Judges 16 · Verse 17

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.
Judges 16:17, King James Version

Judges 16:17 in other translations

BSBSamson told her all that was in his heart: “My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man.”
WEBHe told her all his heart and said to her, “No razor has ever come on my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me and I will become weak, and be like any other man.”
ASVAnd he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite 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.
YLTthat he declareth to her all his heart, and saith to her, ‘A razor hath not gone up on my head, for a Nazarite to God I am from the womb of my mother; if I have been shaven, then hath my power turned aside from me, and I have been weak, and have been as any of the human race.'
DARBYand he told her all his heart, and said to her, There has not come a razor upon my head; for I am a Nazarite of God from my mother's womb; if I should be shaven, then my strength would go from me, and I should be weak, and be like all mankind.
BBEAnd opening all his heart to her, he said to her, My head has never been touched by a blade, for I have been separate to God from the day of my birth: if my hair is cut off, then my strength will go from me and I will become feeble, and will be like any other man.
WebsterThat he told her all his heart, and said to her, There hath not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazarite to God from my birth: if I be shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

What does Judges 16:17 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
17. if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me--His herculean powers did not arise from his hair, but from his peculiar relation to God as a Nazarite. His unshorn locks were a sign of his Nazaritism, and a pledge on the part of God that his supernatural strength would be continued.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 17 If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me - The miraculous strength of Samson must not be supposed to reside either in his hair or in his muscles, but in that relation in which he stood to God as a Nazarite, such a person being bound by a solemn vow to walk in a strict conformity to the laws of his Maker. It was a part of the Nazarite's vow to permit no razor to pass on his head; and his long hair was the mark of his Nazirate, and of his vow to God. When Samson permitted his hair to be shorn off, he renounced and broke his Nazir vow; in consequence of which God abandoned him, and therefore we are told, in Jdg 16:20, that the Lord was departed from him.

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 16:17 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.

וַיַּגֶּד\־vai.ya.ged-and he toldH5046
לָ֣הּlahto <the> her
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
לִבּ֗וֹli.Boheart hisH3820
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
לָהּ֙lahto <the> her
מוֹרָה֙mo.Raha razorH4177
לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
עָלָ֣ה'a.Lahit has come upH5927
עַל\־'al-onH5921
רֹאשִׁ֔יro.Shihead myH7218
כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
נְזִ֧ירne.Zir[am] a Nazirite ofH5139
אֱלֹהִ֛ים'E.lo.HimGodH430
אֲנִ֖י'a.NiIH589
מִבֶּ֣טֶןmi.Be.tenfrom [the] womb ofH990
אִמִּ֑י'i.Mimother myH517
אִם\־'im-ifH518
גֻּלַּ֙חְתִּי֙gu.Lach.tiI was shavedH1548
וְסָ֣רve.Sarand it will departH5493
מִמֶּ֣נִּיmi.Me.nifrom meH4480
כֹחִ֔יkho.Chistrength myH3581
וְחָלִ֥יתִיve.cha.Li.tiand I will be weakH2470
וְהָיִ֖יתִיve.ha.Yi.tiand I will beH1961
כְּכָל\־ke.khol-like everyH3605
הָאָדָֽם\׃ha.'a.Dam<the> manH120

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

Cross references for Judges 16:17

  • Micah 7:5

    Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

  • Judges 13:5

    For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

  • Proverbs 12:23

    A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.

  • Numbers 6:5

    All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.

  • Acts 18:18

    And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.

  • Numbers 6:2

    Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord:

  • Proverbs 29:12

    If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
all his heart.
Pr 12:23; 29:12; Mic 7:5
There hath.
13:5; Nu 6:5; Ac 18:18

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

Context

  • 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.

  • Judges 16:18

    And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

Read all of Judges 16

Judges 16:17 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Descubrióle pues todo su corazón, y díjole: Nunca á mi cabeza llegó navaja; porque soy Nazareo de Dios desde el vientre de mi madre. Si fuere rapado, mi fuerza se apartará de mí, y seré debilitado, y como todos los hombres.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
et il lui déclara tout ce qui était dans son cœur, et lui dit: Le rasoir n’a jamais passé sur ma tête, car je suis nazaréen de Dieu dès le ventre de ma mère. Si j’étais rasé, ma force s’en irait de moi, et je deviendrais faible, et je serais comme tous les hommes.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und er tat ihr sein ganzes Herz kund und sprach zu ihr: Kein Schermesser ist auf mein Haupt gekommen, denn ein Nasir Gottes bin ich von Mutterleibe an; wenn ich geschoren würde, so würde meine Stärke von mir weichen, und ich würde schwach werden und würde sein wie alle Menschen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Tunc aperiens veritatem rei, dixit ad eam: Ferrum numquam ascendit super caput meum, quia nazaræus, id est, consecratus Deo, sum de utero matris meæ: si rasum fuerit caput meum, recedet a me fortitudo mea, et deficiam, eroque sicut ceteri homines.