Judges 14:12
New International Version
“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.

New Living Translation
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.

English Standard Version
And Samson said to them, “Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes,

Berean Standard Bible
“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.

King James Bible
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:

New King James Version
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.

New American Standard Bible
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.

NASB 1995
Then Samson said to them, “Let me now propound 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 changes of clothes.

NASB 1977
Then Samson said to them, “Let me now propound 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 changes of clothes.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Samson said to them, “Let me now propound 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 changes of clothes.

Amplified Bible
Then Samson said to them, “Let me now ask you a riddle; if you can tell me what it is within the seven days of the feast, and solve it, then I will give you thirty linen tunics (undergarments) and thirty changes of [outer] clothing.

Christian Standard Bible
“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can explain it to me during the seven days of the feast and figure it out, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can explain it to me during the seven days of the feast and figure it out, I will give you 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothes.

American Standard Version
And Samson said unto them, Let me now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can declare it unto me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Samson said to them: “I have a riddle for you. If you will interpret it for me during the seven days of the wedding feast and you will make it known, I shall give to you thirty felt overcoats and thirty suits of clothes

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Sampson said to them, I propound you a riddle: if ye will indeed tell it me, and discover it within the seven days of the feast, I will you give thirty sheets and thirty changes of raiment.

Contemporary English Version
Samson told the 30 young men, "This party will last for seven days. Let's make a bet: I'll tell you a riddle, and if you can tell me the answer before the party is over, I'll give each of you a shirt and a full change of clothing.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Samson said to them: I will propose to you a riddle, which if you declare unto me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty shirts, and as many coats:

English Revised Version
And Samson said unto them, Let me now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then Samson said to them, "Let me tell you a riddle. If you solve it during the seven days of the party, I'll give you 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes.

International Standard Version
"Let me tell you a riddle," Samson told them. "If you can solve it during this week-long festival, I'll give you 30 linen garments and 30 formal garments.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Samson said unto them: 'Let me now put forth a riddle unto you; if ye can declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment;

Literal Standard Version
And Samson says to them, “Now let me put forth a riddle to you; if you certainly declare it to me [in] the seven days of the banquet, and have found [it] out, then I have given thirty linen shirts and thirty changes of garments to you;

Majority Standard Bible
“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.

New American Bible
Samson said to them, “Let me propose a riddle to you. If within the seven days of the feast you solve it for me, I will give you thirty linen tunics and thirty sets of garments.

NET Bible
Samson said to them, "I will give you a riddle. If you really can solve it during the seven days the party lasts, I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes.

New Revised Standard Version
Samson said to them, “Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments.

New Heart English Bible
Samson said to them, "Let me now put forth a riddle to you. If you can explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and figure it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Samson said to them, I will now propose a riddle to 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:

World English Bible
Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle now. If you can tell me the answer within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing;

Young's Literal Translation
And Samson saith to them, 'Let me, I pray you, put forth to you a riddle; if ye certainly declare it to me in the seven days of the banquet, and have found it out, then I have given to you thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of garments;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Samson's Riddle
11And when the Philistines saw him, they selected thirty men to accompany him. 12“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. 13But if you cannot solve it, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.” “Tell us your riddle,” they replied. “Let us hear it.”…

Cross References
Genesis 45:22
He gave new garments to each of them, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes.

Judges 14:11
And when the Philistines saw him, they selected thirty men to accompany him.

Judges 14:13
But if you cannot solve it, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes." "Tell us your riddle," they replied. "Let us hear it."

1 Kings 10:1
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.

2 Kings 5:5
"Go now," said the king of Aram, "and I will send you with a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman departed, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of clothing.

2 Kings 5:22
"Everything is all right," Gehazi replied. "My master has sent me to say, 'I have just now discovered that two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.'"

Proverbs 31:24
She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchants.


Treasury of Scripture

And Samson said to them, I will now put forth a riddle to you: if you 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:

a riddle

1 Kings 10:1
And 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.

Psalm 49:4
I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

Proverbs 1:6
To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

the seven

Genesis 29:27,28
Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years…

2 Chronicles 7:8
Also 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.

sheets.

Matthew 27:28
And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

Mark 14:51,52
And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: …

change

Genesis 45:22
To 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.

2 Kings 5:5,22
And 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…

Matthew 6:19
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

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Judges 14
1. Samson desires a wife of the Philistines.
6. In his journey he kills a lion
8. In a second journey he finds honey in the carcass
10. Samson's marriage feast
12. His riddle by his wife is made known
19. He strikes down thirty Philistines
20. His wife is married to another.














(12) I will now put forth a riddle unto you.--Chidah, "a riddle," comes from chud, "to knot." The use of riddles at feasts is of great antiquity both among the Jews (1Kings 10:1, &c.) and Greeks (Athen. x. 457; Pollux, vi. 107, &c.). Jewish legends have much to tell us of the riddles which passed between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, and between Solomon and Hiram (Dius ap. Jos., Antt. viii. 5, ? 3); and as large sums often depended on the discovery of the answer, they were very much of the nature of wagers. A sharp boy named Abdemon helped Hiram, just as the Greek sage Bias is said to have helped Amasis to solve the riddles of the Ethiopian king, which would otherwise have caused heavy losses. The Sphinx of Theban legend devoured those who could not solve her riddle. Mirth and riddles are also connected with the rites of Hercules (Mller, Dorians, ii. 12).

Sheets.--Rather, as in the margin, shirts; but it means shirts of fine linen (sedinim; LXX. Vulg., sin-dones), such as are only won by the wealthy (Isaiah 3:23; Mark 14:51). Samson's offer was fair enough, for if defeated, each paranymph would only have to provide one sindon and one robe, whereas Samson, if they guessed his riddle, would have to provide thirty.

Verse 12. - Riddle. The Hebrew word is the same as that which is rendered hard questions in 1 Kings 10:1, and dark questions, Numbers 12:8, and occurs also in Ezekiel 17:2, where the phrase is the same as here and in ver. 16, as if we should say in English, I will riddle you a riddle. In English, however, to riddle, as a verb active, means to solve a riddle, not, as in Hebrew, to propound one. The derivation of the Hebrew word and of the English is the same as regards the sense - something intricate and twisted. Thirty sheets, or rather, as in the margin, shirts, a linen garment worn next the skin. In Isaiah 3:23 spoken of the women's garment, "the fine linen," A.V., as also Proverbs 31:24. The word (sadin, Sanscrit sindu) means Indian linen. Change of garments - the outward garment of the Orientalist, which was part of the wealth of the rich and great, and was, and is to the present day, one of the most frequent presents on all state occasions (see Genesis 45:22; 2 Kings 5:5, 22; Isaiah 3:6, 7; Matthew 6:19, etc.).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Let me tell
אָחֽוּדָה־ (’ā·ḥū·ḏāh-)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Cohortative - first person common singular
Strong's 2330: To tie a, knot, to propound a, riddle

you a riddle,”
חִידָ֑ה (ḥî·ḏāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2420: A riddle, an enigmatic, perplexing saying or question

Samson
שִׁמְשׁ֔וֹן (šim·šō·wn)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8123: Samson -- a deliverer of Israel

said to them.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“If
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

you can solve
הַגֵּ֣ד (hag·gêḏ)
Verb - Hifil - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 5046: To be conspicuous

it
אוֹתָ֨הּ (’ō·w·ṯāh)
Direct object marker | third person feminine singular
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

for me
לִ֜י (lî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew

[within the] seven
שִׁבְעַ֨ת (šiḇ·‘aṯ)
Number - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7651: Seven, seven times, a week, an indefinite number

days
יְמֵ֤י (yə·mê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3117: A day

of the feast,
הַמִּשְׁתֶּה֙ (ham·miš·teh)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4960: Drink, drinking, a banquet, feast

I will give
וְנָתַתִּ֤י (wə·nā·ṯat·tî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

you
לָכֶם֙ (lā·ḵem)
Preposition | second person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew

thirty
שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים (šə·lō·šîm)
Number - common plural
Strong's 7970: Thirty, thirtieth

linen garments
סְדִינִ֔ים (sə·ḏî·nîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 5466: A wrapper, shirt

and thirty
וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֖ים (ū·šə·lō·šîm)
Conjunctive waw | Number - common plural
Strong's 7970: Thirty, thirtieth

sets
חֲלִפֹ֥ת (ḥă·li·p̄ōṯ)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 2487: Alternation

of clothes.
בְּגָדִֽים׃ (bə·ḡā·ḏîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 899: A covering, clothing, treachery, pillage


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OT History: Judges 14:12 Samson said to them Let me now (Jd Judg. Jdg)
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