Samson’s Marriage

14 Then Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. ² So he came ^[a]back and told his father and ^[b]mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.” ³ Then his father and his mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your ^[c](A)relatives, or among all ^[d]our people, that you go to ^(B)take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she ^[e]looks good to me.” ⁴ However, his father and mother did not know that ^(C)it was of the Lord, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.

⁵ Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion came roaring toward him. ^6 (D)The Spirit of the Lord ^[f]came upon him mightily, so that ^(E)he tore him as one tears a young goat though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. ⁷ So he went down and talked to the woman; and she ^[g]looked good to Samson. ⁸ When he returned later to take her, he turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion. ⁹ So he scraped ^[h]the honey into his ^[i]hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey out of the body of the lion.

¹⁰ Then his father went down to the woman; and Samson made a feast there, for the young men customarily did this. ¹¹ When they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.

Samson’s Riddle

¹² Then Samson said to them, “Let me now ^(F)propound a riddle to you; if you will indeed tell it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen wraps and thirty ^(G)changes of clothes. ¹³ But if you are unable to tell me, then you shall give me thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Propound your riddle, that we may hear it.” ¹⁴ So he said to them,

But they could not tell the riddle in three days.

¹⁵ Then it came about on the ^[j]fourth day that they said to Samson’s wife, “^(H)Entice your husband, so that he will tell us the riddle, ^(I)or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us to impoverish us? Is this not so?” ¹⁶ Samson’s wife wept before him and said, “^(J)You only hate me, and you do not love me; you have propounded a riddle to the sons of my people, and have not told it to me.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told it to my father or mother; so should I tell you?” ¹⁷ However she wept before him seven days while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day he told her because she pressed him so hard. She then told the riddle to the sons of her people. ¹⁸ So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,

And he said to them,

¹⁹ Then ^(K)the Spirit of the Lord ^[k]came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of them and took their spoil and gave the changes of clothes to those who told the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house. ²⁰ But Samson’s wife was ^(L)given to his companion who had been his ^[l]friend.

The Lord Gives Dominion to the King.

A Psalm of David.

All the World Guilty

3 Then what ^[a]advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? ² Great in every respect. First of all, that ^(A)they were entrusted with the ^(B)oracles of God. ³ What then? If ^(C)some ^[b]did not believe, their ^[c]unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? ^4 (D)May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found ^(E)a liar, as it is written,

⁵ But if our unrighteousness ^[e](G)demonstrates the righteousness of God, ^(H)what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (^(I)I am speaking in human terms.) ^6 (J)May it never be! For otherwise, how will ^(K)God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie ^(L)the truth of God abounded to His glory, ^(M)why am I also still being judged as a sinner? ⁸ And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “^(N)Let us do evil that good may come”? ^[f]Their condemnation is just.

⁹ What then? ^[g](O)Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both ^(P)Jews and ^(Q)Greeks are ^(R)all under sin; ¹⁰ as it is written,

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the ^(Y)Law says, it speaks to ^(Z)those who are ^[h]under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and ^(AA)all the world may become accountable to God; ²⁰ because ^(AB)by the works ^[i]of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for ^[j](AC)through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

Justification by Faith

²¹ But now apart ^[k]from the Law ^(AD)the righteousness of God has been manifested, being ^(AE)witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the ^(AF)righteousness of God through ^(AG)faith ^(AH)in Jesus Christ for ^(AI)all those ^[l]who believe; for ^(AJ)there is no distinction; ²³ for all ^[m](AK)have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift ^(AL)by His grace through ^(AM)the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as ^(AN)a ^[n]propitiation ^[o](AO)in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, ^[p]because in the ^(AP)forbearance of God He ^(AQ)passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶ for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who ^[q]has faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where then is ^(AR)boasting? It is excluded. By ^(AS)what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. ^28 [r]For ^(AT)we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works ^[s]of the Law. ²⁹ Or ^(AU)is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since indeed ^(AV)God ^(AW)who will justify the ^[t]circumcised ^[u]by faith and the ^[v]uncircumcised through faith ^(AX)is one.

³¹ Do we then nullify ^[w]the Law through faith? ^(AY)May it never be! On the contrary, we ^(AZ)establish the Law.