Judges 14
1 And Sampson went down to Thamnatha, and saw a woman in Thamnatha of the daughters of the Philistines.
One day Samson went down to Timnah, where he saw a young Philistine woman.
2 And he went up and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Thamnatha of the daughters of the Phylistines; and now take her to me for a wife.
So he returned and told his father and mother, “I have seen a daughter of the Philistines in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.”
3 And his father and his mother said to him, Are there no daughters of your brethren, and [is there not] a woman of all my people, that you go to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Sampson said to his father, Take her for me, for she [is] right in my eyes.
But his father and mother replied, “Can’t you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me, for she is pleasing to my eyes.”
4 And his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought to be revenged on the Philistines: and at that time the Philistines lorded it over Israel.
(Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines; for at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.)
5 And Sampson and his father and his mother went down to Thamnatha, and he came to the vineyard of Thamnatha; and behold, a young lion roared in meeting him.
Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Suddenly a young lion came roaring at him,
6 And the spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and he crushed him as he would have crushed a kid of the goats, and there was nothing in his hands: and he told not his father and his mother what he had done.
and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.
7 And they went down and spoke to the woman, and she was pleasing in the eyes of Sampson.
Then Samson continued on his way down and spoke to the woman, because she was pleasing to his eyes.
8 And after some time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees, and honey [were] in the mouth of the lion.
When Samson returned later to take her, he left the road to see the lion’s carcass, and in it was a swarm of bees, along with their honey.
9 And he took it into his hands, and went on eating, and he went to his father and his mother, and gave to them, and they did eat; but he told them not that he took the honey out of the mouth of the lion.
So he scooped some honey into his hands and ate it as he went along. And when he returned to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.
10 And his father went down to the woman, and Sampson made there a banquet for seven days, for so the young men are used to do.
Then his father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as was customary for the bridegroom.
11 And it came to pass when they saw him, that they took thirty guests, and they were with him.
And when the Philistines saw him, they selected thirty men to accompany him.
12 And Sampson said to them, I propound you a riddle: if you will indeed tell it me, and discover it within the seven days of the feast, I will you give thirty sheets and thirty changes of raiment.
“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.
13 And if you can’t tell it me, you shall give me thirty napkins and thirty changes of apparel: and they said to him, Propound your riddle, and we will hear it.
But if you cannot solve it, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.” “Tell us your riddle,” they replied. “Let us hear it.”
14 And he said to them, Meat came forth of the eater, and sweetness out of the strong: and they could not tell the riddle for three days.
So he said to them: “Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet.” For three days they were unable to explain the riddle.
15 And it came to pass on the fourth day, that they said to the wife of Sampson, Deceive now your husband, and let him tell you the riddle, lest we burn you and your father's house with fire: did you invite us to do us violence?
So on the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?”
16 And Sampson's wife wept before him, and said, You do but hate me, and love me not; for the riddle which you have propounded to the children of my people you have not told me: and Sampson said to her, If I have not told it to my father and my mother, shall I tell it to you?
Then Samson’s wife came to him, weeping, and said, “You hate me! You do not really love me! You have posed to my people a riddle, but have not explained it to me.” “Look,” he said, “I have not even explained it to my father or mother, so why should I explain it to you?”
17 And she wept before him the seven days, during which their banquet lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she troubled him; and she told it to the children of her people.
She wept the whole seven days of the feast, and finally on the seventh day, because she had pressed him so much, he told her the answer. And in turn she explained the riddle to her people.
18 And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day, before sunrise, What [is] sweeter than honey? and what [is] stronger than a lion? and Sampson said to them, If you had not ploughed with my heifer, you would not have known my riddle.
Before sunset on the seventh day, the men of the city said to Samson: “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” So he said to them: “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle!”
19 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him powerfully, and he went down to Ascalon, and destroyed of the inhabitants thirty men, and took their garments, and gave the changes of raiment to them that told the riddle; and Sampson was very angry, and went up to the house of his father.
Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle. And burning with anger, Samson returned to his father’s house,
20 And the wife of Sampson was [given] to one of his friends, with whom he was on terms of friendship.
and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.
