7. Then he went down and talked with the woman. He liked her.
8. Some time later, he was going back to get married to her. But he turned off the road to look at the lion's dead body. Large numbers of bees and some honey were in it.
9. He dug the honey out with his hands. He ate it as he walked along. Then he joined his parents again. He gave them some honey. They ate it too. But he didn't tell them he had taken it from the lion's dead body.
10. Samson's father went down to see the woman. Samson had a big dinner prepared there. He was following the practice of men when they got married.
11. When the people saw Samson, they gave him 30 companions.
12. "Let me tell you a riddle," Samson said to the companions. "The dinner will last for seven days. Give me the answer to the riddle before the dinner ends. If you do, I'll give you 30 linen shirts. I'll also give you 30 sets of clothes.
13. But suppose you can't give me the answer. Then you must give me 30 linen shirts. You must also give me 30 sets of clothes." "Tell us your riddle," they said. "Let's hear it."
14. Samson replied, "Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet." For three days they couldn't give him the answer.
15. On the fourth day they spoke to Samson's wife. "Get your husband to explain the riddle for us," they said. "If you don't, we'll burn you to death. We'll burn up everyone in your family. Did you invite us here to rob us?"
16. Then Samson's wife threw herself on him. She sobbed, "You hate me! You don't really love me. You have given my people a riddle. But you haven't told me the answer." "I haven't even explained it to my father or mother," he replied. "So why should I explain it to you?"
17. She cried during the whole seven days the dinner was going on. So on the seventh day he finally told her the answer to the riddle. That's because she kept on asking him to tell her. Then she explained the riddle to her people.