Samson’s Marriage

1And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath from the daughters of Philisteim. 2And he will go up and announce to his father and his mother, and will say, I saw a woman in Timnath from the daughters of Philisteim: and now take her to me for a wife. 3And his father will say to him, and his mother, Is there not among the daughters of thy brethren, and among all my people, a woman, that thou goest to take a woman from uncircumcised Philisteim? And Samson will say to his father, Take her to me, for she is straight in mine eyes. 4And his father and his mother knew not that it was from Jehovah that he seeking an occasion from Philisteim; for in this time Philisteim was ruling over Israel.

5And Samson will go down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and they will come even to the vineyards of Timnath: and behold, a young lion roared at his meeting. 6And the spirit of Jehovah will fall suddenly upon him, and he will rend him as rending a kid, and nothing whatever in his hand: and he announced not to his father and to his mother what he did. 7And he will go down and speak to the woman, and she will be right in the eyes of Samson.

Samson’s Riddle

8And he will turn back after days to take her, and he will turn aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, an assembly of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. 9And he will break it off in his hands, and going, will go and eat, and he will go to his father and to his mother, and will give to them, and they will eat: and he announced not to them that from the body of the lion he broke off the honey.

10And his father will go down to the woman; and Samson will make there a drinking, for so did the young men. 11And it will be when they saw him, and they will take thirty companions, and they will be with him.

12And Samson will say to them, I will propose to you an enigma: if announcing, ye shall announce it to me in seven days of the drinking, and ye find out, and I will give to you thirty wide garments and thirty exchanges of garments: 13And if ye shall not be able to announce to me, and ye give me thirty wide garments and thirty exchanges of garments: and they will say to him, Propose thine enigma and we will hear it.

14And he will say to them, Out of him eating came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they were not able to announce the enigma in three days.

15And it will be in the seventh day, and they will say to Samson's wife, Persuade thy man and he shall announce to us the enigma, lest we shall burn thee and thy father's house with fire: did ye not call to us to possess us? 16And Samson's wife will weep upon him, and will say, Thou only hatedst me and lovedst me not: thou didst propose an enigma to the sons of my people, and to me thou didst not announce it. And he will say to her, Behold, to my father and to my mother I announced it not, and shall I announce to thee? 17And she will weep upon him seven days which were to them of the drinking: and it will be in the seventh day, and he will announce to her, for she urged him: and she will announce the enigma to the sons of her people.

18And the men of the city will say to him in the seventh day before the sun will go down, What is sweet above honey? and what is strong above the lion? and he will say to them, Unless ye ploughed with my heifer ye found not out my enigma.

19And the spirit of Jehovah will fall suddenly upon him, and he will go down to Ashkelon and will strike from them thirty men, and he will take their spoils, and will give exchanges to those announcing the enigma. And his anger will kindle, and he will go up to his father's house. 20And Samson's wife will be to his companion who was friend to him.