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Judges 14:11–14

11 When the people saw him, they chose thirty men to be his companions.

12 “Let me tell you a riddle,t” Samson said to them. “If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast,u I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.v 13 If you can’t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.”

“Tell us your riddle,” they said. “Let’s hear it.”

14 He replied,

“Out of the eater, something to eat;

out of the strong, something sweet.”w

For three days they could not give the answer.

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Judges 14:11–14 — English Standard Version (ESV)

11 As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12 And Samson said to them, “Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes, 13 but if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Put your riddle, that we may hear it.” 14 And he said to them,

“Out of the eater came something to eat.

Out of the strong came something sweet.”

And in three days they could not solve the riddle.

Judges 14:11–14 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12 And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments: 13 But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. 14 And he said unto them,

Out of the eater came forth meat,

And out of the strong came forth sweetness.

And they could not in three days expound the riddle.

Judges 14:11–14 — New Living Translation (NLT)

11 When the bride’s parents saw him, they selected thirty young men from the town to be his companions.

12 Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. If you solve my riddle during these seven days of the celebration, I will give you thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing. 13 But if you can’t solve it, then you must give me thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing.”

“All right,” they agreed, “let’s hear your riddle.”

14 So he said:

“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;

out of the strong came something sweet.”

Three days later they were still trying to figure it out.

Judges 14:11–14 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

11 And it happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.

12 Then Samson said to them, “Let me pose a riddle to you. If you can correctly solve and explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing. 13 But 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, “Pose your riddle, that we may hear it.”

14 So 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.

Judges 14:11–14 — New Century Version (NCV)

11 When the people saw him, they sent thirty friends to be with him.

12 Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. Try to find the answer during the seven days of the feast. If you can, I will give you thirty linen shirts and thirty changes of clothes. 13 But if you can’t, you must give me thirty linen shirts and thirty changes of clothes.”

So they said, “Tell us your riddle so we can hear it.”

14 Samson said,

“Out of the eater comes something to eat.

Out of the strong comes something sweet.”

After three days, they had not found the answer.

Judges 14:11–14 — American Standard Version (ASV)

11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12 And Samson said unto them, Let me now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can declare it unto me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment; 13 but if ye cannot declare it unto me, then shall ye give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. 14 And he said unto them,

Out of the eater came forth food,

And out of the strong came forth sweetness.

And they could not in three days declare the riddle.

Judges 14:11–14 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

11 And it came to pass when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions, and they were with him. 12 And Samson said to them, Let me now propound a riddle to you; if ye clearly explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty shirts, and thirty changes of garments. 13 But if ye cannot explain it to me, then shall ye give me thirty shirts, and thirty changes of garments. And they said to him, Propound thy riddle, that we may hear it. 14 And he said to them, Out of the eater came forth food, And out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days explain the riddle.

Judges 14:11–14 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

11 When ⸤her family⸥ saw him, they chose 30 of their friends to be with him. 

12 Then Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. If you solve it during the seven days of the party, I’ll give you 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes. 13 But if you can’t solve it, you will give me the same things.” 

They responded, “Tell us your riddle! Let’s hear it!” 

14 So Samson said to them, 

“From the eater 

came something to eat. 

From the strong one 

came something sweet.” 

For three days they couldn’t solve the riddle.

Judges 14:11–14 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

11 When the Philistines saw him, they brought 30 men to accompany him.

12 “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can explain it to me during the seven days of the feast and figure it out, I will give you 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothes. 13 But if you can’t explain it to me, you must give me 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothes.”

“Tell us your riddle,” they replied. “Let’s hear it.”

14 So he said to them:

Out of the eater came something to eat,

and out of the strong came something sweet.

After three days, they were unable to explain the riddle.

Judges 14:11–14 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

11 When the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12 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. 13 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.” 14 He said to them,

“Out of the eater came something to eat.

Out of the strong came something sweet.”

But for three days they could not explain the riddle.

Judges 14:11–14 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

11 When they saw him, they took thirty companions, and they were with him. 12 And Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. If you can fully explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, I will give to you thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments. 13 But if you are unable to explain it to me, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments.” So they said to him, “Tell your riddle; let us hear it.” 14 He said to them,

“From the eater came out food,

From the strong came out sweet.”

But they were unable to explain the riddle for three days.

Judges 14:11–14 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

11 When the people saw Samson, they gave him 30 companions.

12 “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to the companions. “The dinner will last for seven days. Give me the answer to the riddle before the dinner ends. If you do, I’ll give you 30 linen shirts. I’ll also give you 30 sets of clothes. 13 But suppose you can’t give me the answer. Then you must give me 30 linen shirts. You must also give me 30 sets of clothes.”

“Tell us your riddle,” they said. “Let’s hear it.”

14 Samson replied,

“Out of the eater came something to eat.

Out of the strong came something sweet.”

For three days they couldn’t give him the answer.

Judges 14:11–14 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

11 When they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.

12 Then Samson said to them, “Let me now propound a riddle to you; if you will indeed tell it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes.

13 “But if you are unable to tell me, then you shall give me thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Propound your riddle, that we may hear it.”

14 So he said to them,

“Out of the eater came something to eat,

And out of the strong came something sweet.”

But they could not tell the riddle in three days.


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