And the lords of the Philistines came to her: And renders the Hebrew waw conjunction. Several versions omit it (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), but translators should determine what conjunction can link these two events, for example, “But then” or “Then.” For the lords of the Philistines, see verse 3.3. The Hebrew verb ʿalah rendered came (literally “went up”) is often used in this book in a context of war (see verse 1.1). Even here it may carry a threatening overtone.

And said to her: The actual speech of these Philistine rulers is quite long, showing that they consider Samson a real threat and know they must have an effective strategy to capture him.

Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lies: The Hebrew verbs rendered Entice and see are imperatives. As rulers, these Philistines may have had the right to give orders in this way. However, behind these orders they are obviously asking for Delilah’s cooperation in catching someone they consider to be their enemy.

For Entice him, see verse 14.15. NET Bible says “Trick him” (similarly Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), but better renderings are “Coax him” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “Persuade him,” or “Speak nicely to him.” This enemy is so well known that the Philistines do not even say his name, but use the pronoun him instead. However, in some languages it may be better to cite Samson’s name, as in Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version.

See renders the Hebrew literally, but this verb may also be translated “find out” (New Revised Standard Version) or “discover.”

The Philistine leaders ask Delilah to discover wherein his great strength lies (literally “in/by what [is/lies] his great strength”). Certainly word has spread of Samson’s great feats, such as killing huge numbers of men practically with his bare hands (verse 15.15) and removing the whole gate of a city (verse 16.3). We might say “what makes him so strong” (Contemporary English Version), “how he has such great strength,” or “what the source of his strength is.” New International Version takes another approach, saying “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength.”

And by what means we may overpower him is literally “and in/by what we will prevail over him.” The Philistines’ concern is how to cope with the great strength of Samson in order to capture him. The verb see is implicit here and may need to be supplied in some languages. By what means renders the same Hebrew expression translated wherein. The Hebrew verb rendered overpower often means “be able,” but here it may be translated “control” or “master” (New Jerusalem Bible). The pronoun him of course refers to Samson.

That we may bind him to subdue him: The Philistine leaders want to find a way to capture Samson and then to bind him. They have obviously heard how strong he is, so their goal is to tie him up as quickly as possible. For bind see verse 15.10. The Hebrew verb rendered subdue means “afflict,” “humble,” or “weaken.” Good News Translation and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh render this verb well, saying “and make him helpless.” Contemporary English Version is quite dynamic with “so he can’t get away.” However, this rendering seems to go beyond the text. Translators may want to reduce the three verbs (overpower, bind, subdue) and simply say “We need to find out how we can capture him and tie him up.”

And we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver: There is emphasis here as the Philistine leaders try to convince Delilah. It is like they are taking a pledge. The Hebrew is literally “and we, we will [each] man give you eleven hundred [pieces of] silver.” Some languages may prefer to add an introductory clause, such as “If you agree to this, each of us will give you…” or “If you do this, each one of us will give you….” The text does not say how many rulers are making such an offer. Since there were five main Philistine cities, most scholars believe they are offering five times eleven hundred pieces of silver, which is equivalent to about 13 kilograms (28 pounds) of silver, quite a bit of money even today. Though the storyteller may be exaggerating, he is obviously poking fun at the Philistines who are prepared to pay such a huge sum to capture a single man. A piece of silver was normally paid to a worker for a day’s work (see verse 9.4). This information may be included in a footnote or in the glossary if necessary. When translating amounts of money, translators should not use modern equivalents, since they change often, leaving the translation out of date.

A translation model for this verse is:

• The Philistine leaders approached the woman and said, “Coax Samson into telling you what makes him so strong, so we can catch him, tie him up, and be able to control him. If you do this, we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”*
* This represents a great deal of money since one piece of silver was the salary for one day’s work.

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 .