Judges 14 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Samson’s Philistine Wife

14 Now Samson went down ^(A)to Timnah, and ^(B)saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. ²So he went up and told his father and mother, saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, ^(C)get her for me as a wife.”

³Then his father and mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of ^(D)your brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the ^(E)uncircumcised Philistines?”

And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for ^[a]she pleases me well.”

⁴But his father and mother did not know that it was ^(F)of the Lord—that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time ^(G)the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

⁵So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah.

Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him. ⁶And ^(H)the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

⁷Then he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. ⁸After some time, when he returned to get her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion. ⁹He took some of it in his hands and went along, eating. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they also ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the ^(I)carcass of the lion.

¹⁰So his father went down to the woman. And Samson gave a feast there, for young men used to do so. ¹¹And it happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.

¹²Then Samson said to them, “Let me ^(J)pose a riddle to you. If you can correctly solve and explain it to me ^(K)within the seven days of the feast, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty ^(L)changes of clothing. ¹³But if you cannot explain it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.”

And they said to him, ^(M)“Pose your riddle, that we may hear it.”

¹⁴So he said to them:

“Out of the eater came something to eat,
And out of the strong came something sweet.”

Now for three days they could not explain the riddle.

¹⁵But it came to pass on the ^[b]seventh day that they said to Samson’s wife, ^(N)“Entice your husband, that he may explain the riddle to us, ^(O)or else we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us in order to take what is ours? Is that not so?”

¹⁶Then Samson’s wife wept on him, and said, ^(P)“You only hate me! You do not love me! You have posed a riddle to the sons of my people, but you have not explained it to me.”

And he said to her, “Look, I have not explained it to my father or my mother; so should I explain it to you?” ¹⁷Now she had wept on him the seven days while their feast lasted. And it happened on the seventh day that he told her, because she pressed him so much. Then she explained the riddle to the sons of her people. ¹⁸So 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!”

¹⁹Then ^(Q)the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave the changes of clothing to those who had explained the riddle. So his anger was aroused, and he went back up to his father’s house. ²⁰And Samson’s wife ^(R)was given to his companion, who had been ^(S)his best man.

Footnotes

Judges 14:3 Lit. she is right in my eyes
Judges 14:15 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. fourth

Cross references

Judges 14 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

14 And Samson goeth down to Timnath, and seeth a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines, 2 and cometh up and declareth to his father, and to his mother, and saith, `A woman I have seen in Timnath, of the daughters of the Philistines; and now, take her for me for a wife.' 3 And his fath...
Read More

Judges 14 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

14 Therefore (And so in time, when he was a grown man,) Samson went down into Timnath, and he saw there a woman of the daughters of (the) Philistines; 2 and he went up, and he told this to his father and mother, and said, I saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of Philistines, and I beseech, that ...
Read More

Judges 14 - World English Bible (WEB)

14 Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 He came up, and told his father and his mother, saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. Now therefore get her for me as my wife.” 3 Then his father and his mother said...
Read More

Judges 14 - The Voice (VOICE)

14 Samson went down from the hill country to the Philistine town of Timnah, on the coastal plain, and he saw a Philistine woman there. 2 When he came home, he told his parents,Samson: I saw this woman in Timnah who captured my attention. She’s a Philistine, but I want her for a wife. I beg you, mak...
Read More

Judges 14 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Riddle of the Lion14 Then Samson went down to Timnah and eyed in Timnah a woman, one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 So he came back and told his father and mother saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. So now get her for me as a wife.” 3 Then his fa...
Read More

Judges 14 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Samson’s Marriage14 Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 Then he came up, and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is th...
Read More

Judges 14 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Judges 14 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Samson’s Marriage14 Once Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw a Philistine woman. 2 Then he came up, and told his father and mother, “I saw a Philistine woman at Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among your kin, or am...
Read More

Judges 14 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition (NRSVACE)

Samson’s Marriage14 Once Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw a Philistine woman. 2 Then he came up, and told his father and mother, ‘I saw a Philistine woman at Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.’ 3 But his father and mother said to him, ‘Is there not a woman among your kin, or am...
Read More

Judges 14 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Judges 14 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Samson’s Marriage14 Once Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw a Philistine woman. 2 Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw a Philistine woman at Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.”(A)3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among your kin or amon...
Read More

Judges 14 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Samson’s Riddle14 One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye. 2 When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.” 3 His father and mother objected. “Isn’t there even one wo...
Read More

Judges 14 - New Life Version (NLV)

Samson’s Philistine Wife14 Samson went down to Timnah. There he saw a woman, one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 He returned and told his father and mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah. She is one of the daughters of the Philistines. Now get her for me as a wife.” 3 But his father and mother s...
Read More

Judges 14 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Samson’s Philistine Wife14 Now Samson went down (A)to Timnah, and (B)saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 So he went up and told his father and mother, saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, (C)get her for me as a wife.” 3 ...
Read More

Judges 14 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Samson’s marriage14 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 relati...
Read More

Judges 14 - New International Version (NIV)

Samson’s Marriage14 Samson(A) went down to Timnah(B) 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.”(C) 3 His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among you...
Read More

Judges 14 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Samson Marries a Philistine Woman14 Samson went down to Timnah. There he saw a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned, he spoke to his father and mother. He said, “I’ve seen a Philistine woman in Timnah. Get her for me. I want her to be my wife.” 3 His father and mother replied, “Can’t we find ...
Read More

Judges 14 - New English Translation (NET)

Samson’s Unconsummated Marriage14 Samson went down to Timnah, where a Philistine girl caught his eye.[a] 2 When he got home,[b] he told his father and mother, “A Philistine girl in Timnah has caught my eye.[c] Now get her for my wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Certainly you can fi...
Read More

Judges 14 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Samson’s Philistine Wife

Footnotes

Cross references

You Might Also Like: