Judges 14:12–19

¹²Then Samson said to them, “Let me now ^apropound 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 ^bchanges 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.”

¹⁴So 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.

¹⁵Then it happened on the ¹fourth day that they said to Samson’s wife, “^aEntice your husband, so that he will tell us the riddle, ^bor we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us to impoverish us? Is this not so?”

¹⁶So Samson’s wife wept before him and said, “^aYou only hate me, and you do not love me; you have propounded a riddle to the sons of my people and have not told it to me.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told it to my father or mother; so should I tell you?”

¹⁷However she wept before him seven days while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day he told her because she pressed him so hard. She then told the riddle to the sons of her people.

¹⁸So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,

“What is sweeter than honey?

And what is stronger than a lion?”

And he said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer,

You would not have found out my riddle.”

¹⁹Then ^athe Spirit of Yahweh ¹came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty of them and took their spoil and gave the changes of clothes to those who told the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house.