Page CX
¶ Israel being an Idolatrer is oppressed of the Phi¦listines. The byrth of Samson. The sacryfyce of Samsons father.
CAPI. XIII.
ANd the chyldren of Israel beganne a∣gayne [ A] to do wickednesse in the sight of the Lorde.* 1.1 And the Lorde delyuered theym in to the handes of the Philistines .xl. yere. And there was a man in Zaraah of the kynrede of the Dannites, named Manoah, whose wife was barrē and bare not. And the Angell of the Lorde appeared vnto his wyfe, and sayde vnto her: Beholde, thou art barren and bearest not: But thou shalt conceyue and beare a sonne. And now beware, and drynke no wyne, ne stronge drinke, neyther eate any vncleane thinge: for lo, thou shalt conceyue, and beare a sonne. And there maye no* 1.2 raser or sheres come on his heed: For the childe shal be a* 1.3 Nazare vnto God, euen from the tyme of his byrth. And he shall begyn to delyuer Is¦rael out of the handes of the Philistines. Thē the wyfe went and tolde her husbande, saying A man of God came vnto me, and the facyon of him was lyke the facyon of an aungell of God excedynge fearefull. But I asked him not whence he was, neyther tolde he me his name. And he sayde vnto me:* 1.4 Behold, thou shalt be with childe and beare a sonne, & now [ B] drynke no wyne nor stronge drynke, neyther eate any vncleane thinge:* 1.5 for the childe shal∣be* 1.6 an absteyner to God euen from his birth to the daye of his death.
Then Manoah made intercession to the Lorde, and sayde: I praye the (my Lorde) let the mā of God which thou sendest come ones more vnto vs, and teache vs what we shall do vnto the childe, whē he is borne. And God herde the voyce of Manoah, and the aungell of God came agayne vnto the wyfe as she sat in the feldes: But Manoah her husband was not with her. Then the wyfe made haste, and ran and shewed her husband and sayd to him: Beholde, the man hathe appeared vnto me, that came the other daye vnto me.
Then Manoah arose, and wente after his wyfe and came to the man and sayd vnto him Art thou the man that spakest vnto my wyfe? And he sayde, yea. Then Manoah sayd, now [ C] when thy worde is come to passe: what shall be the maner of the childe, and what shall he do? And the aungell of the Lorde sayde vn∣to Manoah: thy wyfe must absteyne from al that I sayde vnto her: she maye eate of no∣thinge that cometh of the vyne tree, ne drinke wyne or stronge drynke, nor eate any vnclene thinge: but must obserue all that I bad her. Then sayde Manoah vnto the aungel of the Lorde: Graunt vs to tary tyll we haue made redy a kyd, and haue set it before the. And the Aungell of the Lorde sayde vnto Manoah:* 1.7 thoughe thou make me abyde I will not eate of thy meat. And moreouer yf thou wilt pre∣pare a burntoffringe, that thou must offer vn∣to the Lorde. For Manoah wist not that it was an aungell of the Lorde. And Manoah sayde vnto the aungell of the Lorde: What is thy name, that when thy sayenge is come to passe, we maye do the some worshyp?* 1.8 And the aungell of the Lorde sayd vnto him: why askest thou after my name? when it is mar∣uelouse.
And Manoah toke a kydde with a meat∣offringe, [ D] and offred it vpon a rocke vnto the Lorde which worketh wōders, Manoah & his wyfe loked vpon. And when the flame came vp out of the aultare,* 1.9 the angell of the Lord ascended vp in the flame of the aultare. And Manoah and his wyfe loked theron, and fell flat on their faces vnto the grounde: But the aungell of the Lord dyd no more appeare vn¦to Manoah and his wyfe. And then Mano∣ah knewe that it was aungell of the Lorde: and sayde vnto his wyfe: We shal surely dye because we haue sene God. But his wyfe said vnto him: Yf the Lorde wolde kyll vs,* 1.10 he wolde not haue receyued a burntoffringe and a meatoffringe of our handes, neyther wolde he haue shewed vs al these thinges, nor wold haue tolde vs as he hath of thinges to come. And the wyfe bare a sonne,* 1.11 & called his name Samson. And the lad grewe, and the Lorde blessed him. And the spirite of the Lorde begā first to be with the house of Dan, betwene Za¦raah and Esthaol.