Judges 14
1 One day when Samson was in Timnah [town], he saw a young Philistine woman there.
One day Samson went to Timnah, where a young Philistine woman attracted his attention.
2 When he returned home, he told his mother and father, “I saw a young Philistine woman in Timnah, and I want you to get her for me so I can marry her.”
He went back home and told his father and mother, “A Philistine woman in Timnah caught my attention. Now get her for me because I want to marry her.”
3 His mother and father objected very strongly. They said, “Is there no woman from our tribe, or from the other Israeli tribes, that you could marry? Why must you go to the heathen Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She is the one I want!”
But his father and mother replied, “Can't you find a young woman from our tribe or from our own people? Do you have to go to the heathen Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Just get her for me, because she's the one I find her attractive.”
4 His mother and father did not realize that Yahweh was arranging this. He was preparing a way for [Samson to defeat] the Philistines, who were ruling over Israel at that time.
(His father and mother didn't realize that this was in the Lord's plans, who was looking for an opportunity to deal with the Philistines; because at that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.)
5 So, as Samson was going down to Timnah, followed by his mother and father, a young lion attacked Samson near the vineyards close to Timnah.
Samson went to Timnah with his father and mother. When they passed the Timnah vineyards, all of a sudden young lion came roaring out to attack him.
6 Then Yahweh’s Spirit came upon Samson powerfully, with the result that he tore the lion apart with his hands. He did it [as easily] as if it were a young goat. But he did not tell his mother and father about it.
The Spirit of the Lord swept over him, and he ripped the lion apart with his bare hands as easily as ripping apart a young goat. But he didn't tell his father or mother what he'd done. Then he went on his way.
7 When they arrived in Timnah, Samson talked with the young woman, and he liked her very much. [And his father made arrangements for the wedding].
When Samson talked with the woman and decided she was right for him.
8 Later, when Samson returned to Timnah for the wedding, he turned off the path to see the carcass of the lion. He discovered that [after other creatures had eaten all the flesh], a swarm of bees [had made a hive in the skeleton and] had made some honey.
Later on when Samson returned to marry her, he turned off the road to look for the lion's carcass. Inside the body was a swarm of bees and their honey.
9 So he scooped some of the honey into his hands and ate some of it as he was walking along. He also gave some of it to his mother and father, but he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the skeleton of the lion, [because anyone dedicated to God was not to touch any corpse].
He scraped out some of honey into his hands and ate it as he walked. When he got back to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it. But he didn't tell them he'd taken the honey from a lion's carcass.
10 As his father was making the final arrangements for the marriage, Samson gave a party [for the young men in that area]. That was the custom for men to do when they were about to be married.
While his father went to visit the woman, Samson held a drinking party there, because this was the custom among high-class young men.
11 Thirty young man were invited to the party.
When the Philistine people saw him, they arranged for thirty men to accompany him.
12 Samson said to them, “Allow me to tell you a riddle. If you tel me the meaning of my riddle during these seven days of the celebration, I will give each of you a linen robe and an extra set of clothes.
“Let me pose a riddle to you,” Samson said to them. “If you can find its meaning and explain it to me during the seven days of the party, I'll give you thirty lines cloaks and thirty sets of clothes.
13 But if you cannot tell me the meaning, you must each give me a linen robe and an extra set of clothes.” They replied, “All right. Tell us your riddle.”
But if you can't explain it to me, you'll give me thirty lines cloaks and thirty sets of clothes.” “Fine,” they replied. “Let's hear your riddle!”
14 So he said, “From the thing that eats came something to eat; out of something strong came something sweet.” But for three days they could not tell him the meaning of the riddle.
“Food came out of the eater, and sweetness came out of the strong,” he said. Three days later they still hadn't worked it out.
15 On the fourth day, they said to Samson’s bride, “Ask your husband to tell you the meaning of the riddle. If you do not do that, we will burn down your father’s house, with you inside it! Did you invite us here only to make us poor [by forcing us to buy a lot of clothes for your husband]?”
On the fourth day they came to Samson's wife and told her, “Use your charms to get your husband to explain the riddle and then tell us, or we'll burn you and all your family to death. Did you bring us here just to rob us?”
16 So Samson’s wife came to him, crying, and said to him, “You do not really love me. You hate me! You have told a riddle to my friends, but you have not told me the meaning of the riddle!” He replied, “I have not told the meaning of the riddle even to my mother and father, so why should I tell it to you?”
So Samson's wife went crying to him, saying, “You really do hate me, don't you! You don't love me at all! You have posed a riddle to my people, but haven't even explained it to me.” “So?” he replied. “I haven't even explained it to my father or mother! Why should I explain it to you?”
17 She continued to cry every time she was with him, all during the rest of the celebration. Finally, on the seventh day, because she continued to nag him, he told her the meaning of the riddle. Then she told it to the young men.
She cried in front of him for the whole time of the party, and eventually on the seventh day he explained it to her because she nagged him so much. Then she explained the meaning of the riddle to the Philistine young men.
18 So, before sunset on the seventh day, the young men came to Samson and said to him, “What/Nothing is sweeter than honey [RHQ]. What/Nothing is stronger than a lion [RHQ]!” Samson replied, “[You should not force a heifer to] plow a field [MET]. Similarly, if you had not forced my bride to ask me about the riddle [MET], you would not have known the answer to my riddle!”
Before the sun set on the seventh day, the men of the town came to Samson and said, “What's sweeter than honey? What's stronger than a lion?” “If you hadn't used my cow to plough with, you wouldn't have found out the meaning of my riddle,” Samson replied.
19 Then Yahweh’s Spirit powerfully took control of Samson. He went down to [the coast at] Ashkelon [town], and killed 30 men. He took their clothes [and went back to Timnah] and gave them to the men who had told him the meaning of the riddle. But he was very angry about what had happened, so he went back home to live with his mother and father.
The Spirit of the Lord swept over him and he went to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their clothing, and gave it to those who had explained the riddle. Furiously anger, Samson went back to his father's house.
20 So (Samson’s wife was given/the bride’s father gave Samson’s wife) to the man who who had been Samson’s best man at the wedding, [but Samson did not know that].
Samson's wife was given to his best man who had accompanied him at the wedding.
