Judges 14:1-20
Sampson Gets Married
1 Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.”
3 His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?”
But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” 4 (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)
5 Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. 6 The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. 7 Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her.
8 Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. 9 He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.
10 Now his father went down to see the woman. And there Samson held a feast, as was customary for young men. 11 When the people saw him, they chose thirty men to be his companions.
12 “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. 13 If you can’t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.”
“Tell us your riddle,” they said. “Let’s hear it.”
14 He replied,
“Out of the eater, something to eat;
out of the strong, something sweet.”
For three days they could not give the answer.
15 On the fourth day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to steal our property?”
16 Then Samson’s wife threw herself on him, sobbing, “You hate me! You don’t really love me. You’ve given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.”
“I haven’t even explained it to my father or mother,” he replied, “so why should I explain it to you?” 17 She cried the whole seven days of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people.
18 Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said to him,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
Samson said to them,
“If you had not plowed with my heifer,
you would not have solved my riddle.”
19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he returned to his father’s home. 20 And Samson’s wife was given to one of his companions who had attended him at the feast.
Samson went down to the city of Timnah. He saw a young Philistine woman there. 2 When he returned home, he said to his father and mother, “I saw a Philistine woman in Timnah. I want you to get her for me. I want to marry her.”...His father and his mother answered, “But surely there is a woman from the Israelites you can marry...Do you have to marry a woman from the Philistines?...Their men are not even circumcised.”...But Samson said, “Get that woman for me!...She is the one I want!”...(Samson’s parents did not know that the LORD wanted this to happen...He was looking for a way to do something against the Philistines...They were ruling over the Israelites at that time.)...Samson went down with his father and mother to the city of Timnah...They went as far as the vineyards near that city...There a young lion suddenly roared and jumped at Samson!...The Spirit of the LORD came on Samson with great power...He tore the lion apart with his bare hands...It seemed easy to him...It was as easy as tearing apart a young goat...But Samson did not tell his father or mother what he had done...
So Samson went down to the city and talked to the Philistine woman...She pleased him...Several days later, Samson came back to marry her...On his way, he went over to look at the dead lion...He found a swarm of bees in its body...They had made some honey...Samson got some of the honey with his hands...He walked along eating the honey...When he came to his parents, he gave them some of the honey, and they ate it too...But Samson did not tell his parents that he had taken the honey from the body of the dead lion...Samson’s father went down to see the Philistine woman...The custom was for the bridegroom to give a party...So Samson gave a party...When the Philistines saw that he was having a party, they sent 30 men to be with him...Then Samson said to the 30 men, “I want to tell you a story...This party will last for seven days...Try to find the answer during that time...If you can answer the riddle in that time, I will give you 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes...But if you cannot find the answer, you must give me 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes.”...So the 30 men said, “Tell us your riddle, we want to hear it.”...Samson told them this riddle: “Out of the eater came something to eat...Out of the strong came something sweet.”...The 30 men tried for three days to find the answer, but they couldn’t...On the fourth day, the men came to Samson’s wife...They said, “Did you invite us here just to make us poor?...You must trick your husband into telling us the answer to the riddle...If you don’t get the answer for us, we will burn you and everyone in your father’s house to death.”...So Samson’s wife went to him and began crying...She said, “You just hate me!...You don’t really love me!...You told my people a riddle, and you will not tell me the answer.”...Samson said to her, “Look, I have not even told my father and mother...So why should I tell you?”...Samson’s wife cried for the rest of the seven days of the party...So he finally gave her the answer to the riddle on the seventh day...He told her because she kept bothering him...Then she went to her people and told them the answer to the riddle...So before the sun went down on the seventh day of the party, the Philistine men had the answer...They came to Samson and said, “What is sweeter than honey?...What is stronger than a lion?”...Then Samson said to them, “If you had not plowed with my cow, you would not have solved my riddle!”...Samson was very angry...The Spirit of the LORD came on Samson with great power...He went down to the city of Ashkelon and killed 30 Philistine men...He took all the clothes and property from the dead bodies and gave them to the men who had answered his riddle...Then he went to his father’s house...So Samson’s wife was given to his best man...