1. One day while Samson was in Gaza, he saw a prostitute and went to her house to spend the night.
2. The people who lived in Gaza found out he was there, and they decided to kill him at sunrise. So they went to the city gate and waited all night in the guardrooms on each side of the gate.
3. But Samson got up in the middle of the night and went to the town gate. He pulled the gate doors and doorposts out of the wall and put them on his shoulders. Then he carried them all the way to the top of the hill that overlooks Hebron, where he set the doors down, still closed and locked.
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.”