And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines! And he bowed himself with might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than those whom he had slain in his life.
Judges 16:28 And Samson called to Jehovah, and said, Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may take one vengeance upon the Philistines for my two eyes.
Judges 16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood (and he supported himself upon them), the one with his right hand and the other with his left.
Judges 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines! And he bowed himself with might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than those whom he had slain in his life.
Judges 16:31 And his brethren came down, and all the house of his father, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zoreah and Eshtaol in the sepulchre of Manoah his father. And he had judged Israel twenty years.
The verse centers on "samson", "said", "philistines", "bowed", "himself", "might", "house", and "fell". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "samson" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 29's "And Samson took hold of the two..." into verse 31's "And his brethren came down and all...", so "samson" and "said" 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 "samson" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.