1   He &yogh;ede forsothe into Gazam, and there he saw&yogh; a womman strompet, and wente yn to hir. 2   The which thing whanne Philistiens hadden seen, and was pupplishid anentis hem, Sampson to haue comen into the citee, thei segeden hym about, kepers put in the &yogh;atis of the citee; and there al ny&yogh;t with silence abidynge, that the morwetide comen him goynge out thei my&yogh;ten slee. 3   Forsothe Sampson slept vnto mydny&yogh;t; and thens rysynge he took both leeues of the &yogh;ate, with her postes and lok; and put on the shuldres he beer to the cop of the hil that biholdith Ebron. 4   After thes thingis he louede a woman that dwellide in the valey of Soreth, and she was clepid Dalida. 5   And there camen to hyr princis of Philistiens, and seiden, Bigijl hym, and lern of hym, in what he hath so myche strength, and in what maner wise hym we mowen ouercome, and bounden tourmente; the which thing if thou dost, we shulen &yogh;yue to thee ech a thousand hundrid platis of siluer. 6   Thanne Dalyda spak to Sampson, Sey to me, I biseche, in what is thi moost strength, and what thing be with the which boundun thou maist not breek? 7   To whom answerde Sampson, If with seuen senewy coordis not &yogh;it dried and &yogh;it moyst Y were boundun, Y shal be feble as other men. 8   And the princis of the Philistiens brou&yogh;ten to hir seuen coordis, as she seide; with the whiche she bounden hym, 9   lurkynge anentis hir busshementis, and in the bed place abidynge the ende of the thing. And she criede to him, Philistien vpon thee,

Sampson! The which brak the boondis, in what maner wise a man wold breeke the threed of a top of flexe, that is sponnen with spotel, whanne the smelle of fier it hath takun; and it is not knowun in what thing his strength was. 10   And Dalida seide to hym, Loo! thow hast bigilid me, and fals thou hast spokyn; namely nowe shewe to me, with what thing thow owist to be boundun. 11   To whom he answerde, If I were boundun with newe coordis, `the whiche weren not &yogh;it in werk, I shal be feble, and of other men lijk. 12   With the which eft Dalida boond him, and criede, Philistien vpon thee, Sampson! in the bed place busshementis maad redi. The which so brak the boondis as thredis of webbis. 13   And Dalida eft seide to hym, Howe long shalt thou bigile me, and fals thow shalt speek? Shewe where with thou owist to be boundun. To whom answerde Sampson, he seith, If seuen heerys of myn heed with warp threed thou plattist, and a nayl with hem about bounden to the erthe thow ficchist, I shal be feble. 14   The which thing whanne Dalida hadde doo, she seide to hym, Philistien vpon thee, Sampson! The which arysynge fro sleep, drow&yogh; out the nayl, with heeris and warp. 15   And Dalida seide to hym, What maner wise thou seist, that thou louest me, whanne thin ynwit is not with me? Bi thre sithis thou hast lowen to me, and thou woldist not seye to me, in what thing is thi moost strength. 16   And whanne she was heuy to hym, and bi manye dais to hym bisili cleuede, space to resten not &yogh;yuynge, hyre lijf failide, and vnto the deeth is feblid. 17   Thanne openynge the trewth of the thing, he seide to hir, Yren neuer wente vpon myn

heed, for thi Nazare, that is, sacrid to the Lord, Y am fro the wombe of my moder; if myn heed were shauen, my strength shal goon a wey fro me, and shal fayl, and be as other men. 18   And she seynge that he hadde knowlechid to hir al his inwit, she sente to the princis of Philistiens, and badde, Stye &yogh;e vp &yogh;yt oons, for nowe to me he hath openyd his herte. The whiche stieden vp, takun to the money that thei bihi&yogh;ten. 19   And she made hym sleep vpon hir knees, and in her bosum to leyn the heed; and she clepide the barbour, and he shoofe seuen heeris of hym; and she biganne to throwe hym a wey, and fro hir to putte; forsothe anoon strength fro hym wente. 20   And she seide, Philistiens vpon thee, Sampson! The which fro sleep rysynge, seide in his inwit, I shal goo out, as I dide before, and me I shal shaake out; vnknowinge that the Lord was goon a wey fro hym. 21   Whom whanne Philistiens hadden cau&yogh;t, anoon thei drewen out his eyen, and ladden hym boundun with cheyns to Gazam, and closid in prisoun thei maden to grynde. 22   And nowe his heeris bigunnen to growe a&yogh;en; 23   and the princis of Philistiens camen to gidre in oon, for to offre oostis of greet worship to Dagon, her god, and for to eete, seyinge, Oure god hath takun oure enemye Sampson into oure hoondis. 24   The which also the puple seynge preyseden her god, and the same thing seiden, Oure god hath taken into oure hoondis oure adversarie, `the which hath doon a wey oure loond, and slayn many. 25   And thei ioiynge bi feestis, nowe taken meetis, thei comaundiden, that Sampson shulde be clepid, and biforn hem pleye; the which lad out fro the

prisoun pleyde beforn hem; and thei maden hym stoond bitwen two pileers. 26   The whiche seide to the child gouernynge his goyngis, Leet me, that I towche the pileers on the whiche stoondith al the hows, that Y lene vpon hem, and a litil while reste. 27   Forsothe the hows was ful of men and of wymmen, and there weren the princis of Philistiens, and of the roof and soleer aboute thre thowsand of either kynde, bidynge Sampson pleiynge. 28   And he seith, the Lord inwardli clepid, Lord, my God, haue mynde of me, and &yogh;eeld to me nowe the fornhad strength, my God, that I wreche me on myn enemyes, and for the lesynge of two li&yogh;tis o veniaunce I take. 29   And catchynge the twey pileers, to the whiche al the hows stood, and the tother of hem with the ri&yogh;t, and the tother with the left holdynge, seith, Die my lijf with Philistien! 30    And the pileers strongly smyten to gidere, the hows felle vpon alle the princis, and the tothir multitude, that there was; and many mo he slew&yogh; diynge, than beforn he slew&yogh; on lyue. 31   And his bretheren comynge doun, and al his kynrede, token hys bodi, and byrieden it bitwix Saraa and Escahol, in the birielis of his fader Manue; and he demyde Yrael twenti &yogh;eer.

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