Judges 16:11 (LSB)

Passage

And he said to her, “If they bind me tightly with new ropes which have not been used for work, then I will become weak and be like any other man.”

Nearby Context

Judges 16:9 Now she had men lying in wait, sitting in an inner room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the cords as a string of tinder snaps when it touches fire. So his strength was still not known.

Judges 16:10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have deceived me and told me lies; now please tell me how you may be bound.”

Judges 16:11 And he said to her, “If they bind me tightly with new ropes which have not been used for work, then I will become weak and be like any other man.”

Judges 16:12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” Now the men lying in wait were sitting in the inner room. But he snapped the ropes from his arms like a thread.

Judges 16:13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies; tell me how you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web [and fasten it with a pin, then I will become weak and be like any other man.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "bind", "tightly", "ropes", "been", "used", "become", and "weak". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "bind", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "Then Delilah said to Samson Behold you..." into verse 12's "So Delilah took new ropes and bound...", so "said" and "bind" 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 "bind" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.