Judges 16:21 (DBY)

Passage

And the Philistines seized him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gazah, and bound him with fetters of bronze; and he had to grind in the prison-house.

Nearby Context

Judges 16:19 And she made him sleep upon her knees, and called a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to overpower him, and his strength went from him.

Judges 16:20 And she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep, and thought, I will go out as at other times before, and disengage myself. And he knew not that Jehovah had departed from him.

Judges 16:21 And the Philistines seized him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gazah, and bound him with fetters of bronze; and he had to grind in the prison-house.

Judges 16:22 But the hair of his head began to grow after he was shaved.

Judges 16:23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "philistines", "seized", "eyes", "brought", "down", "gazah", "bound", and "fetters". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "philistines" and "seized", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And she said The Philistines are upon..." into verse 22's "But the hair of his head began...", so "philistines" and "seized" 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 "philistines" and "seized" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.