‘ This is what the Lord God says:“ Because the Philistines have acted in revenge, and have taken vengeance with malice in their souls to destroy with everlasting hostility,”

主耶和华如此说：“因非利士人向犹大人报仇，就是以恨恶的心报仇雪恨，永怀仇恨，要毁灭他们，

“主耶和华如此说：因非利士人报仇，就是心存轻蔑报仇；他们永怀仇恨，意图毁灭，

“主耶和华如此说：因非利士人报仇，就是心存轻蔑报仇；他们永怀仇恨，意图毁灭，

“主耶和华说，‘非利士人心存仇恨，为了报世仇要毁灭犹大，

主耶和华这样说：“因为非利士人向犹大人报仇雪恨，心存轻蔑报仇雪恨，他们永远怀恨，要毁灭犹大，

主耶和華如此說：「因非利士人向猶大人報仇，就是以恨惡的心報仇雪恨，永懷仇恨，要毀滅他們，

「主耶和華如此說：因非利士人報仇，就是心存輕蔑報仇；他們永懷仇恨，意圖毀滅，

「主耶和華如此說：因非利士人報仇，就是心存輕蔑報仇；他們永懷仇恨，意圖毀滅，

「主耶和華說，『非利士人心存仇恨，為了報世仇要毀滅猶大，

主耶和華這樣說：“因為非利士人向猶大人報仇雪恨，心存輕蔑報仇雪恨，他們永遠懷恨，要毀滅猶大，

『永恆主這麼說：非利士人對猶大人既行了報仇的事，既滿心懷着輕蔑之意而報仇，以永存的仇恨心要毁滅他們，

主耶和華曰、非利士人心存蔑視、而行報復、從其永憾、圖滅我民、

主耶和華曰、非利士人藏匿舊怨、中心叵測、以害我民、

主天主如是云、非利士人攻我民、狂傲復仇、欲翦滅之、乃從其舊恨、

“ This is what the Sovereign Lord says:‘ Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah,

The Lord and King says,“ Deep down inside them, the Philistines hated Judah. So the Philistines tried to get even with them. They had been Judah’s enemies for many years. So they tried to destroy them.”

“ Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity,

“ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The people of Philistia have acted against Judah out of bitter revenge and long standing contempt.

“‘ This is what the Lord GOD says: Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with deep contempt, destroying because of their perpetual hatred,

‘ Thus says the Lord GOD:“ Because the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the old hatred,”

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with despite of soul to destroy with perpetual enmity;

This is what the Lord God says:“ Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with deep contempt, destroying because of their ancient hatred,

Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy[ it] for the old hatred;

“ This is what the sovereign LORD says:‘ The Philistines have exacted merciless revenge, showing intense scorn in their effort to destroy Judah with unrelenting hostility.

“‘ The Lord Yahweh says:“ Because the Philistines have taken revenge, and have taken vengeance with contempt of soul to destroy with perpetual hostility;”

For this is what the Lord God says:“ Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, and have rejoiced with all the malice in your soul against the land of Israel,

“ Do not rejoice, Philistia, all of you, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For from the serpent’s root a viper will come out, And its fruit will be a winged serpent.Those who are most helpless will eat, And the poor will lie down in security; I will kill your root with famine, And it will kill your survivors.Wail, you gate; cry, you city; Melt away, Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes from the north, And there is no straggler in his ranks.

‘ The Lord God says this:“ Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred great guilt, and avenged themselves upon them,”

The Philistines had also invaded the cities of the lowland and of the Negev of Judah, and had taken Beth shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they had settled there.

and to all the foreign people, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines( that is, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod);

This is what the Lord says:“ For three offenses of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment, Because they led into exile an entire population To turn them over to Edom.So I will send fire on the wall of Gaza And it will consume her citadels.I will also eliminate every inhabitant from Ashdod, As well as him who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon; And I will direct My power against Ekron, And the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” Says the Lord God.

Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to take their livestock.

So the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle, and they camped beside Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped in Aphek.Then the Philistines drew up in battle formation to meet Israel. When the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield.When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said,“ Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let’s take the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, so that He may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”So the people sent men to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord of armies who is enthroned above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord was coming into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded.And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said,“ What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp.

Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, because her hope has been ruined. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.And a people of mixed origins will live in Ashdod, And I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines.And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a clan in Judah, And Ekron will be like a Jebusite.But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes.

Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;

The Arameans from the east and the Philistines from the west; And they devour Israel with gaping jaws. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away, And His hand is still stretched out.

Moreover, what are you to Me, Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you repaying Me with retribution? But if you are showing Me retribution, swiftly and speedily I will return your retribution on your head!Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious treasures to your temples,and sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their territory,behold, I am going to stir them up from the place where you have sold them, and return your retribution on your head.I will also sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation,” for the Lord has spoken.Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for holy war; stir up the warriors! Have all the soldiers come forward, have them come up!Beat your plowshares into swords, And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak man say,“ I am a warrior.”Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there. Bring down, Lord, Your warriors.Let the nations be awakened And come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations.Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread the grapes, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.The sun and moon have become dark, And the stars have lost their brightness.The Lord roars from Zion And utters His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge for His people, And a stronghold for the sons of Israel.Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling on Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will no longer pass through it.And on that day The mountains will drip with sweet wine, And the hills will flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; And a spring will go out from the house of the Lord And water the Valley of Shittim.Egypt will become a wasteland, And Edom will become a desolate wilderness, Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah, In whose land they have shed innocent blood.But Judah will be inhabited forever, And Jerusalem for all generations.And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged, For the Lord dwells in Zion.

Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him,“ Why are you alone, and no one with you?”David said to Ahimelech the priest,“ The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me,‘ No one is to know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.’Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”The priest answered David and said,“ There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread, if only the young men have kept themselves from women.”David answered the priest and said to him,“ Be assured, women have been denied to us as previously when I left and the bodies of the young men were consecrated, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then will their bodies be consecrated today?”So the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence which was removed from its place before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day it was taken away.Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.David said to Ahimelech,“ Now is there no spear or sword on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s matter was urgent.”Then the priest said,“ The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.” And David said,“ There is none like it; give it to me.”Then David set out and fled that day from Saul, and went to Achish king of Gath.But the servants of Achish said to him,“ Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying,‘ Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?”David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath.So he disguised his sanity while in their sight and acted insanely in their custody, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard.Then Achish said to his servants,“ Look, you see the man is behaving like an insane person. Why do you bring him to me?Do I lack insane people, that you have brought this one to behave like an insane person in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?”

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh conquered Gaza.This is what the Lord says:“ Behold, waters are going to rise from the north And become an overflowing torrent, And overflow the land and everything that is in it, The city and those who live in it; And the people will cry out, And every inhabitant of the land will wail.Because of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his stallions, The roar of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers have not turned back for their children, Because of the debility of their hands,Because of the day that is coming To destroy all the Philistines, To eliminate from Tyre and Sidon Every surviving ally; For the Lord is going to destroy the Philistines, The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.Baldness has come upon Gaza; Ashkelon has been destroyed. Remnant of their valley, How long will you gash yourself?Ah, sword of the Lord, How long will you not be quiet? Withdraw into your sheath; Rest and stay still.How can it be quiet, When the Lord has given it an order? Against Ashkelon and against the sea shore— There He has summoned it.”

Saul was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for forty two years over Israel.Now Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of whom two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent the rest of the people away, each to his tent.And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying,“ Let the Hebrews hear!”And all Israel heard the news that Saul had attacked the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become repulsive to the Philistines. Then the people were summoned to Saul at Gilgal.Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance; and they came up and camped in Michmash, east of Beth aven.When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble( for the people were hard pressed), then the people kept themselves hidden in caves, in crevices, in cliffs, in crypts, and in pits.And some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. But as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him, trembling.Now he waited for seven days, until the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him.So Saul said,“ Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering.But as soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him and to greet him.But Samuel said,“ What have you done?” And Saul said,“ Since I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come at the appointed time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash,I thought,‘ Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the Lord.’ So I worked up the courage and offered the burnt offering.”But Samuel said to Saul,“ You have acted foolishly! You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for the Lord would now have established your kingdom over Israel forever.But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes dammim.Saul and the men of Israel were assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, and they drew up in battle formation to confront the Philistines.The Philistines were standing on the mountain on one side, while Israel was standing on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them.Then a champion came forward from the army encampment of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span.And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scale armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze.He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze saber slung between his shoulders.The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield carrier walked in front of him.He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them,“ Why do you come out to draw up in battle formation? Am I not the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man as your representative and have him come down to me.If he is able to fight me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.”Then the Philistine said,“ I have defied the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man, so that we may fight together.”When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very fearful.Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, the man whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons. And Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men.The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who had gone into the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and second to him, Abinadab, and the third, Shammah.So David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul,but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock at Bethlehem.And the Philistine came forward morning and evening, and took his stand for forty days.Then Jesse said to his son David,“ Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to your brothers.Bring also these ten slices of cheese to the commander of their thousand, and look into the well being of your brothers and bring back confirmation from them.For Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the Valley of Elah, fighting the Philistines.”So David got up early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper, and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the entrenchment encircling the camp while the army was going out in battle formation, shouting the war cry.Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle formation, army against army.Then David left the baggage in the care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line. And he entered and greeted his brothers.As he was speaking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and David heard him.When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were very fearful.And the men of Israel said,“ Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will make the man who kills him wealthy with great riches, and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”Then David said to the men who were standing by him,“ What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and rids Israel of the disgrace? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he has dared to defy the armies of the living God?”The people answered him in agreement with this statement, saying,“ This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”Now Eliab his oldest brother heard him when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said,“ Why is it that you have come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I myself know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.”But David said,“ What have I done now? Was it not just a question?”Then he turned away from him to another and said the same thing; and the people replied with the same words as before.When the words that David spoke were heard, they informed Saul, and he sent for him.And David said to Saul,“ May no one’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!”But Saul said to David,“ You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him; for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior since his youth.”But David said to Saul,“ Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock,I went out after it and attacked it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it.Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.”And David said,“ The Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David,“ Go, and may the Lord be with you.”Then Saul clothed David with his military attire and put a bronze helmet on his head, and outfitted him with armor.And David strapped on his sword over his military attire and struggled at walking, for he had not trained with the armor. So David said to Saul,“ I cannot go with these, because I have not trained with them.” And David took them off.Then he took his staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd’s pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.Then the Philistine came and approached David, with the shield bearer in front of him.When the Philistine looked and saw David, he was contemptuous of him; for he was only a youth, and reddish, with a handsome appearance.So the Philistine said to David,“ Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.The Philistine also said to David,“ Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals.”But David said to the Philistine,“ You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a saber, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. Then I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,and that this entire assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will hand you over to us!”Then it happened, when the Philistine came closer to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.So David prevailed over the Philistine with the sling and the stone: he struck the Philistine and killed him, and there was no sword in David’s hand.Then David ran and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and finished him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.Then the men of Israel and Judah rose up and shouted, and they pursued the Philistines as far as the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the Philistine dead lay along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron.Then the sons of Israel returned from their close pursuit of the Philistines, and plundered their camps.And David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.Now when Saul had seen David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army,“ Abner, whose son is this young man?” And Abner said,“ By your life, O king, I do not know.”And the king said,“ You then, ask whose son the youth is.”So when David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand.Then Saul said to him,“ Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered,“ I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

For Gaza will be abandoned, And Ashkelon will become a desolation; The inhabitants of Ashdod will be driven out at noon, And Ekron will be uprooted.Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines; And I will eliminate you So that there will be no inhabitant.So the seacoast will become grazing places, With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.And the coast will be For the remnant of the house of Judah, They will drive sheep to pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; For the Lord their God will care for them And restore their fortunes.

Now it happened afterward that David defeated the Philistines and subdued them; and David took control of the chief city from the hand of the Philistines.And He defeated Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and a full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.Then David defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the Euphrates River.And David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for a hundred chariots.When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David killed twenty two thousand men among the Arameans.Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the Lord helped David wherever he went.David took the shields of gold which were carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.And from Betah and Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze.Now when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer,Toi sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and bless him, because he had fought Hadadezer and defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze.King David also consecrated these gifts to the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had consecrated from all the nations which he had subdued:from Aram, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.So David made a name for himself when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Arameans in the Valley of Salt.He also put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the Lord helped David wherever he went.So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people.Joab the son of Zeruiah was commander over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was secretary.Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was scribe.Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers.

Then Samson went down to Timnah, and he saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.So he came back and told his father and mother,“ I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; so now, get her for me as a wife.”But his father and his mother said to him,“ Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” Yet Samson said to his father,“ Get her for me, because she is right for me.”However, his father and mother did not know that this was of the Lord, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. And at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion came roaring toward him.And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, so that he tore it apart as one tears apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.So he went down and talked to the woman; and she looked pleasing to Samson.When he returned later to take her, he turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion.So he took out the honey on his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had took the honey out of the body of the lion.Then his father went down to the woman; and Samson held a feast there, for the young men customarily did this.When they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.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.But if you are unable to tell me, then you shall give me thirty linen wraps and thirty outfits of clothes.” And they said to him,“ Propose your riddle, so that we may hear it.”So he said to them,“ Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet.” But they could not tell the answer to the riddle in three days.Then it came about on the fourth day that they said to Samson’s wife,“ Entice your husband, so that he will tell us the riddle, or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us to impoverish us? Is this not so?”So Samson’s wife wept in front of him and said,“ You only hate me, and you do not love me; you have proposed a riddle to the sons of my people, and have not told it to me.” And he said to her,“ Behold, I have not told it to my father or mother; so should I tell you?”