And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord: and he delivered them into the hands of the Philistines forty years.

Rursumque filii Israël fecerunt malum in conspectu Domini: qui tradidit eos in manus Philisthinorum quadraginta annis.

Then, once again, the sons of Israel defied the Lord, and for forty years he left them at the mercy of the Philistines.

Now there was a certain man of Saraa, and of the race of Dan, whose name was Manue, and his wife was barren.

Erat autem quidam vir de Saraa, et de stirpe Dan, nomine Manue, habens uxorem sterilem.

There was a certain tribesman of Dan called Manue, who lived at Saraa, and had a wife that bore him no children.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to her, and said: Thou art barren and without children: but thou shalt conceive and bear a son.

Cui apparuit angelus Domini, et dixit ad eam: Sterilis es et absque liberis: sed concipies, et paries filium.

To her the Lord’s angel appeared, and said, Poor barren one, poor childless one, thou art to conceive, and bear a son.

Now therefore beware and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing.

Cave ergo ne bibas vinum ac siceram, nec immundum quidquam comedas:

See to it that no wine or strong drink, no unclean food passes thy lips,

Because thou shalt conceive and bear a son, and no razor shall touch his head: for he shall be a Nazarite of God, from his infancy, and from his mother’s womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.

quia concipies, et paries filium, cujus non tanget caput novacula: erit enim nazaræus Dei ab infantia sua et ex matris utero, et ipse incipiet liberare Israël de manu Philisthinorum.

for this son whom thou art to conceive and bear is to be a Nazirite from his birth; even when he is a child, no razor must come near his head. And he shall strike the first blow to deliver Israel from the power of the Philistines.

And when she was come to her husband she said to him: A man of God came to me, having the countenance of an angel, very awful. And when I asked him who he was, and whence he came, and by what name he was called, he would not tell me.

Quæ cum venisset ad maritum suum, dixit ei: Vir Dei venit ad me, habens vultum angelicum, terribilis nimis. Quem cum interrogassem quis esset, et unde venisset, et quo nomine vocaretur, noluit mihi dicere:

So when she met her husband she told him, I have been speaking with a messenger from God, who might have been an angel, such awe his look inspired in me. Who he was, his home, his name, he would not tell,

But he answered thus: Behold thou shalt conceive and bear a son: beware thou drink no wine, nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite of God from his infancy, from his mother’s womb until the day of his death.

sed hoc respondit: Ecce concipies et paries filium: cave ne vinum bibas, nec siceram, et ne aliquo vescaris immundo: erit enim puer nazaræus Dei ab infantia sua, ex utero matris suæ usque ad diem mortis suæ.

but the message he gave me was that I should conceive, and have a son. And I must abstain from wine and all strong drink, and from all unclean food, because this son of mine was to be a Nazirite from his childhood up, bound to the Lord by his vow from the day of his birth to the day of his death.

Then Manue prayed to the Lord, and said: I beseech thee, O Lord, that the man of God, whom thou didst send, may come again, and teach us what we ought to do concerning the child that shall be born.

Oravit itaque Manue Dominum, et ait: Obsecro, Domine, ut vir Dei, quem misisti, veniat iterum, et doceat nos quid debeamus facere de puero, qui nasciturus est.

Thereupon Manue entreated the Lord to send his messenger again, and tell them how this child, once born, should be nurtured.

And the Lord heard the prayer of Manue, and the angel of the Lord appeared again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But Manue her husband was not with her. And when she saw the angel,

Exaudivitque Dominus deprecantem Manue, et apparuit rursum angelus Dei uxori ejus sedenti in agro: Manue autem maritus ejus non erat cum ea. Quæ cum vidisset angelum,

And the Lord granted his prayer; once more the angel of God appeared to his wife, as she sat resting in a field. Her husband was not with her, and she, upon sight of the angel,

She made haste and ran to her husband: and told him saying: Behold the man hath appeared to me whom I saw before.

festinavit, et cucurrit ad virum suum: nuntiavitque ei, dicens: Ecce apparuit mihi vir, quem ante videram.

ran off to fetch him; He has come back, she told him, the man I saw a few days since.

He rose up and followed his wife: and coming to the man, said to him: Art thou he that spoke to the woman? And he answered: I am.

Qui surrexit, et secutus est uxorem suam: veniensque ad virum, dixit ei: Tu es qui locutus es mulieri? Et ille respondit: Ego sum.

So he rose and followed her, and asked the angel whether it was he that had brought the message to his wife; Yes, he said, it was I.

And Manue said to him: When thy word shall come to pass, what wilt thou that the child should do? or from what shall he keep himself?

Cui Manue: Quando, inquit, sermo tuus fuerit expletus, quid vis ut faciat puer? aut a quo se observare debebit?

Tell me, then, said Manue, when thy promise is fulfilled, what life is the boy to lead, what things are they he must shun?

And the angel of the Lord said to Manue: From all the things I have spoken of to thy wife, let her refrain herself:

Dixitque angelus Domini ad Manue: Ab omnibus, quæ locutus sum uxori tuæ, abstineat se,

But the angel of the Lord answered, Enough that thy wife should observe the warnings I gave her,

And let her eat nothing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: and whatsoever I have commanded her, let her fulfil and observe.

et quidquid ex vinea nascitur, non comedat: vinum et siceram non bibat; nullo vescatur immundo: et quod ei præcepi, impleat atque custodiat.

eating nothing that grows in the vineyard, drinking no wine or strong drink, abstaining from all unclean food; these commands of mine she must carry out faithfully.

And Manue said to the angel of the Lord: I beseech thee to consent to my request, and let us dress a kid for thee.

Dixitque Manue ad angelum Domini: Obsecro te ut acquiescas precibus meis, et faciamus tibi hædum de capris.

And now Manue said to the angel of the Lord, Pray do me one favour; allow us to cook a kid for thy eating.

And the angel answered him: If thou press me, I will not eat of thy bread: but if thou wilt offer a holocaust, offer it to the Lord. And Manue knew not it was the angel of the Lord.

Cui respondit angelus: Si me cogis, non comedam panes tuos: si autem vis holocaustum facere, offer illud Domino. Et nesciebat Manue quod angelus Domini esset.

Detain me if thou wilt, said the angel, but of thy food I must not eat; offer burnt-sacrifice, if thou wilt, to the Lord. And still Manue did not recognize that it was the Lord’s angel;

And he said to him: What is thy name, that, if thy word shall come to pass, we may honour thee?

Dixitque ad eum: Quod est tibi nomen, ut, si sermo tuus fuerit expletus, honoremus te?

What is thy name? he asked. If thy words come true, we would fain give thee some token of gratitude.

And he answered him: Why askest thou my name, which is wonderful?

Cui ille respondit: Cur quæris nomen meum, quod est mirabile?

My name? said he. Do not ask my name; it is a high mystery.

Then Manue took a kid of the flocks, and the libations, and put them upon a rock, offering to the Lord, who doth wonderful things: and he and his wife looked on.

Tulit itaque Manue hædum de capris, et libamenta, et posuit super petram, offerens Domino, qui facit mirabilia: ipse autem et uxor ejus intuebantur.

So Manue brought the kid, and a bread-offering with it, and laid it on the rock, presenting it before the Lord; and mystery indeed there was, before the eyes of Manue and his wife;

And when the flame from the altar went up towards heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended also in the flame. And when Manue and his wife saw this, they fell flat on the ground.

Cumque ascenderet flamma altaris in cælum, angelus Domini pariter in flamma ascendit. Quod cum vidissent Manue et uxor ejus, proni ceciderunt in terram,

as flames went up to heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up too, there amid the flames.

And the angel of the Lord appeared to them no more. And forthwith Manue understood that it was an angel of the Lord,

et ultra eis non apparuit angelus Domini. Statimque intellexit Manue angelum Domini esse,

At the sight, Manue and his wife fell down face to earth. Now that he had disappeared from their view, Manue knew him for what he was,

And he said to his wife: We shall certainly die, because we have seen God.

et dixit ad uxorem suam: Morte moriemur, quia vidimus Deum.

and said to his wife, This is certain death; we have seen the Lord.

And his wife answered him: If the Lord had a mind to kill us, he would not have received a holocaust and libations at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor have told us the things that are to come.

Cui respondit mulier: Si Dominus nos vellet occidere, de manibus nostris holocaustum et libamenta non suscepisset, nec ostendisset nobis hæc omnia, neque ea quæ sunt ventura dixisset.

Nay, answered his wife, if the Lord meant us harm, he would not have accepted our sacrifice and our bread-offering; he would not have shewn us this marvellous sight, nor told us what is to befall.

And she bore a son, and called his name Samson. And the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

Peperit itaque filium, et vocavit nomen ejus Samson. Crevitque puer, et benedixit ei Dominus.

And so she bore a son, and called him Samson. As the lad grew, the Lord’s blessing was on him.

And the spirit of the Lord began to be with him in the camp of Dan, between Saraa and Esthaol.

Cœpitque spiritus Domini esse cum eo in castris Dan inter Saraa et Esthaol.

It was at the Encampment of Dan, between Saraa and Esthaol, that the spirit of the Lord first visited him.