Textus Receptus Bibles
The Great Bible 1539
| 14:1 | Samson went downe to Thamnath, and sawe a woman in Thamnath of the daughters of the Philystines, |
| 14:2 | and he came vp, and tolde hys father and hys mother, and sayde: I haue sene a woman in Thamnath of the daughters of the Phylistynes. And now geue me her to wyfe. |
| 14:3 | Then hys father and mother sayde vnto hym: Is there neuer a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, and amonge all my people, but that thou must go, and take a wyfe of the vncircumcysed Phylistynes? And Samson sayde vnto his father: geue me thys woman, for she pleaseth me well. |
| 14:4 | But hys father and mother wyst not that it was the Lordes doynge, and that he sought an occasion agaynst the Philistynes, for at that tyme the Philistines raygned ouer Israel. |
| 14:5 | Then went Samson and hys father and his mother downe to Thamnath, and came to the vyne yardes of Thamnath. And behold a yonge lyon roared vpon hym. |
| 14:6 | And the sprete of the Lorde came vpon hym. And he tare hym, as he wolde haue rent a kydde, and yet had nothynge in hys hande, neyther tolde hys father & mother what he had done. |
| 14:7 | And he went downe, & talked with the woman, which semed well fauored in the syght of Samson. |
| 14:8 | And within a shorte space after, as he went thyther agayne to take her to wyfe, he turned oute of the waye, to se the carkasse of the lyon. And beholde, there was a swarme of bees, and honye in the carkasse of the lion. |
| 14:9 | And he toke of the honye in hys handes, and wente eatynge, and came to hys father and mother, and gaue them also. And they dyd eate. But he tolde not them, that he had taken the honye oute of the carkasse of the lyon. |
| 14:10 | And so hys father came vnto the woman, and Samson made there a feaste, for so vsed the yonge men to do. |
| 14:11 | And when they sawe him, they brought .xxx. companions to be with hym. |
| 14:12 | And Samson sayd vnto them: I wil now put forth a ryddle vnto you. And yf you can declare it me within .vij. dayes of the feast, & fynde it out. I will geue you .xxx. shertes, and .xxx. chaunge of garmentes: |
| 14:13 | But & yf you cannot declare it me, then shall ye geue me .xxx. shertes and .xxx. chaunge of garmentes. And they answered hym: put forth thy rydle, that we maye heare it. |
| 14:14 | And he sayd vnto them: Out of the eater came meate: and out of the stronge came swetnes. And they coulde not in .iij. dayes expounde the ryddle. |
| 14:15 | And when the seuenth daye was come, they sayde vnto Samsons wyfe: flater thyne husband, that he maye declare vs the ryddle, lest we burne the & thy fathers house with fyer. Haue ye called vs hyther, to make vs beggers? |
| 14:16 | And Samsons wyfe wepte before hym and sayde: Surely thou hatest me and louest me not: for thou hast put forth a ryddle vnto the chyldren of my folcke, and hast not tolde it me. And he sayde vnto her: Beholde, I haue not tolde it my father and my mother, and shall I tell it the? |
| 14:17 | And Samsons wyfe wepte before hym .vij. dayes, whyle the feast lasted. And the .vii. daye he tolde her, because she laye so sore vpon him. And she tolde it the children of her folke. |
| 14:18 | And the men of the cytie sayd vnto hym the seuenth daye, before the sonne went downe. What is sweter then honye, & what is stronger then a lyon? Then sayde he vnto them: If ye had not plowed with my caulfe, ye had not founde out my rydle. |
| 14:19 | And the sprete of the Lorde came vpon hym. And he went downe to Askalon, and slewe thyrty men of them, and spoyled them, and gaue chaunge of garmentes vnto them whych expounded the ryddle. And he was wroth, and went vp to hys fathers house. |
| 14:20 | But Samsons wyfe was geuen to one of hys companyons, that he had taken vnto hym. |
The Great Bible 1539
The Great Bible of 1539 was the first authorized edition of the Bible in English, authorized by King Henry VIII of England to be read aloud in the church services of the Church of England. The Great Bible was prepared by Myles Coverdale, working under commission of Thomas, Lord Cromwell, Secretary to Henry VIII and Vicar General. In 1538, Cromwell directed the clergy to provide "one book of the bible of the largest volume in English, and the same set up in some convenient place within the said church that ye have care of, whereas your parishioners may most commodiously resort to the same and read it."