Judges 15:2

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“I was sure you hated her,” her father said, “so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Isn’t her younger sister more beautiful than she is? Why not take her instead?”

Hebrew Names Version
Her father said, I most assuredly thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion: isn't her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her, instead.

King James Version
And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

Lexham English Bible
Her father said, "I really thought that you hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please, take her instead."

English Standard Version
And her father said, "I really thought that you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead."

New Century Version
He said to Samson, "I thought you really hated your wife, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more beautiful. Take her instead."

New English Translation
Her father said, "I really thought you absolutely despised her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!"

Amplified Bible
Her father said, "I really thought you utterly hated her; so I gave her to your companion. Is her younger sister not more beautiful than she? Please take her [as your wife] instead."

New American Standard Bible
Her father said, "I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I gave her to your companion. Is her younger sister not more beautiful than she? Please let her be yours instead."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And her father sayde, I thought that thou hadst hated her: therefore gaue I her to thy companion. Is not her yonger sister fayrer then shee? take her, I pray thee, in stead of the other.

Legacy Standard Bible
En haar vader het gesê: Ek het vir seker gedink dat jy niks om haar gee nie; daarom het ek haar aan jou metgesel gegee; is haar jonger suster nie mooier as sy nie? Laat sy tog joue word in haar plek.

Contemporary English Version
"When you left the way you did, I thought you were divorcing her. So I arranged for her to marry one of the young men who were at your party. But my younger daughter is even prettier, and you can have her as your wife."

Complete Jewish Bible
Her father said, "I really thought you hated her altogether, so I gave her to your best man. But her younger sister — isn't she even prettier? Why not take her instead?"

Darby Translation
And her father said, I verily thought that thou didst utterly hate her; therefore I gave her to thy companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Let her, I pray thee, be thine instead of her.

Easy-to-Read Version
He said, "I thought you hated her, so I let her marry the best man at the wedding. Her younger sister is more beautiful. Take her younger sister."

George Lamsa Translation
And her father said, I surely thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your groomsman; behold, her younger sister, who is fairer than she, take her to wife instead.

Good News Translation
He told Samson, "I really thought that you hated her, so I gave her to your friend. But her younger sister is prettier, anyway. You can have her, instead."

Literal Translation
And her father said, I certainly said that hating you would hate her, and I gave her to your companion. Is not her sister, the young one, better than she? Please let her belong to you, instead of her.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and sayde: I thoughte thou wast displeased at her, and I gaue her vnto thy frende. But she hath a yonger sister which is more beutyfull then she, let ye same be thine for her.

American Standard Version
And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

Bible in Basic English
And her father said, It seemed to me that you had only hate for her; so I gave her to your friend: but is not her younger sister fairer than she? so please take her in place of the other.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And her father sayde, I thought that thou haddest hated her, & therfore gaue I her to thy companion: Is not her younger sister fayrer then she? Take her I pray thee, in steade of the other.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And her father said: 'I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion; is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.'

King James Version (1611)
And her father saide, I verily thought that thou haddest vtterly hated her, therfore I gaue her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer then she? take her, I pray thee, in stead of her.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And her father spoke, saying, I said that thou didst surely hate her, and I gave her to one of thy friends: is not her younger sister better than she? let her be to thee instead of her.

English Revised Version
And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

Berean Standard Bible
"I was sure you thoroughly hated her," said her father, "so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Y gesside that thou haddist hatid hir, and therfor Y yaf hir to thi freend; but sche hath a sistir, which is yongere and fairere than sche, be sche `wijf to thee for hir.

Young's Literal Translation
and her father saith, I certainly said, that thou didst certainly hate her, and I give her to thy companion; is not her sister -- the young one -- better than she? Let her be, I pray thee, to thee, instead of her.'

Update Bible Version
And her father said, I truly thought that you had completely hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion: isn't her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray you, instead of her.

Webster's Bible Translation
And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: [is] not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

World English Bible
Her father said, I most assuredly thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion: isn't her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her, instead.

New King James Version
Her father said, "I really thought that you thoroughly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please, take her instead."

New Living Translation
"I truly thought you must hate her," her father explained, "so I gave her in marriage to your best man. But look, her younger sister is even more beautiful than she is. Marry her instead."

New Life Bible
Her father said, "I thought you hated her. So I gave her to your friend. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Let her be yours instead."

New Revised Standard
Her father said, "I was sure that you had rejected her; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister prettier than she? Why not take her instead?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And her father said - I, thought, that thou didst, hate, her, so I gave her to thy companion, - Is not, her younger sister, fairer than she? Pray let her be thine, in her stead.

Douay-Rheims Bible
I thought thou hadst hated her, and therefore I gave her to thy friend: but she hath a sister, who is younger and fairer than she, take her to wife instead of her.

Revised Standard Version
And her father said, "I really thought that you utterly hated her; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Pray take her instead."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Her father said, "I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please let her be yours instead."

Contextual Overview

¹Later on—it was during the wheat harvest—Samson visited his bride, bringing a young goat. He said, "Let me see my wife—show me her bedroom." But her father wouldn't let him in. He said, "I concluded that by now you hated her with a passion, so I gave her to your best man. But her little sister is even more beautiful. Why not take her instead?" ³ Samson said, "That does it. This time when I wreak havoc on the Philistines, I'm blameless." ⁴Samson then went out and caught three hundred jackals. He lashed the jackals' tails together in pairs and tied a torch between each pair of tails. He then set fire to the torches and let them loose in the Philistine fields of ripe grain. Everything burned, both stacked and standing grain, vineyards and olive orchards—everything. ⁶ The Philistines said, "Who did this?" They were told, "Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite who took his bride and gave her to his best man." The Philistines went up and burned both her and her father to death. ⁷ Samson then said, "If this is the way you're going to act, I swear I'll get even with you. And I'm not quitting till the job's done!" ⁸ With that he tore into them, ripping them limb from limb—a huge slaughter. Then he went down and stayed in a cave at Etam Rock.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I verily: Judges 14:16, Judges 14:20, Acts 26:9

I gave: Judges 14:20, Genesis 38:14

take her: Heb. let her be thine

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 22:13 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 15:1
After all these things, this word of God came to Abram in a vision: "Don't be afraid, Abram. I'm your shield. Your reward will be grand!"

Genesis 15:2
Abram said, " God , Master, what use are your gifts as long as I'm childless and Eliezer of Damascus is going to inherit everything?" Abram continued, "See, you've given me no children, and now a mere house servant is going to get it all."

Genesis 15:4
Then God 's Message came: "Don't worry, he won't be your heir; a son from your body will be your heir."

Genesis 15:6
And he believed! Believed God ! God declared him "Set-Right-with-God."

Genesis 24:2
Abraham spoke to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of everything he had, "Put your hand under my thigh and swear by God —God of Heaven, God of Earth—that you will not get a wife for my son from among the young women of the Canaanites here, but will go to the land of my birth and get a wife for my son Isaac."

Genesis 24:10
The servant took ten of his master's camels and, loaded with gifts from his master, traveled to Aram Naharaim and the city of Nahor. Outside the city, he made the camels kneel at a well. It was evening, the time when the women came to draw water. He prayed, "O God , God of my master Abraham, make things go smoothly this day; treat my master Abraham well! As I stand here by the spring while the young women of the town come out to get water, let the girl to whom I say, ‘Lower your jug and give me a drink,' and who answers, ‘Drink, and let me also water your camels'—let her be the woman you have picked out for your servant Isaac. Then I'll know that you're working graciously behind the scenes for my master."

Genesis 25:21
Isaac prayed hard to God for his wife because she was barren. God answered his prayer and Rebekah became pregnant. But the children tumbled and kicked inside her so much that she said, "If this is the way it's going to be, why go on living?" She went to God to find out what was going on. God told her, Two nations are in your womb, two peoples butting heads while still in your body. One people will overpower the other, and the older will serve the younger.

Genesis 43:19
So they went up to Joseph's house steward and talked to him in the doorway. They said, "Listen, master. We came down here one other time to buy food. On our way home, the first night out we opened our bags and found our money at the mouth of the bag—the exact amount we'd paid. We've brought it all back and have plenty more to buy more food with. We have no idea who put the money in our bags."

Genesis 44:1
Joseph ordered his house steward: "Fill the men's bags with food—all they can carry—and replace each one's money at the top of the bag. Then put my chalice, my silver chalice, in the top of the bag of the youngest, along with the money for his food." He did as Joseph ordered.

Psalms 127:3
Don't you see that children are God 's best gift? the fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior's fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don't stand a chance against you; you'll sweep them right off your doorstep.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her,.... Not only thought so, but said so, and had said it over and over again; for the words are, "saying I said" t, affirmed it confidently and constantly, that "in hating thou hast hated her" u, with an implacable hatred, that there was no hope of any reconciliation:

therefore I gave her to thy companion; this he said to excuse his daughter, and soften his resentment, that it was not his daughter's doing, but his, and that he had disposed of her not to anybody, but to a companion of Samson's; and what follows seems to be said with the same view, for he might be in some fear of Samson, knowing him to be a man of spirit and strength:

is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her; that is, to wife; and two things he observes to recommend her, her youth and beauty, in which she was preferable to her sister. Such incestuous marriages were common with the old Canaanites, and it seems still continued; but were condemned by the law of God, and not allowed an Israelite, which Samson knew full well, and therefore listened not to the proposal; see Leviticus 18:3.

t אמר אמרתי "dicendo dixi", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator. u שנא שנאתה "odiendo odires eam", Pagninus, Montanus; so Piscator.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I gave her - In marriage. Samson had probably not heard of this before. Samson’s father had paid the dowry for the older sister; her father therefore offers her sister in her room. The fear of Samson probably also influenced him.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 15:2. Thou hadst utterly hated her — As he was conscious she had given him great cause so to do.

Her younger sister — The father appears to have been perfectly sincere in this offer.