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Judges 14:17-19
New English Translation
Judges 14:17-19
New English Translation
17 She cried on his shoulder[a] until the party was almost over.[b] Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much.[c] Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle.[d] 18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
He said to them,
“If you had not plowed with my heifer,[e]
you would not have solved my riddle!”
19 The Lord’s Spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men. He took their clothes[f] and gave them[g] to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home.[h]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 14:17 tn Heb “on him.”
- Judges 14:17 tn Heb “the seven days [during] which they held the party.” This does not mean she cried for the entire seven days; v. 15 indicates otherwise. She cried for the remainder of the seven day period, beginning on the fourth day.
- Judges 14:17 tn Heb “because she forced him.”
- Judges 14:17 tn Heb “she told the riddle to the sons of her people.”
- Judges 14:18 sn Plowed with my heifer. This statement emphasizes that the Philistines had utilized a source of information which should have been off-limits to them. Heifers were used in plowing (Hos 10:11), but one typically used one’s own farm animals, not another man’s.
- Judges 14:19 tn Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”
- Judges 14:19 tn Heb “changes [of clothes].”
- Judges 14:19 tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”
Judges 14:17-19
New International Version
Judges 14:17-19
New International Version
17 She cried the whole seven days(A) 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.
18 Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said to him,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”(B)
Samson said to them,
“If you had not plowed with my heifer,
you would not have solved my riddle.”
19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.(C) He went down to Ashkelon,(D) struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger,(E) he returned to his father’s home.
New English Translation (NET)
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