Judges 16:6

Contemporary English Version

The next time Samson was at Delilah's house, she asked, "Samson, what makes you so strong? How can I tie you up so you can't get away? Come on, you can tell me."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me, where does your great strength come from? How could someone tie you up and make you helpless?”

Hebrew Names Version
Delilah said to Shimshon, Tell me, Please, in which your great strength lies, and with which you might be bound to afflict you.

King James Version
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

Lexham English Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me what makes your strength so great, and with what can you be tied up to subdue you?"

English Standard Version
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you."

New Century Version
So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me why you are so strong. How can someone tie you up and capture you?"

New English Translation
So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me what makes you so strong and how you can be subdued and humiliated."

Amplified Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies and with what you may be bound and subdued."

New American Standard Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you can be bound to humble you."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Delilah saide to Samson, Tell mee, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest bee bound, to doe thee hurt.

Legacy Standard Bible
Toe vra Delíla vir Simson: vertel my tog waardeur jou krag so groot is, en waarmee jy gebind kan word om jou te bedwing.

Complete Jewish Bible
D'lilah said to Shimshon, "Please tell me what it is that makes you so strong, and how someone could tie you up and subdue you."

Darby Translation
Then Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, in what is thy great strength, and with what thou mightest be bound to overpower thee.

Easy-to-Read Version
So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me why you are so strong. How could someone tie you up and make you helpless?"

George Lamsa Translation
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me wherein your great strength lies, and with what you might be bound, and how that you may become weak.

Good News Translation
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me what makes you so strong. If someone wanted to tie you up and make you helpless, how could he do it?"

Literal Translation
And Delilah said to Samson, Now tell me in what your great strength lies , and with what you may be bound in order to afflict you.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Dalila sayde vnto Samson: I praye the tell me, wherin thy greate stregth is, & how thou mightest be bounde to be subdued.

American Standard Version
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

Bible in Basic English
So Delilah said to Samson, Make clear to me now what is the secret of your great strength, and how you may be put in bands and made feeble.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Dalila sayde to Samson: Oh, tell me where thy great strength lyeth, and how thou myghtest be bounde and brought vnder.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Delilah said to Samson: 'Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.'

King James Version (1611)
And Delilah said to Samson, Tel me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lyeth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound, to afflict thee.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Dalida said to Sampson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein is thy great strength, and wherewith thou shalt be bound that thou mayest be humbled.

English Revised Version
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

Berean Standard Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you could be tied up and subdued."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor Dalida spak to Sampson, Y biseche, seie thou to me, wher ynne is thi gretteste strengthe, and what is that thing, with which thou boundun maist not breke?

Young's Literal Translation
And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Declare, I pray thee, to me, wherein thy great power [is], and wherewith thou art bound, to afflict thee.'

Update Bible Version
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray you, wherein your great strength lies, and with which you might be bound to afflict you.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, in what thy great strength [lieth], and with what thou mayest be bound to afflict thee.

World English Bible
Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, Please, in which your great strength lies, and with which you might be bound to afflict you.

New King James Version
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you."

New Living Translation
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me what makes you so strong and what it would take to tie you up securely."

New Life Bible
So Delilah said to Samson, "I beg you. Tell me the secret of your powerful strength. Tell me how one can get power over you and tie you up and hold you."

New Revised Standard
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me what makes your strength so great, and how you could be bound, so that one could subdue you."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So Delilah said unto Samson, Do tell me, I pray thee, wherein lieth thy great strength, - and wherewith thou mightest be bound, to humble thee.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Dalila said to Samson: Tell me, I beseech thee, wherein thy greatest strength lieth, and what it is, wherewith if thou wert bound, thou couldst not break loose.

Revised Standard Version
And Deli'lah said to Samson, "Please tell me wherein your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you."

THE MESSAGE
So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me, dear, the secret of your great strength, and how you can be tied up and humbled."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you."

Contextual Overview

⁴ Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in Sorek Valley. ⁵ The Philistine rulers went to Delilah and said, "Trick Samson into telling you what makes him so strong and what can make him weak. Then we can tie him up so he can't get away. If you find out his secret, we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver." ⁶ The next time Samson was at Delilah's house, she asked, "Samson, what makes you so strong? How can I tie you up so you can't get away? Come on, you can tell me." ⁷ Samson answered, "If someone ties me up with seven new bowstrings that have never been dried, it will make me just as weak as anyone else." ⁸The Philistine rulers gave seven new bowstrings to Delilah. They also told some of their soldiers to go to Delilah's house and hide in the room where Samson and Delilah were. If the bowstrings made Samson weak, they would be able to capture him. Delilah tied up Samson with the bowstrings and shouted, "Samson, the Philistines are attacking!" Samson snapped the bowstrings, as though they were pieces of scorched string. The Philistines had not found out why Samson was so strong. ¹⁰ "You lied and made me look like a fool," Delilah said. "Now tell me. How can I really tie you up?" ¹¹ Samson answered, "Use some new ropes. If I'm tied up with ropes that have never been used, I'll be just as weak as anyone else." ¹² Delilah got new ropes and again had some Philistines hide in the room. Then she tied up Samson's arms and shouted, "Samson, the Philistines are attacking!" Samson snapped the ropes as if they were threads. ¹³ "You're still lying and making a fool of me," Delilah said. "Tell me how I can tie you up!" "My hair is in seven braids," Samson replied. "If you weave my braids into the threads on a loom and nail the loom to a wall, then I will be as weak as anyone else." ¹⁴ While Samson was asleep, Delilah wove his braids into the threads on a loom and nailed the loom to a wall. Then she shouted, "Samson, the Philistines are attacking!" Samson woke up and pulled the loom free from its posts in the ground and from the nails in the wall. Then he pulled his hair free from the woven cloth.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Psalms 12:2, Proverbs 6:26, Proverbs 7:21, Proverbs 22:14, Proverbs 26:28, Jeremiah 9:2-5, Micah 7:2, Micah 7:5

Reciprocal: Judges 14:17 - she lay Nehemiah 6:4 - four times

Cross-References

Genesis 16:8
and asked, "Hagar, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She answered, "I'm running away from Sarai, my owner."

Genesis 16:9
The angel said, "Go back to Sarai and be her slave.

Genesis 24:10
Soon after that, the servant loaded ten of Abraham's camels with valuable gifts. Then he set out for the city in northern Syria, where Abraham's brother Nahor lived.

Exodus 2:15
When the king heard what Moses had done, the king wanted to kill him. But Moses escaped and went to the land of Midian. One day, Moses was sitting there by a well,

Job 2:6
"All right!" the Lord replied. "Make Job suffer as much as you want, but just don't kill him."

Proverbs 14:29
It's smart to be patient, but it's stupid to lose your temper.

Proverbs 15:1
A kind answer soothes angry feelings, but harsh words stir them up.

Proverbs 27:8
When you are far from home, you feel like a bird without a nest.

Proverbs 29:19
Even when servants are smart, it takes more than words to make them obey.

Ecclesiastes 10:4
Don't give up your job when your boss gets angry. If you stay calm, you'll be forgiven.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Delilah said to Samson,.... At a proper opportunity, when in his hands and caresses, as Josephus relates e, and introduced it in an artful manner, admiring his strange exploits, and wondering how he could perform them:

tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth; which she proposed seemingly out of mere curiosity, and as it would be a proof of his affection to her, to impart the secret to her:

and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee; not that she suggested to him that she was desirous to have him afflicted, or to try the experiment herself in order to afflict him, but to know by what means, if he was bound, it would be afflicting to him so that he could not relieve himself; she knew he might be bound, if he would admit of it, as he had been, but she wanted to know how he might be bound, so as to be held, and could not loose himself.

e Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 9.)