Judges 16:9 (ASV)

Passage

Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withes, as a string of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

Nearby Context

Judges 16:7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withes that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.

Judges 16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withes which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

Judges 16:9 Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withes, as a string of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

Judges 16:10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.

Judges 16:11 And he said unto her, If they only bind me with new ropes wherewith no work hath been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "liers-in-wait", "abiding", "inner", "chamber", "said", "philistines", "upon", and "thee". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "liers-in-wait" and "abiding", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Then the lords of the Philistines brought..." into verse 10's "And Delilah said unto Samson Behold thou...", so "liers-in-wait" and "abiding" belong inside that flow. In Judges context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "liers-in-wait" and "abiding" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.