And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

And he said unto her, If they only bind me with new ropes wherewith no work hath been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.

And he answered her: If I shall be bound with new ropes, that were never in work, I shall be weak and like other men.

And he said to her, |If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.|

And he said to her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were used, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

And he saith unto her, 'If they certainly bind me with thick bands, new ones, by which work hath not been done, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.'

And he said to her, If they only put round me new thick cords which have never been used, then I will become feeble and will be like any other man.

And he said unto her: 'If they only bind me with new ropes wherewith no work, hath been done, then shall I become weak, and be as any other man.'

And he answered her, "If I will be bound with new cords, which have never been used, I will be weak and like other men."

Occupied - The margin, "wherewith work hath not been done," is better.

If they bind me fast with new ropes - Samson wishes to keep up the opinion which the Philistines held; viz., that his mighty strength was the effect of some charm; and therefore he says, Seven green withs which had not been dried; new ropes that were never occupied; weave the seven locks of my hair with the web, etc.; the green withs, the new ropes, and the number seven, are such matters as would naturally be expected in a charm or spell.

And he said unto her,.... Abarbinel presents Samson replying to her, that he had told her the truth at first, only forgot one circumstance, that the "cords", for so he takes the word for "withs" to signify, should be "new", such as were never used, as follows:
if they bind me fast with new ropes, that never were occupied; the word signifies thick ropes, which, according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, were trebled, or made of three cords twisted together, and those such as were just made, and had never been put to any use, and so strong and firm:
then shall I be weak, and be as another man; see Judges 16:7.