Judges 14

¹And Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.

²And he went up and declared to his father and mother and said, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. And now, get her for me as a wife.”

³And his father and mother said to him, “Is there not among the daughters of your brothers, or among all my people, a woman, that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

⁴(And his father and mother did not know that it was of YHWH, that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. And for that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.)

⁵And Samson and his father and mother went down to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion of lions came roaring against him.

⁶And the Spirit of YHWH came mightily upon him, and he tore it as the tearing of a young goat, and not anything was in his hand. He did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

⁷And he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in the eyes of Samson.

⁸And he returned after some time to get her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, a swarm of bees was in the carcass of the lion, and honey.

⁹And He took some of it in his hands and went on, going and eating, and he came to his father and to his mother, and he gave some to them and they ate, and he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.

¹⁰And his father went down to the woman, and Samson gave there a feast; for thus the young men would do.

¹¹And it came to pass in their seeing him, that they took thirty companions, and they were with him.

¹²And Samson said to them, “Please let me pose a riddle to you. If you surely declare it to me in the seven days of the feast, and have found it out, then I will give to you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.

¹³But if you are not able to explain it to me, then you shall give to me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.” And they said to him, “Pose your riddle, that we may hear it.”

¹⁴And he said to them, “Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet.” And they could not explain the riddle in three days.

¹⁵And it came to pass on the fourth day that they said to the wife of Samson, “Entice your husband, that he may explain to us the riddle, or else we will burn you and the house of your father with the fire. Have you not called us here to dispossess us?”

¹⁶And the wife of Samson wept on him and said, “You have only hated me, and you have not loved me. You have posed a riddle to the sons of my people, and to me you have not explained it.” And he said to her, “Behold, to my father and to my mother I have not explained it, and to you should I explain it?”

¹⁷And she wept on him the seven days, while their feast lasted. And it came to pass on the seventh day that he told her, because she had pressed him so much, and she explained the riddle to the sons of her people.

¹⁸And 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 you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have solved my riddle.”

¹⁹And the Spirit of YHWH came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men and took their apparel, and he gave the changes to those who had explained the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to the house of his father.

²⁰And the wife of Samson was unto his companion who had attended to him.