Judges 16:8 (GNV)

Passage

And the princes of the Philistims brought her seuen greene cordes that were not dry, and she bound him therewith.

Nearby Context

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.

Judges 16:7 Samson then answered vnto her, If they binde mee with seuen greene cordes, that were neuer dryed, then shall I bee weake, and be as an other man.

Judges 16:8 And the princes of the Philistims brought her seuen greene cordes that were not dry, and she bound him therewith.

Judges 16:9 (And she had men lying in wayte with her in the chamber) Then she said vnto him, The Philistims be vpon thee, Samson. And hee brake the cordes, as a threede of towe is broken, when it feeleth fire: so his strength was not knowen.

Judges 16:10 After Delilah saide vnto Samson, See, thou hast mocked mee and tolde mee lies. I pray thee nowe, tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "princes", "philistims", "brought", "seuen", "greene", "cordes", "bound", and "therewith". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "princes" and "philistims", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "Samson then answered vnto her If they..." into verse 9's "And she had men lying in wayte...", so "princes" and "philistims" 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 "princes" and "philistims" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.