11
And when the foules fell on the carkases, Abram droue them away.
Exodus 12:40
The dwellyng of the chyldren of Israel which they dwelled in Egypt, was foure hundred and thirtie yeres.
1 Kings 21:26
He dyd exceeding abhominablie in folowing foule idols, according to all thinges as dyd the Ammorites whom the Lorde cast out before the children of Israel.
Daniel 8:23
And in the ende of their kingdome, when the wicked are come to the full, a king of a fierce countenaunce, and vnderstanding harde sentences, shall stand vp.
1 Thessalonians 2:16
And hynder vs to speake to the gentiles that they myght be saued, to fulfyll their sinnes alway. For the wrath [of God] is come on them to the vtmost.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Samson said,.... In a kind of triumphant song:

with the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps; that is, with such an instrument he had slain heaps of men, who lay dead in heaps upon one another; in the words for an "ass", and for an "heap", is an elegant "paronomosia", not easy to be expressed in our language:

with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men: this he said not in a proud and haughty manner, ascribing it to himself, as Josephus suggests m, since he takes notice of the mean instrument he used; which showed that he was sensible it was not done by his own power, but by the power of God, which enabled him by such weak means to do such wonderful things.

m Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 9.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

There is a play upon the word, three times repeated, which means both “an ass” and also “a heap.” The spirit of riddle-making Judges 14:12, Judges 14:18 is apparent in this song of triumph (compare Judges 5:1; Exodus 15:1; 1 Samuel 18:6-7).


 
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