Judges 14 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 One day Samson went to Timnah, where a young Philistine woman attracted his attention.
1 Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.
2 He went back home and told his father and mother, “A Philistine woman in Timnah caught my attention. Now get her for me because I want to marry her.”
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 But his father and mother replied, “Can't you find a young woman from our tribe or from our own people? Do you have to go to the heathen Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Just get her for me, because she's the one I find attractive.”
3 Then his father and his mother said to him, “Isn’t there a woman among your brothers’ daughters, or among all my people, that you go to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?” Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she pleases me well.”
4 (His father and mother didn't realize that this was in the Lord's plans, who was looking for an opportunity to deal with the Philistines; because at that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.)
4 But his father and his mother didn’t know that it was of Yahweh; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.
5 Samson went to Timnah with his father and mother. When they passed the Timnah vineyards, all of a sudden a young lion came out roaring and attacked him.
5 Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and his mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion roared at him.
6 The Spirit of the Lord swept over him, and he ripped the lion apart with his bare hands as easily as ripping apart a young goat. But he didn't tell his father or mother what he'd done. Then he went on his way.
6 Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and he tore him as he would have torn a young goat with his bare hands, but he didn’t tell his father or his mother what he had done.
7 When Samson talked with the woman he decided she was right for him.
7 He went down and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well.
8 Later on when Samson returned to marry her, he turned off the road to look for the lion's carcass. Inside the body was a swarm of bees and their honey.
8 After a while he returned to take her, and he went over to see the carcass of the lion; and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.
9 He scraped out some of the honey into his hands and ate it as he walked. When he got back to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it. But he didn't tell them he'd taken the honey from a lion's carcass.
9 He took it into his hands, and went on, eating as he went. He came to his father and mother and gave to them, and they ate, but he didn’t tell them that he had taken the honey out of the lion’s body.
10 While his father went to visit the woman, Samson held a drinking party there, because this was the custom among high-class young men.
10 His father went down to the woman; and Samson made a feast there, for the young men used to do so.
11 When the Philistine people saw him, they arranged for thirty men to accompany him.
11 When they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.
12 “Let me pose a riddle to you,” Samson said to them. “If you can find its meaning and explain it to me during the seven days of the party, I'll give you thirty linen cloaks and thirty sets of clothes.
12 Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle now. If you can tell me the answer within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing;
13 But if you can't explain it to me, you'll give me thirty linen cloaks and thirty sets of clothes.” “Fine,” they replied. “Let's hear your riddle!”
13 but if you can’t tell me the answer, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.” They said to him, “Tell us your riddle, that we may hear it.”
14 “Food came out of the eater, and sweetness came out of the strong,” he said. Three days later they still hadn't worked it out.
14 He said to them, “Out of the eater came out food. Out of the strong came out sweetness.” They couldn’t in three days declare the riddle.
15 On the fourth day they came to Samson's wife and told her, “Use your charms to get your husband to explain the riddle and then tell us, or we'll burn you and all your family to death. Did you bring us here just to rob us?”
15 On the seventh day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband, that he may declare to us the riddle, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you called us to impoverish us? Isn’t that so?”
16 So Samson's wife went crying to him, saying, “You really do hate me, don't you! You don't love me at all! You have posed a riddle to my people, but haven't even explained it to me.” “So?” he replied. “I haven't even explained it to my father or mother! Why should I explain it to you?”
16 Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, “You just hate me, and don’t love me. You’ve told a riddle to the children of my people, and haven’t told it to me.” He said to her, “Behold, I haven’t told my father or my mother, so why should I tell you?”
17 She cried in front of him for the whole time of the party, and eventually on the seventh day he explained it to her because she nagged him so much. Then she explained the meaning of the riddle to the Philistine young men.
17 She wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted; and on the seventh day, he told her, because she pressed him severely; and she told the riddle to the children of her people.
18 Before the sun set on the seventh day, the men of the town came to Samson and said, “What's sweeter than honey? What's stronger than a lion?” “If you hadn't used my cow to plow with, you wouldn't have found out the meaning of my riddle,” Samson replied.
18 The men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?” He said to them, “If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer, you wouldn’t have found out my riddle.”
19 The Spirit of the Lord swept over him and he went to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their clothing, and gave it to those who had explained the riddle. Furiously angry, Samson went back to his father's house.
19 Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck thirty men of them. He took their plunder, then gave the changes of clothing to those who declared the riddle. His anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house.
20 Samson's wife was given to his best man who had accompanied him at the wedding.
20 But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his friend.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Samson
Nazirite from the womb, born to Manoah and his wife in answer to the angel's promise, whom the Spirit of the LORD empowered to strike the Philistines, who judged Israel twenty…
Cited in the guide: Judges 13:24; Judges 14:1; Judges 15:20
Cross references (16)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Joshua 15:10; 1 John 2:16; Joshua 19:43; Psalm 119:37; Job 31:1
- 2 Genesis 34:4; Genesis 24:2–3; Genesis 21:21; Genesis 38:6; 2 Kings 14:9
- 3 1 Samuel 17:36; Judges 15:18; Deuteronomy 7:2–3; 1 Samuel 31:4; 2 Samuel 1:20
- 4 Joshua 11:20; Psalm 115:3; Judges 13:1; 2 Kings 6:33; 2 Chronicles 10:15
- 6 Judges 3:10; Zechariah 4:6; Judges 13:25; 1 Samuel 11:6; 1 Samuel 17:46
- 8 Genesis 29:21; Matthew 1:20
- 9 1 Samuel 14:25–30; Proverbs 25:15
- 10 Matthew 22:2–4; John 2:9; Genesis 29:22; Revelation 19:9; Ecclesiastes 10:19
- 11 John 3:29; 1 Samuel 16:6; 1 Samuel 10:23; Matthew 9:15
- 12 1 Kings 10:1; Ezekiel 17:2; Genesis 45:22; 2 Kings 5:22; Proverbs 1:6
- 14 James 1:2–4; 1 Kings 17:6; Romans 8:37; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 12:9–10
- 15 Judges 15:6; Judges 16:5; Micah 7:5; Judges 12:1; Proverbs 6:26
- 16 Judges 16:15; Genesis 2:24
- 17 Judges 16:16; Luke 18:4–5; Job 2:9; Proverbs 7:21; Judges 16:13
- 19 Judges 3:10; Judges 13:25; 1 Samuel 11:6; Judges 15:14; Judges 14:6
- 20 Judges 15:2; John 3:29; John 13:18; Micah 7:5; Psalm 55:12–13
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences