Samson’s Marriage

1Samson wente downe vnto Thimnath, & there he sawe a woman amoge the doughters of ye Philistynes. 2And whan he came vp, he tolde his father & his mother, & sayde: I haue sene a woman amoge the doughters of the Philistynes, I praye you geue me the same to wife. 3His father & his mother sayde vnto him: Is there not a woman amonge the doughters of yi brethren, & in all yi people, but thou must go & take a wife amoge the Philistynes, which are vncircumcised? Samson sayde vnto his father: Geue me this woma, for she pleaseth myne eyes. 4But his father & his mother knewe not yt it came of the LORDE, & that he soughte an occasion agaynst the Philistynes. For the Philistynes reigned ouer Israel at ye same tyme.

5So Samson wente downe with his father and with his mother vnto Thimnath. And whan they came to the vynyardes of Thimnath, beholde, there came a yonge rearinge lyon against him. 6And the sprete of the LORDE came vpon him, and he rente him in peces, euen as a kydd is parted a sunder, and yet had he nothinge at all in his hade, and he tolde it not vnto his father & his mother. 7Now whan he came downe, he spake wt the woman, and she pleased Samsons eyes.

Samson’s Riddle

8And after certayne dayes he came agayne, to receaue her, & wente out of ye waye, that he mighte se ye deed carcas of the lyon: and beholde, in ye lyons carcas there was a swarme of beyes, and hony: 9and he toke of it in his hande, and ate therof by the waye: and wete vnto his father and to his mother, and gaue them to eate also. But he tolde them not, that he had taken the hony out of the lyons carcas.

10And whan his father came downe to the woman, Samson made a feast there, as the yonge men vsed to do. 11And whan they sawe him, they gaue him thirtie companyons to be with him.

12Samson sayde vnto them: I wil expresse a darke sentence vnto you, yf ye expounde me the same with in these seuen dayes of the feast, I wyll geue you thirtye shertes, and thirtie chaunge of raymente. 13But yf ye can not expounde it, then shall ye geue me thirtie shertes, & thirtie chaunge of rayment. And they sayde vnto him: Shewe forth thy ryddle, let vs heare it.

14He sayde vnto them: Meate wente out from the deuourer, and swetenesse from the mightie. And in thre dayes they coulde not expounde the ryddle.

15Vpon the seuenth daye they sayde vnto Samsons wife: Persuade thy husbade, that he tell vs what the ryddle meaneth, or els we shal burne the and thy fathers house with fyre. Haue ye called vs hither, to brynge vs to pouerte? 16Then wepte Samsons wife before him, and sayde: Thou art displeased at me, and louest me not: thou hast expressed a darke sentence vnto the children of my people, and hast not tolde it me. But he sayde vnto her: Beholde, I haue not tolde it vnto my father and mother, and shulde I tell it the? 17And she wepte before him those seuen dayes, whyle they had ye feast. But on the seueth daye he tolde it her, for she was so importune vpon him. And she expounded the darke sentence vnto the children of her people.

18Then sayde the men of the cite vnto him vpon the seuenth daye oreuer the Sonne wente downe: What is sweter then hony? What is strouger then the lyon? But he sayde vnto the: Yf ye had not plowed wt my calfe, ye shulde not haue founde out my ryddle.

19And the sprete of ye LORDE came vpon him, and he wente downe vnto Ascalon, and slewe thirtie men of them, & toke their spoyles, and gaue chaunge of rayment vnto the, yt had expounded the ryddle. And he was wrothfully displeased, & wente vp vnto his fathers house. 20As for Samsons wife, she was geuen vnto one of his companyons, which belonged vnto him.