This verse indicates that the people of Judah knew that Samson was in their territory and where he was hiding. However, they had been unaware of all the havoc and destruction he had carried out in the territory of the Philistines.

Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam: Having heard what the Philistines had to say, the people of Judah respond by sending soldiers to question Samson. Three thousand men is a huge number to send to deal with one person. There is certainly a bit of irony here, since numerous men of Judah must deal with a single man from Dan. Three thousand is obviously a variation on the numbers “three,” “thirty,” and “three hundred,” which appear throughout the story of Samson. As noted in verse 1.4, the Hebrew term for thousand can also mean “contingent” or “platoon.” In this context men may be rendered “soldiers” or “warriors.” For went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, see verse 15.8.

And said to Samson: The people of Judah strongly condemn Samson for foolishly giving the Philistines an excuse to come into their territory. Thus in this context the general verb said may be rendered by a stronger expression, for example, “said harshly.”

Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us?: This rhetorical question expresses the people of Judah’s dismay and anger over what Samson had done. Samson knew, in effect, that the Philistines had control over the Israelite territory yet he provoked them. The Hebrew participle rendered rulers comes from a root meaning “govern” (see verse 8.22). In this context it means “dominate.” Revised English Bible renders this question as “Surely you know that the Philistines are our masters?” and New Jerusalem Bible has “Don’t you know that the Philistines have us in their power?” It may also be rendered as a strong statement by saying “You know full well that the Philistines control us!”

What then is this that you have done to us?: The people of Judah accuse Samson directly, now understanding that the Philistine invasion is Samson’s fault. Good News Translation keeps a rhetorical question by saying “What have you done to us?” Another possible model is “How could you bring this trouble on us?” Revised English Bible uses a strong statement, saying “Now look what you have done to us.” Another possible exclamation is “Just look what has happened to us! It’s all your fault!”

And he said to them: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And may be translated “But” (New Living Translation) or omitted (Good News Translation). The general verb said may be rendered “replied” (New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version) or “answered” (Good News Translation, New International Version).

As they did to me, so have I done to them: This is Samson’s answer to the people of Judah. He justifies his action, but seems unconcerned about all the destruction he has brought about or the threat his acts have brought on the people of Judah. Indeed, his answer seems almost childish. There is a stark contrast with the previous judges, who did what Yahweh told them to do, instead of deciding for themselves how to pay back Israel’s enemies. Samson uses much the same words as the Philistines in verse 15.10 (see comments there). The two parallel clauses in his response may be reversed by saying “I only did to them what they did to me.” Obviously Samson is making excuses and trying to justify himself.

Translation models for this verse are:

• Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave of the rock at Etam, and they spoke harshly to Samson, “You know very well that the Philistines rule over us, so why have you brought this trouble on us?”
Samson replied, “I only did to them what they did to me!”

• Then three thousand soldiers of Judah went to Samson at the cave of Etam Rock and said [angrily] to him, “Don’t you realize what you have done to us? You know full well that the Philistines are our masters! Now look at what you have done!”
Samson replied, “What they did to me, I did to them!”

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 .