Judges 16:17 (WEB)

Passage

He told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come on my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I will become weak, and be like any other man.”

Nearby Context

Judges 16:15 She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.”

Judges 16:16 When she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, his soul was troubled to death.

Judges 16:17 He told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come on my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I will become weak, and be like any other man.”

Judges 16:18 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 has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "told", "heart", "said", "razor", "ever", "come", "head", and "been". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "told" and "heart", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "When she pressed him daily with her..." into verse 18's "When Delilah saw that he had told...", so "told" and "heart" 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 "told" and "heart" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.