Then a great thirst came on him, and there was no well near from which he could drink. And he grew so weak that he cried out to the Lord not to let him die of thirst or fall in-to the hands of his foes. And the Lord made a spring at that place and wa-ter ran out, and when Sam-son had drunk, his strength came back to him. Sam-son came to the town of Ga-za, and went in a house there. Now the Phil-is-tines dwelt in Ga-za, and when they heard that Sam-son was there they shut the gates of the town, and kept watch near them all night. They said when the day dawns we will kill him. But in the dead of the night Sam-son rose up and came to the gates of the town, and when he found them shut he took them up--posts, bar and all--and bore them a long way off to the top of a hill. Sam-son's hair had not been cut, and it had grown thick and long. And there was a wo-man named De-li-lah whom Sam-son used to go and see. And when the Phil-is-tines heard of it they came to her and told her if she would find out how they might bind Sam-son and bear him off, they would give her a large sum of gold. So when Sam-son came to De-li-lah's house she said to him, Tell me, I pray thee what makes thee so strong, and with what thou couldst be bound and not break loose? Sam-son said if they bound him with sev-en green withes--that is, cords made out of soft twigs--he would be so weak that he could not break them. When De-li-lah told this to the Phil-is-tines they brought her sev-en green withes, and Sam-son let her bind him with them. Now she had men hid in her house who were to take Sam-son if he could not break the twigs. And when she had bound him she cried out, The Phil-is-tines seize thee, Sam-son! And as soon as she had said these words he broke the green withes as if they were burnt threads. Then De-li-lah knew that Sam-son made fun of her and told her lies, and she said once more, Tell me, I pray thee, with what thou canst be bound and not break loose. [Illustration: SAM-SON CAR-RY-ING THE GATES OF GA-ZA.] Sam-son told her if he were bound with new ropes, which had not been used, that his strength would leave him, and he would be too weak to break them. So she took new ropes and bound him. But ere the men who were hid in the room could spring out and take him, Sam-son broke the ropes from his arms as if they had been threads. Then De-li-lah told Sam-son that he did but mock her and tell her lies, and she begged him to let her know how he might be bound. And he said if she would weave his hair with the web in the loom his strength would go from him. And she wove his long hair in with the web, and made it fast with a large peg that was part of the loom. Then she cried out, and Sam-son rose up and went off with the great peg, and the whole of the web that was in the loom. Then she said he did not love her or he would not make sport of her in this way. And she teased him each day, and gave him no peace, so that at last he had to tell her the truth.