Judges 16 · Verse 16

Judges 16:16

And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
Judges 16:16, King James Version

Judges 16:16 in other translations

BSBFinally, after she had pressed him daily with her words and pleaded until he was sick to death,
WEBWhen she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, his soul was troubled to death.
ASVAnd it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death.
YLTAnd it cometh to pass, because she distressed him with her words all the days, and doth urge him, and his soul is grieved to death,
DARBYAnd it came to pass when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death;
BBESo day after day she gave him no peace, for ever questioning him till his soul was troubled to death.
WebsterAnd it came to pass when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed to death;

What does Judges 16:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Jud 16:15-20. He Is Overcome.

16. she pressed him daily with her words--Though disappointed and mortified, this vile woman resolved to persevere; and conscious how completely he was enslaved by his passion for her, she assailed him with a succession of blandishing arts, till she at length discovered the coveted secret.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 16 His soul was vexed unto death - What a consummate fool was this strong man! Might he not have seen, from what already took place, that Delilah intended his ruin? After trifling with her, and lying thrice, he at last commits to her his fatal secret, and thus becomes a traitor to himself and to his God. Well may we adopt the sensible observation of Calmet on this passage: La foiblesse du caeur de Samson, dans torte cette histoire, est encore plus etonnante que la force de son corps; "The weakness of Samson's heart in the whole of this history, is yet more astonishing than the strength of his body."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Judges 16:4-17

Samson had been more than once brought into mischief and danger by the love of women, yet he would not take warning, but is again taken in the same snare, and this third time is fatal. Licentiousness is one of the things that take away the heart. This is a deep pit into which many have fallen; but from which few have escaped, and those by a miracle of mercy, with the loss of reputation and usefulness, of almost all…

Read the full comment on Judges 16:4-17 →

Judges 16:16 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַ֠יְהִיVay.hiand it wasH1961
כִּֽי\־ki-thatH3588
הֵצִ֨יקָהhe.Tzi.kahshe pressedH6693
לּ֧וֹlo<to> <the> him
בִדְבָרֶ֛יהָvid.va.Rei.hawith words herH1697
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
הַיָּמִ֖יםhai.ya.Mimthe daysH3117
וַתְּאַֽלֲצֵ֑הוּva.te.'a.la.Tze.huand she urged himH509
וַתִּקְצַ֥רva.tik.Tzarand it was shortH7114
נַפְשׁ֖וֹnaf.Shoself hisH5315
לָמֽוּת\׃la.Mutto dieH4191

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Judges 16:16

  • Proverbs 7:21-23

    With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

  • Luke 18:5

    Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

  • Jonah 4:9

    And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

  • Luke 11:8

    I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

  • Mark 14:24

    And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

  • Job 21:4

    As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?

  • Proverbs 7:26-27

    For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
she pressed.
Pr 7:21-23,26,27; Lu 11:8; 18:5
vexed. Heb. shortened.
Job 21:4; *marg:
Jon 4:9; Mr 14:24

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Judges 16:15

    And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.

  • Judges 16:16

    And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

  • Judges 16:17

    That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

Read all of Judges 16

Judges 16:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y aconteció que, apretándole ella cada día con sus palabras é importunándole, su alma fué reducida á mortal angustia.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il arriva, comme elle le tourmentait par ses paroles tous les jours et le pressait, que son âme en fut ennuyée jusqu’à la mort;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und es geschah, als sie ihn alle Tage mit ihren Worten drängte und ihn plagte, da wurde seine Seele ungeduldig zum Sterben;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Cumque molesta esset ei, et per multos dies jugiter adhæreret, spatium ad quietem non tribuens, defecit anima ejus, et ad mortem usque lassata est.