Judges 14
1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
One day when Samson was in Timnah [town], he saw a young Philistine woman there.
2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me for a wife.
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.”
3 Then his father and his mother said to him, Is there not a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said to his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
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!”
4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
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.
5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
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.
6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore him as he would have torn a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.
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.
7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.
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].
8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.
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.
9 And he took of it in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they ate: but he told them not that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.
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].
10 So his father went down to the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
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.
11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
Thirty young man were invited to the party.
12 And Samson said to them, I will now tell a riddle to you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
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.
13 But if ye cannot declare it to me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said to him, Tell thy riddle, that we may hear it.
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.”
14 And he said to them, Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.
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.
15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said to Samson’s wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare to us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: have ye called us to take what we possess? is it not so?
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]?”
16 And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast told a riddle to the children of my people, and hast not told it to me. And he said to her, Behold, I have not told it to my father nor to my mother, and shall I tell it to thee?
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?”
17 And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she pressed him so hard: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.
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.
18 And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said to them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.
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!”
19 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments to them who expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house.
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.
20 But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.
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].
