Judges 16:8 (WEB)

Passage

Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

Nearby Context

Judges 16:6 Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and what you might be bound to afflict you.”

Judges 16:7 Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.”

Judges 16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

Judges 16:9 Now she had an ambush waiting in the inner room. She said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” He broke the cords, as a string of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.

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.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lords", "philistines", "brought", "seven", "green", "cords", "been", and "dried". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lords" and "philistines", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "Samson said to her If they bind..." into verse 9's "Now she had an ambush waiting in...", so "lords" 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 "lords" and "philistines" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.