7 Samson said to them, "Is that how you act? Then I won't stop until I pay you back."
8 He struck them down with heavy blows. He killed many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave. It was in the rock of Etam.
9 The Philistines went up and camped in Judah. They spread out near Lehi.
10 The men of Judah asked, "Why have you come to fight against us?" "We've come to take Samson as our prisoner," they answered. "We want to do to him what he did to us."
11 Then 3,000 men from Judah went to get Samson. They went down to the cave that was in the rock of Etam. They said to Samson, "Don't you realize the Philistines are ruling over us? What have you done to us?" Samson answered, "I only did to them what they did to me."
12 The men of Judah said to him, "We've come to tie you up. We're going to hand you over to the Philistines." Samson said, "Take an oath and promise me you won't kill me yourselves."
13 "We agree," they answered. "We'll only tie you up and hand you over to them. We won't kill you." So they tied him up with two new ropes. They led him up from the rock.