Judges 14:10-20
New English Translation
10 Then Samson’s father accompanied him to Timnah for the marriage.[a] Samson hosted a party[b] there, for this was customary for bridegrooms[c] to do. 11 When the Philistines saw he had no attendants, they gave him thirty groomsmen who kept him company.[d] 12 Samson said to them, “I will give you a riddle. If you really can solve it during the seven days the party lasts,[e] I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets[f] of clothes. 13 But if you cannot solve it,[g] you will give me thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes.” They said to him, “Let us hear your riddle.”[h] 14 He said to them,
“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;
out of the strong one came something sweet.”
They could not solve the riddle for three days.
15 On the fourth[i] day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle.[j] If you refuse,[k] we will burn up[l] you and your father’s family.[m] Did you invite us here[n] to make us poor?”[o] 16 So Samson’s bride cried on his shoulder[p] and said, “You must[q] hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men[r] a riddle, but you have not told me the solution.” He said to her, “Look, I have not even told my father or mother. Do you really expect me to tell you?”[s] 17 She cried on his shoulder[t] until the party was almost over.[u] Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much.[v] Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle.[w] 18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
He said to them,
“If you had not plowed with my heifer,[x]
you would not have solved my riddle!”
19 The Lord’s Spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men. He took their clothes[y] and gave them[z] to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home.[aa] 20 Samson’s bride was then given to his best man.[ab]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 14:10 tn Heb “And his father went down to the woman.”
- Judges 14:10 tn Or “[wedding] feast.”
- Judges 14:10 tn Heb “the young men.”
- Judges 14:11 tn Heb “When they saw him, they gave him thirty companions and they were with him.” Instead of כִּרְאוֹתָם (kirʾotam, “when they saw”) some ancient witnesses (e.g., some mss of the LXX) assume the reading בְּיִרְאָתָם (beyirʾatam, “because they feared”).
- Judges 14:12 tn Heb “If you really can tell it to me [during] the seven days of the feast and you find [its answer].”
- Judges 14:12 tn Heb “changes.”
- Judges 14:13 tn Heb “you are unable to tell me.”
- Judges 14:13 tn Heb “Give your riddle so we can hear it.”
- Judges 14:15 tc The MT reads “seventh.” In Hebrew there is a difference of only one letter between the words רְבִיעִי (reviʿi, “fourth”) and שְׁבִיעִי (sheviʿi, “seventh”). Some ancient textual witnesses (e.g., LXX and the Syriac Peshitta) read “fourth,” here, which certainly harmonizes better with the preceding verse (cf. “for three days”) and with v. 17. Another option is to change שְׁלֹשֶׁת (sheloshet, “three”) at the end of v. 14 to שֵׁשֶׁת (sheshet, “six”), but the resulting scenario does not account as well for v. 17, which implies the bride had been hounding Samson for more than one day.
- Judges 14:15 tn Heb “Entice your husband so that he might tell us the riddle.”
- Judges 14:15 tn Heb “lest.”
- Judges 14:15 tn The Hebrew text expands the statement: “burn up with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Judges 14:15 tn Heb “house.”
- Judges 14:15 tc The translation assumes the Hebrew form הֲלֹם (halom, “here,” attested in five Hebrew mss and supported by the Targum), instead of the inexplicable הֲלֹא (haloʾ), a negative particle with interrogative particle prefixed to it.
- Judges 14:15 tn For discussion of this difficult form, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 364.
- Judges 14:16 tn Heb “on him.”
- Judges 14:16 tn Heb “only”; or “simply.”
- Judges 14:16 tn Heb “the sons of my people.”
- Judges 14:16 tn Heb “Should I tell you?”
- Judges 14:17 tn Heb “on him.”
- Judges 14:17 tn Heb “the seven days [during] which they held the party.” This does not mean she cried for the entire seven days; v. 15 indicates otherwise. She cried for the remainder of the seven day period, beginning on the fourth day.
- Judges 14:17 tn Heb “because she forced him.”
- Judges 14:17 tn Heb “she told the riddle to the sons of her people.”
- Judges 14:18 sn Plowed with my heifer. This statement emphasizes that the Philistines had utilized a source of information which should have been off-limits to them. Heifers were used in plowing (Hos 10:11), but one typically used one’s own farm animals, not another man’s.
- Judges 14:19 tn Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”
- Judges 14:19 tn Heb “changes [of clothes].”
- Judges 14:19 tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”
- Judges 14:20 tn Heb “to his companion who had been his attendant.”
Judges 14:10-20
International Standard Version
Samson’s Riddle
10 Later on, when his father went down to visit[a] the woman, Samson threw a party there, since young men customarily did this. 11 When they saw him, they brought 30 companions to accompany him. 12 “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson told them. “If you can solve it during this week-long festival, I’ll give you 30 linen garments and 30 formal garments.[b] 13 But if you don’t solve it,[c] then you’ll give me 30 linen garments and 30 formal garments.”[d]
“Tell us your riddle and we’ll solve it,” they responded.
14 So he told them:
From the eater came something edible;
from the strong something sweet.
For three days they couldn’t solve the riddle.
15 The next[e] day, they told Samson’s wife, “Coax your husband to explain the riddle or we’ll set fire to your father’s house—with you in it! You’ve invited us here to make us paupers, haven’t you?”
16 So Samson’s wife cried in front of him and accused him, “You only hate me. You don’t love me. You’ve told a riddle to my relatives, but you haven’t told the solution[f] to me.”
Samson responded, “Look, I haven’t told my parents,[g] either. Why[h] should I tell you?”
17 So she kept on crying in front of him for the entire seven days of the wedding party. On the seventh day he told the solution[i] to her because she nagged him, and then she told the solution to[j] the riddle to her relatives.
18 Then the men of the city answered him just before sunset on the seventh day:
“What is sweeter than honey?
What are stronger than lions?”
Samson[k] responded,
“If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer,
you wouldn’t have solved my riddle.”
19 Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed 30 men, took their belongings, and gave the garments to those who had told him the solution to[l] the riddle. He remained furious, left for his father’s house, 20 and Samson’s wife went to the best man at his wedding.[m]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 14:10 The Heb. lacks visit
- Judges 14:12 Or 30 changes of clothes
- Judges 14:13 Lit. don’t tell me
- Judges 14:13 Or 30 changes of clothes
- Judges 14:15 Lit. On the fourth
- Judges 14:16 Lit. told it
- Judges 14:16 Lit. my father and my mother
- Judges 14:16 The Heb. lacks either. Why
- Judges 14:17 Lit. it
- Judges 14:17 The Heb. lacks the solution to
- Judges 14:18 Lit. He
- Judges 14:19 The Heb. lacks the solution to
- Judges 14:20 Lit. wife was to an acquaintance who was his friend; cf. Judg 15:2, 7
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