Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

Samson went down to Timnath in the land of the Philistines. There he saw a woman, one of the daughters of the Philistine people, and she caught his eye. He came up to his father and mother and said, "I've seen a woman in Timnath, from among the Philistine people. I want her as my wife."

His father and mother replied, "Why would you marry a woman who is not one of our own people? Why would you choose someone from the uncircumcised Philistines?" Samson said, "I want her; she's the one I'm interested in." But his parents didn't understand that God had planned this encounter with the Philistines at that time when they held power over Israel.

Samson went down to Timnath with his father and mother. When they arrived, they saw the vineyards of Timnath, and a young lion roared at Samson. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in great power, and he tore the lion apart as if it were a small goat with just his bare hands. But he didn't tell his parents about what had happened.

Samson continued on to the woman's home and talked with her. He found her pleasing. After some time passed, he returned to take her and stopped by the carcass of the lion he'd killed earlier. There was honey inside it. He took some of the honey in his hands and ate it, then went back to his parents without telling them where he'd gotten it.

His father decided to go down to the woman's family and proposed a marriage feast, which was how young men celebrated such occasions. When they saw Samson, they invited thirty companions to join him at the feast.

At the feast, Samson said to the guests, "I'll give you a riddle: if any of you can figure it out within seven days, I'll give each of you thirty new shirts and thirty changes of clothing. But if you can't solve my riddle, then you must give me thirty linen shirts and thirty changes of clothes." The guests asked him to share the riddle with them.

Samson said, "The answer is something that comes from an eater and becomes food, and something strong that produces sweetness." They couldn't figure it out in three days. On the seventh day, they approached Samson's wife, saying, "Tell your husband to share the riddle with us so we don't have to burn you and your family's house down."

Samson's wife cried before him, claiming he didn't truly love her because he wouldn't tell her the answer to his own riddle. He replied that he hadn't shared it with his parents or himself, so why should he share it with anyone else? She continued crying for seven days.

On the seventh day, Samson finally told her why she was troubled, and then she shared the riddle with her people. The men of the city asked Samson on the seventh day before sunset, "What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?" He replied, "If you hadn't plowed your fields with my heifer, you wouldn't have been able to figure out my riddle."

The Spirit of the Lord then came upon Samson. He went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men from there, taking their belongings as spoils. He gave them new clothes in exchange for solving his riddle, but his anger flared up once more, and he returned home to his father.

Samson's wife was given to his companion, who had been a friend of Samson's before they married her.