Judges 16:23 (DBY)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Judges 16:24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god has given into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, even him who multiplied our slain.

Judges 16:25 And it came to pass when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison-house, and he played before them; and they set him between the pillars.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lords", "philistines", "gathered", "together", "sacrifice", "great", and "dagon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lords" and "philistines", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "But the hair of his head began..." into verse 24's "And when the people saw him they...", so "lords" and "philistines" 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 "lords" and "philistines" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.