^14:8Some time later, when he went back to marry¹⁷ her, he turned aside to see the lion’s remains. He saw¹⁸ a swarm of bees in the lion’s carcass, as well as some honey. ^14:9He scooped it up with his hands and ate it as he walked along. When he returned¹⁹ to his father and mother, he offered them some and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had scooped the honey out of the lion’s carcass.²⁰

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Footnotes

17 Heb “get.”
18 Heb “and look, a swarm of bees …”
19 Heb “went.” Samson apparently went home to his parents before going to Timnah for the marriage. Seeing and tasting the honey appears to encourage Manoah to go with his son to Timnah. Perhaps both Samson and his father viewed the honey as a good omen of future blessing. Possibly Samson considered it a symbol of sexual pleasure or an aphrodisiac. Note the use of honey imagery in Song 4:11 and 5:1.
20 Touching the carcass of a dead animal undoubtedly violated Samson’s Nazirite status. See Num 6:6.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. He scooped out the honey 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’s carcass.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

After some time, when he returned to marry her, he left the road to see the lion’s carcass, and there was a swarm of bees with honey in the carcass. He scooped some honey into his hands and ate it as he went along. 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 scooped the honey from the lion’s carcass.

NLTNew Living Translation

Later, when he returned to Timnah for the wedding, he turned off the path to look at the carcass of the lion. And he found that a swarm of bees had made some honey in the carcass. He scooped some of the honey into his hands and ate it along the way. He also gave some to his father and mother, and they ate it. But he didn’t tell them he had taken the honey from the carcass of the lion.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And he returned after awhile to marry her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and there was a swarm of wild honey bees in the body of the lion, and honey. He scraped it out into his hands, and he went on, eating it as he went. And he went to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the body of the lion.

KJV 1900King James Version

And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.

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