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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Judges 14 New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/judges/14.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmcc/judges/14-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com/catholic">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NRSVCE</a> > Judges 14</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../judges/13.htm" title="Judges 13">◄</a> Judges 14 <a href="../judges/15.htm" title="Judges 15">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition</td><td width="1%" valign="top"></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><div class="text-html"> <h3><span id="en" class="text">Samson’s Marriage</span></h3><p class="chapter-2"><span class="text"><span class="versenum">1</span>Once Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw a Philistine woman. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">2</span>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.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">3</span>But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among your kin, or among all our<span data-fn='#fen' class='footnote' data-link='[<a href="#fen-NRSVCE-6913a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]'>[<a href="#fen" xtitle="See footnote a">a</a>]</span> people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, because she pleases me.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">4</span>His father and mother did not know that this was from the <span style="font-variant: small-caps" class="small-caps">Lord</span>; for he was seeking a pretext to act against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.</span></p> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">5</span>Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. When he came to the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion roared at him. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">6</span>The spirit of the <span style="font-variant: small-caps" class="small-caps">Lord</span> rushed on him, and he tore the lion apart barehanded as one might tear apart a kid. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">7</span>Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">8</span>After a while he returned to marry her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">9</span>He scraped it out into his 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 taken the honey from the carcass of the lion.</span></p> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">10</span>His father went down to the woman, and Samson made a feast there as the young men were accustomed to do. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">11</span>When the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">12</span>Samson said to them, “Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">13</span>But if you cannot explain it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments.” So they said to him, “Ask your riddle; let us hear it.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">14</span>He said to them,</span></p><div class="poetry"><p class="line"><span class="text">“Out of the eater came something to eat.</span><br /><span class="text">Out of the strong came something sweet.”</span></p></div><p class="first-line-none"><span class="text">But for three days they could not explain the riddle.</span></p> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">15</span>On the fourth<span data-fn='#fen' class='footnote' data-link='[<a href="#fen-NRSVCE-6925b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]'>[<a href="#fen" xtitle="See footnote b">b</a>]</span> day they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">16</span>So Samson’s wife wept before him, saying, “You hate me; you do not really love me. You have asked a riddle of my people, but you have not explained it to me.” He said to her, “Look, I have not told my father or my mother. Why should I tell you?” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">17</span>She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted; and because she nagged him, on the seventh day he told her. Then she explained the riddle to her people. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">18</span>The men of the town said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,</span></p><div class="poetry"><p class="line"><span class="text">“What is sweeter than honey?</span><br /><span class="text">What is stronger than a lion?”</span></p></div><p class="first-line-none"><span class="text">And he said to them,</span></p><div class="poetry"><p class="line"><span class="text">“If you had not plowed with my heifer,</span><br /><span class="text">you would not have found out my riddle.”</span></p></div> <p class="first-line-none"><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">19</span>Then the spirit of the <span style="font-variant: small-caps" class="small-caps">Lord</span> rushed on him, and he went down to Ashkelon. He killed thirty men of the town, took their spoil, and gave the festal garments to those who had explained the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father’s house. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">20</span>And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.</span></p> <A name="fen"></a><div class="footnotes"><h4>Footnotes</h4><ol><li id="fen"><a hlef="#en" xtitle="Go to Judges 14:3">Judges 14:3</a> <span class='footnote-text'>Cn: Heb <i>my</i></span></li><li id="fen"><a hlef="#en" xtitle="Go to Judges 14:15">Judges 14:15</a> <span class='footnote-text'>Gk Syr: Heb <i>seventh</i></span></li></ol></div> </div></div></div></div></div> </div> </div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. 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