Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were therein. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life.
Judges 16:28 Samson called to Yahweh, and said, “Lord Yahweh, remember me, please, and strengthen me, please, only this once, God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.”
Judges 16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and leaned on them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left.
Judges 16:30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were therein. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life.
Judges 16:31 Then his brothers and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burial site of Manoah his father. He judged Israel twenty years.
The verse centers on "samson", "said", "philistines", "bowed", "himself", "might", "house", and "fell". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "samson" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 29's "Samson took hold of the two middle..." into verse 31's "Then his brothers and all the house...", so "samson" and "said" 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 "samson" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.