Judges 14:20

Updated Bible Version

But Samson's wife was [given] to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.

Hebrew Names Version
But Shimshon's wife was [given] to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

King James Version
But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

Lexham English Bible
And Samson's wife was given to his companion who was his best man.

English Standard Version
And Samson's wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.

New Century Version
And Samson's wife was given to his best man.

New English Translation
Samson's bride was then given to his best man.

Amplified Bible
But Samson's wife was given to his companion who had been his friend.

New American Standard Bible
But Samson's wife was given to his companion who had been his friend.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Samsons wife was giuen to his companion, whom he had vsed as his friend.

Legacy Standard Bible
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

Contemporary English Version
The father of the bride had Samson's wife marry one of the thirty young men that had been at Samson's party.

Complete Jewish Bible
and his wife was given to the companion who had been best man at the wedding.

Darby Translation
And Samson's wife was [given] to his companion, whom he had made his friend.

Easy-to-Read Version
So Samson's wife was given to his best man.

George Lamsa Translation
And Samsons wife, whom he loved, was given to one of his groomsmen.

Good News Translation
and his wife was given to the man that had been his best man at the wedding.

Literal Translation
And Samson's wife became his companion's, who had been his friend.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
As for Samsons wife, she was geuen vnto one of his companyons, which belonged vnto him.

American Standard Version
But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

Bible in Basic English
But Samson's wife was given to the friend who had been his best man.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But Samsons wyfe was geuen to one of his companions that he had taken vnto him.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had had for his friend.

King James Version (1611)
But Samsons wife was giuen to his companion, whom hee had vsed as his friend.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the wife of Sampson was given to one of his friends, with whom he was on terms of friendship.

English Revised Version
But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

Berean Standard Bible
and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe his wijf took an hosebonde, oon of the frendis and keperis `of hir.

Young's Literal Translation
and Samson's wife becometh his companion's, who [is] his friend.

Webster's Bible Translation
But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

World English Bible
But Samson's wife was [given] to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

New King James Version
And Samson's wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.

New Living Translation
So his wife was given in marriage to the man who had been Samson's best man at the wedding.

New Life Bible
Samson's wife was given to his friend who had been his best man at his wedding.

New Revised Standard
And Samson's wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the wife of Samson was given unto his companion who had served him as his friend.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But his wife took one of his friends and bridal companions for her husband.

Revised Standard Version
And Samson's wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But Samson's wife was given to his companion who had been his friend.

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ And his father went down to the woman: and Samson made a feast there; for so the young men used to do. ¹¹ And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. ¹² 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; ¹³ but if you can't declare it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment. And they said to him, Put forth your riddle, that we may hear it. ¹⁴ And he said to them, Out of the eater came forth food, And out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days declare the riddle. ¹⁵ And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said to Samson's wife, Entice your husband, that he may declare to us the riddle, or else we will burn you and your father's house with fire: have you called us to impoverish us? Or not? ¹⁶ And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, You only hate me, and don't love me: you have put forth a riddle to the sons of my people, and haven't told it to me. And he said to her, Look, I haven't told it to my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you? ¹⁷ And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she pressed him intensely; and she told the riddle to the sons of her people. ¹⁸ And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said to them, If you did not plow with my heifer, You did not find out my riddle. ¹⁹ And the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and smote thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave the changes [of raiment] to those that declared the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

given to: Judges 15:2

his friend: Psalms 55:12, Psalms 55:13, Jeremiah 9:5, Micah 7:5, Matthew 26:49, Matthew 26:50, John 3:29, John 13:18

Reciprocal: Genesis 38:20 - his friend 1 Samuel 18:19 - Adriel 2 Samuel 13:3 - a friend

Cross-References

Genesis 9:26
And he said, Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Shem; And let Canaan be his slave.

Genesis 14:3
All these joined together in the valley of Siddim (the same is the Salt Sea).

Genesis 14:4
Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

Genesis 14:5
And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

Genesis 14:6
and the Horites in their mountain, Seir, to Elparan, which is by the wilderness.

Genesis 14:9
against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings against the five.

Genesis 14:17
And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh (the same is the King's Valley).

Genesis 14:19
And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth:

Genesis 24:27
And he said, Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his loving-kindness and his truth toward my master. As for me, Yahweh has led me in the way to the house of my master's brothers.

Genesis 28:22
then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you shall give me I will surely give the tenth to you.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But Samson's wife was given to his companion,.... By her father, and with her consent, both being affronted and provoked by Samson leaving her, who judged her not only to be injured, but hereby discharged from him, and free to marry another:

and whom he had used as his friend; though there were thirty of them that were his companions, yet there was one of them that was the principal of them, and was the most intimate with him, whom he used in the most friendly manner, and admitted to a more free conversation than the rest, the same that is called the friend of the bridegroom, John 3:29 while the others were called the children of the bridechamber, Matthew 9:15. It is not unlikely that this person had too much intimacy with Samson's wife before, and so had the secret of the riddle from her, and so very readily married her, as soon as Samson departed; and all this furnished out an occasion and opportunity, which Samson sought for, to be revenged on the Philistines, as in the following chapter.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

His companion - Perhaps one of those mentioned in Judges 14:11. The transaction denotes loose notions of the sanctity of marriage among the Philistines. It should be noted carefully that the practical lesson against ungodly marriages comes out most strongly in this case and that the providential purpose which out of this evil brought discomfiture to the Philistines, has nothing to do with the right or wrong of Samson’s conduct.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 14:20. But Samson's wife was given to his companion — This was the same kind of person who is called the friend of the bridegroom, John 3:29. And it is very likely that she loved this person better than she loved her husband, and went to him as soon as Samson had gone to his father's house at Zorah. She might, however, have thought herself abandoned by him, and therefore took another; this appears to have been the persuasion of her father, Judges 15:2. But her betraying his secret and his interests to his enemies was a full proof he was not very dear to her; though, to persuade him to the contrary, she shed many crocodile tears; see Judges 14:16. He could not keep his own secret, and he was fool enough to suppose that another would be more faithful to him than he was to himself. Multitudes complain of the treachery of friends betraying their secrets, &c., never considering that they themselves have been their first betrayers, in confiding to others what they pretend to wish should be a secret to the whole world! If a man never let his secret out of his own bosom, it is impossible that he should ever be betrayed.