And he went up and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath from among the daughters of the Philistines, and now take her for me as a wife.
And his father and his mother said to him, Is there not a woman from among the daughters of your brothers and in all my people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised foreigners? And Samson said to his father, Take her for me, for she has pleased in my eyes.
And his father and his mother did not know that it was from the Lord, because he himself was seeking vengeance from the Philistines, and in that time the Philistines were ruling over the sons of Israel.
And Samson went down, and his father and his mother, to Thamnatha, and he turned aside to the vineyard of Thamnatha, and behold, a young lion roaring came out to meet him.
And the spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he tore him apart as one would tear apart a young goat of goats, and there was nothing in his hand, and he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done
And after days he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, a swarm of bees was in the mouth of the lion, and honey was there.
And he took it out into his mouth, and he went on going and eating, and he went to his father and to his mother and gave it to them, and they ate, and he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the lion’s carcass
And Samson said to them, I will put forth a riddle to you, and if you tell me the riddle within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of garments.
and if you are not able to tell me, then you yourselves shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes. And they said to him, Put forward your riddle, and we will hear it.
And he said to them, From the eater came forth food, and from the strong came forth sweetness; and they were not able to tell the riddle for three days.
And it happened on the fourth day, and they said to the wife of Samson, Deceive your husband, then, and let him tell you the riddle, lest we burn you and the house of your father with fire; or did you call us to impoverish us?
And Samson’s wife wept over him and said to him, You have hated me and have not loved me, because the riddle that you put forth to the sons of my people you did not tell to me. And Samson said to her, Behold, I did not tell it to my father or to my mother, and to you shall I tell it?
And she wept on him for the seven days, during which the feast lasted; and it happened on the seventh day that he told her, because she had pressed him hard, and she told the sons of her people.
And 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 Samson said to them: If you had not subdued my heifer, you would not have found my riddle.
And the spirit of the Lord guided upon him, and he went down to Ascalon and struck thirty men from there and took their garments and gave them to those who had reported the riddle, and Samson was angered with wrath, and he went up to his father’s house