Judges. Samson Mortuus Est.
Douay-Rheims translation
16:21 Then the Philistines seized upon him, and forthwith pulled out his
eyes, and led him bound in chains to Gaza, and shutting him up in prison made
him grind.
16:22 And now his hair began to grow again.
16:23 And the princes of the Philistines assembled together, to offer great
sacrifices to Dagon their god, and to make merry, saying: Our god hath delivered
our enemy Samson into our hands.
16:24 And the people also seeing this, praised their god, and said the same:
Our god hath delivered our adversary into our bands, him that destroyed our
country and killed very many.
16:25 And rejoicing in their feasts, when they had now taken their good cheer,
they commanded that Samson should be called, and should play before them.
And being brought out of prison he played before them, and they made him stand
between two pillars.
16:26 And he said to the lad that guided his steps: Suffer me to touch the
pillars which support the whole house, and let me lean upon them, and rest
a little.
16:27 Now the house was full of men and women, and all the princes of the
Philistines were there. Moreover about three thousand persons of both sexes
from the roof and the higher part of the house, were beholding Samson's play.
16:28 But he called upon the Lord, saying: O Lord God, remember me, and restore
to me now my former strength, O my God, that I may revenge myself on my enemies,
and for the loss of my two eyes I may take one revenge.
16:29 And laying hold on both the pillars on which the house rested, and holding
the one with his right hand, and the other with his left,
16:30 He said: Let me die with the Philistines. And when he had strongly shook
the pillars, the house fell upon all the princes, and the rest of the multitude
that was there: and he killed many more at his death, than he had killed before
in his life.
16:31 And his brethren and all his kindred, going down took his body, and
buried it between Saraa and Esthaol in the buryingplace of his father Manue:
and he judged Israel twenty years.