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JUDGES 14-15\n\n14\t Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, \u201cI have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.\u201d \n3 His father and mother replied, \u201cIsn\u2019t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?\u201d \nBut Samson said to his father, \u201cGet her for me. She\u2019s the right one for me.\u201d 4 (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.) 5 Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. 6 The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. 7 Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her. \n8 Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion\u2019s carcass. In it was a swarm of bees and some honey, 9 which he scooped out with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion\u2019s carcass. \n10 Now his father went down to see the woman. And Samson made a feast there, as was customary for bridegrooms. 11 When he appeared, he was given thirty companions. \n12 \u201cLet me tell you a riddle,\u201d Samson said to them. \u201cIf you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. 13 If you can\u2019t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.\u201d \n\u201cTell us your riddle,\u201d they said. \u201cLet\u2019s hear it.\u201d \n14 He replied, \n\u201cOut of the eater, something to eat; \nout of the strong, something sweet.\u201d \nFor three days they could not give the answer. \n15 On the fourth day, they said to Samson\u2019s wife, \u201cCoax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father\u2019s household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?\u201d \n16 Then Samson\u2019s wife threw herself on him, sobbing, \u201cYou hate me! You don\u2019t really love me. You\u2019ve given my people a riddle, but you haven\u2019t told me the answer.\u201d \n\u201cI haven\u2019t even explained it to my father or mother,\u201d he replied, \u201cso why should I explain it to you?\u201d 17 She cried the whole seven days of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people. \n18 Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said to him, \n\u201cWhat is sweeter than honey? \nWhat is stronger than a lion?\u201d \nSamson said to them, \n\u201cIf you had not plowed with my heifer, \nyou would not have solved my riddle.\u201d \n19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of their belongings and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he went up to his father\u2019s house. 20 And Samson\u2019s wife was given to the friend who had attended him at his wedding.\n\n15\tLater on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, \u201cI\u2019m going to my wife\u2019s room.\u201d But her father would not let him go in. \n2 \u201cI was so sure you thoroughly hated her,\u201d he said, \u201cthat I gave her to your friend. Isn\u2019t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.\u201d \n3 Samson said to them, \u201cThis time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.\u201d 4 So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, 5 lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves. \n6 When the Philistines asked, \u201cWho did this?\u201d they were told, \u201cSamson, the Timnite\u2019s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his friend.\u201d \nSo the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death. 7 Samson said to them, \u201cSince you\u2019ve acted like this, I won\u2019t stop until I get my revenge on you.\u201d 8 He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam. \n9 The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. 10 The men of Judah asked, \u201cWhy have you come to fight us?\u201d \n\u201cWe have come to take Samson prisoner,\u201d they answered, \u201cto do to him as he did to us.\u201d \n11 Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, \u201cDon\u2019t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?\u201d \n\nHe answered, \u201cI merely did to them what they did to me.\u201d \n12 They said to him, \u201cWe\u2019ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.\u201d \nSamson said, \u201cSwear to me that you won\u2019t kill me yourselves.\u201d \n13 \u201cAgreed,\u201d they answered. \u201cWe will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.\u201d So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. 14 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men. \n16 Then Samson said, \n\u201cWith a donkey\u2019s jawbone \nI have made donkeys of them.\nWith a donkey\u2019s jawbone \nI have killed a thousand men.\u201d \n17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.\n18 Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord, \u201cYou have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?\u201d 19 Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi. \n20 Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.