¶ Samson tyeth fyrebrandes to fox iayles, and let¦teth them runne into the corne. with the Iawebone of an Asse he kylleth a thousande. Oute of a greate to the in the Iawe, God gyueth him water,
CAPI. XV.
[ A] BVt it chaunced within a whyle after, in the tyme of whete heruest, that Samson visited his wyfe with a kydde. And whē he thought to haue gone in vnto his wyfe in∣to the chamber, her father wolde not suffre him to go in: But sayde: I thought thou had best hated her, and therfore gaue I her to one of thy companyons. How be it, her younger sister is fayrer then she. Take her in stede of the other. Then sayde Samson vnto theym: Now I am blamelesse concernynge the Phili∣stines, though I doo theym displeasures. And Samson went forth and caught thre hundred Foxes, and toke fyrebrandes, & fastened tayle to tayle, and put a fyre brande in the myddes betwene two tayles. And he set the fire bran∣des on fyre, and put them into the corne of ye Philistines, & burnt vp bothe the reped corne and also the standinge, with vynes and oly∣ues. Then the Philistines asked, who hadde done that dede. And it was tolde theym that [ B] Samson the sonne in lawe of the Thamnite, because he had bereued him of his wyfe & gy∣uen her to one of his companyons. And the Philistines came and burnt bothe her and her father with fyre.
And Samson sayde vnto them: shoulde ye do so? I will surely be auenged of you, & then I will cease. And he smote them legge & thygh with a myghty plage. And then he went and dwelt in the toppe of the rocke Etam.
Then the Philistines came vp and pitched against Iuda and laye in Leht. And the men of Iuda sayde. Why are ye come against vs? And they answered to bynde Samson are we come, euen to do vnto him, as he hathe done to vs. Then thre thousande men of Iuda went vp to the toppe of the rocke Etam, and sayde [ C] to Samson: wottest thou not, that the Phi∣listines are rulers ouer vs? Wherfore thē hast thou handled vs thus? And he answered thē, as they serued me, so haue I serued them.
Then sayde they vnto him, we are come to bynde the, and to delyuer the into the handes of the Philistines. And Samson sayde vnto them: swere vnto me, that ye shall not hurte me your selues. And they sayde, we will not hurte the, saue onely bynde the, and delyuer the vnto their handes: But we will not kyll the. And so they bounde him with two newe cordes and brought him downe from ye rocke. And whē he cam to Lehi, the Philistins show¦ted againste him. And the spryte of the Lorde came vpon him, and the cordes that were vpō his armes, became as flaxe that was burnt wt fire, and the bandes lowsed frome his handes And he founde a Iaw bone of a rotten asse, & put forth his hande and caught it, and flew a thousande men therwith. And Samson sayd: with the Iawe of an asse, haue I put theym [ D] backe: with the Iaw of an asse haue I slayne a thousande men. And when he had left spea∣kynge, he cast awaye the Iaw out of his hād and called the place Ramath Lehi. But he was sore a thirste, and called on the Lorde, & sayde. Thou Lorde hast gyuen this great vi∣ctory, thorow the hande of thy seruaunt. And now I must dye for thirst, and fall into ye han¦des of the vncircumcysed. But God brake a great tothe that was in the Iawe, and there came water forth of it. And when he had drō∣ken, his sprete came agayne, and he was re∣fresshed, wherfore the name thereof was cal∣led,* 1.1 the well of the caller on, whiche is in Lehi, vnto this daye. And he iudged Is∣raell in the dayes of the Philistines twentye yeres.