Judges 16:29 (GNV)

Passage

And Samson layd hold on the two middle pillars whereupon the house stood, and on which it was borne vp: on the one with his right hand, and on the other with his left.

Nearby Context

Judges 16:27 (Nowe the house was full of men and women, and there were all the princes of the Philistims: also vpon the roofe were about three thousande men and women that behelde while Samson played)

Judges 16:28 Then Samson called vnto the Lord, and sayde, O Lord God, I pray thee, thinke vpon me: O God, I beseech thee, strengthen me at this time onely, that I may be at once auenged of the Philistims for my two eyes.

Judges 16:29 And Samson layd hold on the two middle pillars whereupon the house stood, and on which it was borne vp: on the one with his right hand, and on the other with his left.

Judges 16:30 Then Samson saide, Let me lose my life with the Philistims: and he bowed him with all his might, and the house fell vpon the princes, and vpon all the people that were therein. so the dead which he slewe at his death were more then they which he had slaine in his life.

Judges 16:31 Then his brethren, and all the house of his father came downe and tooke him, and brought him vp and buryed him betweene Zorah and Eshtaol, in the sepulchre of Manoah his father: nowe he had iudged Israel twenty yeeres.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "samson", "layd", "hold", "middle", "pillars", "whereupon", "house", and "stood". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "samson" and "layd", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 28's "Then Samson called vnto the Lord and..." into verse 30's "Then Samson saide Let me lose my...", so "samson" and "layd" 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 "layd" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.