Judges 16:20 (KJV)

Passage

And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.

Nearby Context

Judges 16:18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

Judges 16:19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

Judges 16:20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.

Judges 16:21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

Judges 16:22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "philistines", "upon", "thee", "samson", "awoke", and "sleep". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "philistines", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "And she made him sleep upon her..." into verse 21's "But the Philistines took him and put...", so "said" and "philistines" 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 "said" and "philistines" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.