Judges 16:12 (WEB)

Passage

So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” The ambush was waiting in the inner room. He broke them off his arms like a thread.

Nearby Context

Judges 16:10 Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies: now please tell me with which you might be bound.”

Judges 16:11 He said to her, “If they only bind me with new ropes with which no work has been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.”

Judges 16:12 So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” The ambush was waiting in the inner room. He broke them off his arms like a thread.

Judges 16:13 Delilah said to Samson, “Until now, you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me with what you might be bound.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web.”

Judges 16:14 She fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” He awakened out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "delilah", "took", "ropes", "bound", "therewith", "said", "philistines", and "samson". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "delilah" and "took", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "He said to her If they only..." into verse 13's "Delilah said to Samson Until now you...", so "delilah" and "took" 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 "delilah" and "took" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.