Most Bible readers know the sad story of Samson and Delilah in the Old Testament which ends in tragedy for a son born to parents who were told ahead of time by an angel of his coming. The common understanding is that Delilah was the one who gave him the new haircut because she was paid to do so. But this is a misconception often caused by the way the tale is told, not by the way rendering is read. Here’s what the Scriptures really tell us: “Delilah got Samson to go to sleep with his head lying in her lap. Then she called in a man to shave off the seven braids of Samson’s hair.”¹

How many times have you heard someone quote the Scriptures and really didn’t know they were saying it incorrectly? This should be reason enough for us to do what the Messianic Jews did in the city of Berea² in northern Greece when Paul came to preach the Gospel to them. Listen to what Luke tells us: “The people in Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica. They were so glad to hear the message Paul told them. They studied the Scriptures every day to make sure that what they heard was really true.”³ Why is this important? Let the intelligent young man in King David’s day tell you why: “I study Your teachings very carefully so that I will not do something wrong against You.”⁴ That way, you won’t be one of those who gets it wrong or goes wrong.