And they said to him …: The people of Judah are fearful of what the Philistines might do, so they decide to capture Samson themselves and hand him over to the Philistines. The pronoun they refers to the three thousand soldiers of Judah. In this context the general verb said may be rendered “answered” or “replied.”
We have come down to bind you: There is much irony here. The people of Judah have accepted to do to one of their own kind exactly what the Philistines have stated as their own goal. However, ironically they seem to need three thousand men to deal with one strong man! For come down, see verse 1.9. In Hebrew the phrase to bind you occurs initially for emphasis. For bind see verse 15.10. This clause may be rendered “We are here to tie you up.”
That we may give you into the hands of the Philistines is literally “to give you into the hand of the Philistines.” By handing Samson over to their enemies, the people of Judah hope to appease the Philistines and keep them from attacking. This action obviously goes against any notion of what is right or wrong in Israel. No Israelite should be tying up and delivering his own brother. But there is no indication that the people of Judah are sorry or ashamed of what they are doing. This shows how far the Israelites have come in the downward spiral that the book of Judges describes. Again such actions foreshadow the civil wars described later in the book. Give … into the hands is the same phrase used in this book when God delivers enemies into the hands of the Israelites (see verse 1.2). It brings to mind all the victories that contrast with this sad state of affairs. We might say “We’re here to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”
And Samson said to them: The general verb said may be rendered “answered” (Contemporary English Version) or “replied.”
Swear to me that you will not fall upon me yourselves: There is much debate over the real meaning behind these words of Samson. Is he really afraid or is he being presumptuous? Some scholars believe that Samson is really afraid of the people of Judah, though it is more likely that he does not want the humiliation of being killed by his own people. There may also be a hint of irony. Since Samson kills 1,000 Philistines after the people of Judah hand him over to them (verse 15.15), he probably could have killed 3,000 soldiers of Judah. Unfortunately the text gives no clue as to the tone in his voice here. For the Hebrew verb rendered Swear, see verse 2.1. Swear to me means Samson is asking the people of Judah to make a solemn promise. Good News Translation says “Give me your word,” and NET Bible has “Promise me.”
That you will not fall upon me yourselves is literally “lest you fall upon me you.” In Hebrew the pronoun “you” is repeated for emphasis, which Revised Standard Version expresses well with you … yourselves. Samson seems to accept the fact that the people of Judah will tie him up and deliver him into the hands of the Philistines. His one request is that they not fall upon him. Fall does not render the same Hebrew verb used throughout the victories of the people of Israel. Rather, it is a word that usually means “meet” or “encounter” (see comments on verse 8.21). In this context it means “attack” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “kill” (Good News Translation, New International Version), as the next verse shows. Once again, it is hard to know if Samson is seriously afraid, or if he is simply making fun of them. If the latter is true, a possible model might be “Promise me you won’t hurt me yourselves.” Contemporary English Version says “I won’t put up a fight … but you have to promise not to hurt me yourselves.” This model goes beyond the text.
Indirect speech may be used in the last half of this verse, for example, “Samson made them promise that they themselves would not harm him.” However, this rendering robs the narration of some of its liveliness.
Translation models for this verse are:
• The men of Judah said to Samson, “We have come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”
And Samson replied, “OK, but swear that you will not kill me yourselves.”
• The soldiers from Judah said to Samson, “We have come to bind you and hand you over to the Philistines.”
Samson said, “Swear to me that you yourselves will do me no harm.”
Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .