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:
Parallel translations
- WEB Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle now. If you can declare it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing;
- BSB “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.
- NKJV 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.
- NASB Then Samson said to them, “Let me now propose a riddle for you; if you actually tell me the answer within the seven days of the feast, and solve it, then I will give you thirty linen wraps and thirty outfits of clothes.
- NLT 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Samson proposes a riddle, wagering thirty fine garments if they can solve it within seven days. He sets a bold challenge before his companions.
Overview
Samson's riddle and high-stakes wager fit the playful customs of such feasts. Yet the contest will become the spark for serious conflict with the Philistines. The arrangement shows how God will use even Samson's games to set His deliverance in motion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- 1 Kgs 10:1And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.
- Gen 45:22To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.
- Ezek 17:2Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
- 2 Kgs 5:5And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
- Prov 1:6To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
- 2 Kgs 5:22And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.
- Jas 5:2Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
- 1 Cor 13:12For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
- Matt 6:19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
- Matt 13:34All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
- John 16:29His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.
- Ezek 20:49Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?
- Ps 49:4I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
- 2 Chr 7:8Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt.
- Gen 29:27–28Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
- Luke 14:7And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,
- Matt 13:13Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
- Matt 27:28And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
- Mark 14:51–52And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 14:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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