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Tuesday, April 14th, 2026
the Second Week after Easter
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Literal Standard Version

Judges 14:12

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;

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Betting;   Feasts;   Marriage;   Riddle;   Samson;   Thompson Chain Reference - Riddles;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Marriage;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Feasts;   Firkin;   Miracle;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Changes of Raiment;   Dress;   Linen;   Riddle;   Timnath;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Banquets;   Dress;   Judges, the Book of;   Linen;   Marriage;   Riddle;   Solomon;   Week;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Festal Garments, Festal Robes;   Insects;   Judges, Book of;   Number Systems and Number Symbolism;   Riddle;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Changes of Raiment;   Dress;   Games;   Levi;   Linen;   Marriage;   Meals;   Philistines;   Samson;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Marriage;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Riddle;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Marriage;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Banquets;   Marriage;   Meals;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Sabbath;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Reign of the Judges;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Change;   Fine;   Linen;   Lion;   Number;   Queen of Sheba;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Costume;   Song of Songs, the;  

Parallel Translations

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.
Hebrew Names Version
Shimshon said to them, Let me now put forth a riddle to you: 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;
King James Version
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:
Lexham English Bible
And Samson said to them, "Let me tell you a riddle. If you can fully explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, I will give to you thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments.
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,
New Century Version
Samson said to them, "Let me tell you a riddle. Try to find the answer during the seven days of the feast. If you can, I will give you thirty linen shirts and thirty changes of clothes.
New English Translation
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.
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.
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.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Samson sayd vnto them, I will nowe put forth a riddle vnto you: and if you can declare it me within seuen dayes of the feast, and finde it out, I will giue you thirty sheetes, and thirtie change of garments.
Legacy Standard Bible
En Simson sê aan hulle: Laat my tog vir julle 'n raaisel opgee; as julle dit vir my reg uitlê gedurende die sewe dae van die maaltyd en dit uitvind, dan sal ek julle dertig hemde en dertig stel klere gee;
Contemporary English Version
Samson told the thirty 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 right answer before the party is over, I'll give each one of you a shirt and a full change of clothing.
Complete Jewish Bible
Shimshon said to them, "Let me present you with a riddle. If you can solve it within the seven days of the banquet and tell me the solution, I will give you thirty linen shirts and thirty changes of good clothes.
Darby Translation
And Samson said to them, Let me now propound a riddle to you; if ye clearly explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find [it] out, then I will give you thirty shirts, and thirty changes of garments.
Easy-to-Read Version
Then Samson said to the 30 men, "I want to tell you a story. This party will last for seven days. Try to find the answer during that time. If you can answer the riddle in that time, I will give you 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes.
George Lamsa Translation
And Samson said to them, I will now put forth a riddle to you; if you can interpret it to me within the seven days of the feast and find it out, then I will give you thirty overcoats made of felt and thirty changes of garments;
Good News Translation
Samson said to them, "Let me tell you a riddle. I'll bet each one of you a piece of fine linen and a change of fine clothes that you can't tell me its meaning before the seven days of the wedding feast are over." "Tell us your riddle," they said. "Let's hear it."
Literal Translation
And Samson said to them, Please let me riddle a riddle to you. If declaring you declare it to me in the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I shall give you thirty linen blouses and thirty changes of garments.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Samson 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.
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;
Bible in Basic English
And Samson said, Now I have a hard question for you: if you are able to give me the answer before the seven days of the feast are over, I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty changes of clothing;
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Samson sayd vnto them, I will nowe put foorth a riddle vnto you: & yf you can declare it me within seuen dayes of the feast, and finde it out, I will geue you thirtie sheetes, & thirtie chaunge of garmentes:
JPS Old Testament (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;
King James Version (1611)
And Samson said vnto them, I will now put foorth a riddle vnto you: if you can certeinly declare it me, within the seuen dayes of the feast, and finde it out, then I will giue you thirtie sheetes, and thirtie change of garments:
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
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.
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:
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.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
To whiche Sampson spak, Y schal putte forth to you a probleme, `that is, a douyteful word and priuy, and if ye `asoilen it to me with ynne seuen daies of the feeste, Y schal yyue to you thretti lynnun clothis, and cootis `of the same noumbre; sotheli if ye moun not soyle,
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;
Update Bible Version
And Samson said to them, Let me now put forth a riddle to you: 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 raiment;
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 now put forth a riddle to you: 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;
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 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.
New Life Bible
And Samson said to them, "Let me see if you can answer this question. If you can find the answer within the seven days of the special supper, I will give you thirty linen coats and thirty pieces of clothing.
New Revised Standard
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.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Samson said unto them, I pray you let me put you forth a riddle, - if ye, tell, it me, within the seven days of the banquet, and find it out, then will I give you thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of raiment;
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:
Revised 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 festal garments;
THE MESSAGE
Samson said to them: "Let me put a riddle to you. If you can figure it out during the seven days of the feast, I'll give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of fine clothing. But if you can't figure it out then you'll give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of fine clothing." They said, "Put your riddle. Let's hear it." So he said, From the eater came something to eat, From the strong came something sweet.
New American Standard Bible (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.

Contextual Overview

10And his father goes down to the woman, and Samson makes a banquet there, for so the young men does; 11and it comes to pass, when they see him, that they take thirty companions, and they are with him. 12And 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;13and if you are not able to declare [it] to me, then you have given thirty linen shirts and thirty changes of garments to me." And they say to him, "Put forth your riddle, and we hear it!" 14And he says to them: "Out of the eater came forth something to eat, || And out of the strong came forth [something] sweet"; and they were not able to declare the riddle [in] three days. 15And it comes to pass, on the seventh day, that they say to Samson's wife, "Entice your husband, that he declare the riddle to us, lest we burn you and the house of your father with fire; have you not called for us [here] to rob us?" 16And Samson's wife weeps for it and says, "You have only hated me, and have not loved me; you have put forth the riddle to the sons of my people, but have not declared it to me"; and he says to her, "Behold, I have not declared [it] to my father and to my mother—and I declare [it] to you?" 17And she weeps for it the seven days [in] which their banquet has been, and it comes to pass on the seventh day that he declares [it] to her, for she has distressed him; and she declares the riddle to the sons of her people. 18And the men of the city say to him on the seventh day, before the sun goes in: "What [is] sweeter than honey? And what [is] stronger than a lion?" And he says to them: "Unless you had plowed with my heifer, || You had not found out my riddle." 19And the Spirit of YHWH prospers over him, and he goes down to Ashkelon, and strikes down thirty of their men, and takes their armor, and gives the changes to those declaring the riddle; and his anger burns, and he goes up to the house of his father;

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a riddle: 1 Kings 10:1, Psalms 49:4, Proverbs 1:6, Ezekiel 17:2, Ezekiel 20:49, Matthew 13:13, Matthew 13:34, Luke 14:7, John 16:29, 1 Corinthians 13:12, *marg.

the seven: Genesis 29:27, Genesis 29:28, 2 Chronicles 7:8

sheets: or, shirts. This will receive illustration from Mr. Jackson's description of the Moorish dress: It resembles that of the ancient patriarchs as represented in paintings - but the paintings are taken from Asiatic models that of the men consists of a red cap and turban, a (kumja) shirt, which hangs outside of the drawers, and comes below the knee; a (caftan) coat, which buttons close before, and down to the bottom with large open sleeves; over which, when they go out of doors, they throw carelessly, and sometimes elegantly, a hayk, or garment of white cotton, silk, or wool, five or six yards long, and five feet wide. The Arabs often dispense with the caftan, and even with the shirt, wearing nothing but the hayk." Matthew 27:28, Mark 14:51, Mark 14:52

change: Genesis 45:22, 2 Kings 5:5, 2 Kings 5:22, Matthew 6:19, James 5:2

Reciprocal: Genesis 21:8 - feast Matthew 13:24 - put

Cross-References

Genesis 11:27
And these [are] the generations of Terah: Terah has begotten Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran has begotten Lot;
Genesis 12:5
And Abram takes his wife Sarai, and his brother's son Lot, and all their substance that they have gained, and the persons that they have obtained in Haran; and they go out to go toward the land of Canaan; and they come to the land of Canaan.
Genesis 14:9
with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with the five.
Genesis 14:11
And they take the whole substance of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the whole of their food, and go away;
Genesis 14:12
and they take Lot, Abram's brother's son (seeing he is dwelling in Sodom), and his substance, and go away.
Genesis 14:13
And one who is escaping comes and declares to Abram the Hebrew, and he is dwelling among the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner, and they [are] Abram's allies.
Genesis 14:17
And the king of Sodom goes out to meet him (after his turning back from the striking of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings who [are] with him), to the Valley of Shaveh, which [is] the king's valley.
Genesis 14:19
and he blesses him and says, "Blessed [is] Abram to God Most High, possessing the heavens and earth;
Numbers 16:26
and he speaks to the congregation, saying, "Now turn aside from the tents of these wicked men, and do not come against anything that they have, lest you are consumed in all their sins."
Job 9:23
If a scourge puts to death suddenly, He laughs at the trial of the innocent.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Samson said unto them,.... His thirty companions, very likely on the first day of the feast:

I will now put forth a riddle to you: a secret, hidden, abstruse thing, not easy to be understood; a dark saying, wrapped up in figurative terms; and this he proposed as an amusement to them, to exercise their wits, which it seems was usual to entertain guests with, and might be both pleasing and profitable:

if you can certainly declare it unto me within the seven days of the feast; for so long the nuptial feast was usually kept, see

Genesis 29:27. If they could find it out; and with clearness and certainty explain the riddle to him within that period of time, which was giving them time enough to do it in:

then I will give you thirty sheets, and thirty change of garments: that is, every man one of each. By "sheets" he means, as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it, a covering of the body in the night next to the flesh, in which a man lies, and was made of linen; meaning either what we call shirts, or bed sheet, and by change of raiment, a suit of clothes worn in the daytime.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the marginal references. Riddles formed one of the amusements of these protracted feasts.

Sheets - Rather “linen shirts;” the “garments” which follow are the outward garments worn by the Orientals.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 14:12. I will now put forth a riddle — Probably this was one part of the amusements at a marriage-feast; each in his turn proposing a riddle, to be solved by any of the rest on a particular forfeit; the proposer forfeiting, if solved, the same which the company must forfeit if they could not solve it.

Thirty sheets — I have no doubt that the Arab hayk, or hake, is here meant; a dress in which the natives of the East wrap themselves, as a Scottish Highlander does in his plaid. In Asiatic countries the dress scarcely ever changes; being nearly the same now that it was 2000 years ago. Mr. Jackson, in his account of the Empire of Morocco, thus mentions the Moorish dress: "It resembles," says he, "that of the ancient patriarchs, as represented in paintings; (but the paintings are taken from Asiatic models;) that of the men consists of a red cap and turban, a (kumja) shirt, which hangs outside of the drawers, and comes down below the knee; a (caftan) coat, which buttons close before, and down to the bottom, with large open sleeves; over which, when they go out of doors, they throw carelessly, and sometimes elegantly, a hayk, or garment of white cotton, silk, or wool, five or six yards long, and five feet wide. The Arabs often dispense with the caftan, and even with the shirt, wearing nothing but the hayk." When an Arab does not choose to wrap himself in the hayk, he throws it over his left shoulder, where it hangs till the weather, c., obliges him to wrap it round him. The hayk is either mean or elegant, according to the quality of the cloth, and of the person who wears it. I have myself seen the natives of Fez, with hayks, or hykes, both elegant and costly. By the changes of garments, it is very likely that the kumja and caftan are meant, or at least the caftan but most likely both: for the Hebrew has חליפות בגדים chaliphoth begadim, changes or succession of garments. Samson, therefore, engaged to give or receive thirty hayks, and thirty kumjas and caftans, on the issue of the interpretation or non-interpretation of his riddle: these were complete suits.


 
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