19 Delilah had lulled Samson to sleep with his head resting in her lap. She signaled to one of the Philistine men as she began cutting off Samson's seven braids. And by the time she was finished, Samson's strength was gone. Delilah tied him up
20 and shouted, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!”Samson woke up and thought, “I'll break loose and escape, just as I always do.” He did not realize that the Lord had stopped helping him.
21 The Philistines grabbed Samson and poked out his eyes. They took him to the prison in Gaza and chained him up. Then they put him to work, turning a millstone to grind grain.
22 But they didn't cut his hair any more, so it started growing back.
23 The Philistine rulers threw a big party and sacrificed a lot of animals to their god Dagon. The rulers said:Samson was our enemy,but our god Dagonhelped us capture him!
24-25 Everyone there was having a good time, and they shouted, “Bring out Samson—he's still good for a few more laughs!”The rulers had Samson brought from the prison, and when the people saw him, this is how they praised their god:Samson ruined our cropsand killed our people.He was our enemy,but our god helped uscapture him.They made fun of Samson for a while, then they told him to stand near the columns that supported the roof.
26 A young man was leading Samson by the hand, and Samson said to him, “I need to lean against something. Take me over to the columns that hold up the roof.”