Judges 14

Samson went to the town of Timnah. There he saw a young Philistine woman.

Samson went back home and told his parents, “I saw a young Philistine woman in Timnah. I want you to arrange for me to marry her.” \*

His parents said to him, “There are many young women in our own tribe of Dan and among our people of Israel. You can marry one of them. You should not marry someone from a people group that does not worship God.” But Samson told his father, “No, I like her very much, and so I want you to arrange for me to marry her.”

His parents did not know that God wanted this to happen. God was looking for a way to act against the Philistines because they were oppressing Israel at that time. \*

Samson went to Timnah with his parents. As they came near the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion attacked Samson {as he was walking alone}.

The Spirit of God gave Samson great strength. He ripped the lion apart with his bare hands as easily as if it had been a young goat. But he did not tell his parents what he had done. \*

When they arrived in Timnah, Samson talked with the young woman, and he liked her very much. {So his father made arrangements for the wedding.}

Later, Samson went back to marry her. On the way, he went to look at the dead lion. He saw that a swarm of bees had made a nest in the lion’s body and produced some honey.

Samson scooped out some of the honey with his hands. He ate some as he walked along. When he came to his parents, he gave them some, and they ate it too. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s body. \*

Samson’s father went to arrange the marriage with the woman’s family. Samson gave a feast for the young men in that area. That was what young men did when they married someone.

The family of the woman saw that Samson had not brought any other young men with him. So they had 30 of their own young men accompany him at the feast. \*

Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. If you can answer it during the seven days of the feast, I will give you 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothes.

But if you can not answer it, then you must give me 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothes.” They told him, “{We agree.} Tell us your riddle, and we will try to solve it.” \*

He said to them, “Something to eat came out of something that eats. Something sweet came out of something strong.” They tried for three days to solve the riddle, but they could not. \*

On the last day of the feast, they said to Samson’s bride, “Get the answer to the riddle for us from your bridegroom. If you do not, we will burn you and your family to death. We did not come to this feast to become poor!” \*

So Samson’s bride went to him and started crying. She shouted, “You hate me! You do not love me! You told a riddle to my relatives, but you did not tell me the answer.” Samson said to her, “I have not even told the answer to my parents. So I am not going to tell you.”

But she kept crying for the rest of the feast. Finally, as it was about to end, he told her the answer to the riddle because she had kept bothering him. She went and told the answer to the Philistine young men. \*

Before sunset on the last day of the feast, the Philistine guests said to Samson, “The sweet thing was honey, and the strong thing was a lion!” Samson said to them, “You must have gotten the answer from my bride! Otherwise, you could not have solved my riddle!” \*

Then the Spirit of God gave Samson great strength. He went to the city of Ashkelon and killed 30 men there. He took their clothes and gave them to the men who had answered his riddle. But he was very angry about what had happened. He went back to his father’s house without marrying the woman.

So her father had her marry instead the Philistine young man who had been a special helper to Samson at the wedding feast. \*