Judges 16:4 (GNV)

Passage

And after this hee loued a woman by the riuer of Sorek, whose name was Delilah:

Nearby Context

Judges 16:2 And it was tolde to the Azzahites, Samson is come hither. And they went about, and laied wayte for him all night in the gate of the citie, and were quiet all the nyght, saying, Abide till the morning earely, and we shall kill him.

Judges 16:3 And Samson slept till midnight, and arose at midnight, and tooke the doores of the gates of the citie, and the two postes and lift them away with the barres, and put them vpon his shoulders, and caried them vp to the top of the mountaine that is before Hebron.

Judges 16:4 And after this hee loued a woman by the riuer of Sorek, whose name was Delilah:

Judges 16:5 Vnto whome came the princes of the Philistims, and said vnto her, Entise him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what meane we may ouercome him, that we may binde him, and punish him, and euery one of vs shall giue thee eleuen hundreth shekels of siluer.

Judges 16:6 And Delilah saide to Samson, Tell mee, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest bee bound, to doe thee hurt.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "after", "loued", "woman", "riuer", "sorek", "whose", "name", and "delilah". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "after" and "loued", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And Samson slept till midnight and arose..." into verse 5's "Vnto whome came the princes of the...", so "after" and "loued" 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 "after" and "loued" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.