New International Reader's Version

Judges 13:10-24 New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

10. The woman hurried to her husband. She told him, "He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day is here!"

11. Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he spoke to him. He said, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?" "I am," he replied.

12. So Manoah asked him, "What will happen when your words come true? What rules should we follow for the boy's life and work?"

13. The angel of the Lord answered him. He said, "Your wife must do everything I have told her to do.

14. She must not eat anything that comes from grapevines. She must not drink any kind of wine. She must not eat anything that is 'unclean.' She must do everything I have commanded her to do."

15. Manoah spoke to the angel of the Lord. He said, "We would like you to stay and eat. We want to prepare a young goat for you."

16. The angel of the Lord replied, "Even if I stay, I will not eat any of your food. But if you still want to prepare a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord." Manoah didn't realize it was the angel of the Lord.

17. Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord a question. "What is your name?" he said. "We want to honor you when your word comes true."

18. The angel replied, "Why are you asking me what my name is? You would not be able to understand it."

19. Manoah got a young goat. He brought it together with the grain offering. He sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. Then the Lord did an amazing thing. It happened while Manoah and his wife were watching.

20. A flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven. The angel of the Lord rose up in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw it, they fell with their faces to the ground.

21. The angel of the Lord didn't show himself again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized it was the angel of the Lord.

22. "We're going to die!" he said to his wife. "We've seen God!"

23. But his wife answered, "The Lord doesn't want to kill us. If he did, he wouldn't have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from us. He wouldn't have shown us all of those things. He wouldn't have told us we're going to have a son."

24. Later, the woman had a baby boy. She named him Samson. As he grew up, the Lord blessed him.