Judges 16:29 (DRB)

Passage

And laying hold on both the pillars on which the house rested, and holding the one with his right hand, and the other with his left,

Nearby Context

Judges 16:27 Now the house was full of men and women, and all the princes of the Philistines were there. Moreover about three thousand persons of both sexes, from the roof and the higher part of the house, were beholding Samson's play.

Judges 16:28 But he called upon the Lord, saying: O Lord God remember me, and restore to me now my former strength, O my God, that I may revenge myself on my enemies, and for the loss of my two eyes I may take one revenge.

Judges 16:29 And laying hold on both the pillars on which the house rested, and holding the one with his right hand, and the other with his left,

Judges 16:30 He said: Let me die with the Philistines. And when he had strongly shook the pillars, the house fell upon all the princes, and the rest of the multitude, that was there: and he killed many more at his death, than he had killed before in his life.

Judges 16:31 And his brethren and all his kindred, going down took his body, and buried it between Saraa and Esthaol, in the buryingplace of his father Manue: and he judged Israel twenty years.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "laying", "hold", "both", "pillars", "house", "rested", "holding", and "right". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "laying" and "hold", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 28's "But he called upon the Lord saying..." into verse 30's "He said Let me die with the...", so "laying" and "hold" 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 "laying" and "hold" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.