Verse Lens · Concise explanation

Judges 15:13 Explained in Context

Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.

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Verse 13. And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions

Quick Meaning

This verse binds Samson under a negotiated promise against immediate killing.

Read It With

  • Judges 15:9–13

Read Judges 15:9–13 together. This verse binds Samson under a negotiated promise against immediate killing. The Philistine deployment, Judah's question, Samson's identification, three-thousand-person delegation, his protest, negotiated nonlethal surrender, and double binding form one handover; verse 14 begins the Spirit-enabled reversal.

Why This Verse Appears Here

The scene reveals accommodation under domination and Samson's own symmetrical vengeance ethic, while Judah negotiates survival by handing over one of its own. Within that movement, binds Samson under a negotiated promise against immediate killing.

Read Judges 15:9–13 together

Why these verses belong together: The Philistine deployment, Judah's question, Samson's identification, three-thousand-person delegation, his protest, negotiated nonlethal surrender, and double binding form one handover; verse 14 begins the Spirit-enabled reversal.

Verse 9. Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.

Verse 10. And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

Verse 11. Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

Verse 12. And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

Verse 13. And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

What Remains True

Binds Samson under a negotiated promise against immediate killing. Oppression can normalize submission, while a self-appointed avenger can leave the community without a trustworthy path to safety.

How It Can Shape Life

  • Because Judges 15:13 binds Samson under a negotiated promise against immediate killing, protect civilians under coercive rule and build accountable resistance or legal advocacy that does not depend on one person's revenge.

Continue in Context

The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.

Read Judges 15:9–13 — Judah binds its own deliverer under occupation
Sources used for this Verse Lens

How certain is this explanation? strong

These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.

Exact location: Judges 15:9–13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Judges

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clause relationships, repeated terms, wordplays, and translation control.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Judg.xml, 15:9–13

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: Judges with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2006

Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, poetic, geographical, social, and uncertainty notes.

Exact location: NET Bible Judges PDF, printed pp. 478-479, translation and notes on 15:9–13

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