Judges 14
1 And Samson goes down to Timnath, and sees a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines,
One day Samson went to Timnah, where a young Philistine woman attracted his attention.
2 and comes up and declares [it] to his father and to his mother, and says, “I have seen a woman in Timnath, of the daughters of the Philistines; and now, take her for me for a wife.”
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 And his father says to him—also his mother, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your brothers, and among all my people, that you are going to take a woman from the uncircumcised Philistines?” And Samson says 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 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 And his father and his mother have not known that it [is] from YHWH, that He is seeking a meeting of the Philistines; and the Philistines are 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 And Samson goes down—also his father and his mother, to Timnath, and they come to the vineyards of Timnath, and behold, a lion’s whelp roars at meeting him,
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 and the Spirit of YHWH prospers over him, and he tears it as the tearing of a kid, and there is nothing in his hand, and he has not declared to his father and to his mother that which he has done.
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 And he goes down and speaks to the woman, and she is right in the eyes of Samson;
When Samson talked with the woman and decided she was right for him.
8 and he turns back after [some] days to take her, and turns aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, a swarm of bees [are] in the body of the lion—and 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 And he takes it down on to his hands, and goes on, going and eating; and he goes to his father, and to his mother, and gives to them, and they eat, and he has not declared to them that he took down the honey from the body of the lion.
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 And his father goes down to the woman, and Samson makes a banquet there, for so the young men does;
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 and it comes to pass, when they see him, that they take thirty companions, and they are with him.
When the Philistine people saw him, they arranged for thirty men to accompany him.
12 And Samson says to them, “Now let me put forth a riddle to you; if you certainly declare it to me [in] the seven days of the banquet, and have found [it] out, then I have given thirty linen shirts and thirty changes of garments to you;
“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 and if you are not able to declare [it] to me, then you have given thirty linen shirts and thirty changes of garments to me.” And they say to him, “Put forth your riddle, and we hear it!”
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 And he says to them: “Out of the eater came forth something to eat, And out of the strong came forth [something] sweet”; and they were not able to declare the riddle [in] three days.
“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 And it comes to pass, on the seventh day, that they say to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband, that he declare the riddle to us, lest we burn you and the house of your father with fire; have you not called for us [here] to rob us?”
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 And Samson’s wife weeps for it and says, “You have only hated me, and have not loved me; you have put forth the riddle to the sons of my people, but have not declared it to me”; and he says to her, “Behold, I have not declared [it] to my father and to my mother—and I declare [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 And she weeps for it the seven days [in] which their banquet has been, and it comes to pass on the seventh day that he declares [it] to her, for she has distressed him; and she declares the riddle to the sons of her people.
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 And the men of the city say to him on the seventh day, before the sun goes in: “What [is] sweeter than honey? And what [is] stronger than a lion?” And he says to them: “Unless you had plowed with my heifer, You had not found out 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 And the Spirit of YHWH prospers over him, and he goes down to Ashkelon, and strikes down thirty of their men, and takes their armor, and gives the changes to those declaring the riddle; and his anger burns, and he goes up to the house of his 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 and Samson’s wife becomes his companion’s, who had attended to him.
Samson's wife was given to his best man who had accompanied him at the wedding.
