Judges 14:8

New Life Version

When he returned later to take her, he turned to look at the dead lion. He saw that a lot of bees and some honey were inside the lion's body.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
After some time, when he returned to marry her, he left the road to see the lion’s carcass, and there was a swarm of bees with honey in the carcass.

Hebrew Names Version
After a while he returned to take her; and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

King James Version
And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.

Lexham English Bible
And he returned after awhile to marry her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and there was a swarm of wild honey bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

English Standard Version
After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

New Century Version
Several days later Samson went back to marry her. On his way he went over to look at the body of the dead lion and found a swarm of bees and honey in it.

New English Translation
Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to see the lion's remains. He saw a swarm of bees in the lion's carcass, as well as some honey.

Amplified Bible
When he returned later to take her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion.

New American Standard Bible
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.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And within a fewe dayes, when he returned to receiue her, he went aside to see the karkeis of the Lion: and behold, there was a swarme of bees, and hony in the body of the Lyon.

Legacy Standard Bible
En 'n tyd daarna het hy teruggegaan om haar te gaan haal; en toe hy uitdraai om na die dooie leeu te kyk, was daar 'n swerm bye in die dooie liggaam van die leeu, en heuning.

Contemporary English Version
Later, Samson returned to Timnah for the wedding. And when he came near the place where the lion had attacked, he left the road to see what was left of the lion. He was surprised to see that bees were living in the lion's skeleton, and that they had made some honey.

Complete Jewish Bible
Awhile later, as he was returning to claim his bride, he turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion and saw that there was now a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

Darby Translation
And he returned after a time to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion; and behold, [there was] a swarm of bees in the carcase of the lion, and honey;

Easy-to-Read Version
Several days later, Samson came back to marry her. On his way, he went over to look at the dead lion. He found a swarm of bees in its body. They had made some honey.

George Lamsa Translation
And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion; and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the carcass of the lion, and the honey ran out on his hands as he walked.

Good News Translation
A few days later Samson went back to marry her. On the way he left the road to look at the lion he had killed, and he was surprised to find a swarm of bees and some honey inside the dead body.

Literal Translation
And some days later he returned to take her, and turned aside to see the remains of the lion. And, behold, a bee-swarm in the carcass of the lion, and honey.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And after certayne dayes he came agayne, to receaue her, & wente out of ye waye, that he mighte se ye deed carcas of the lyon: and beholde, in ye lyons carcas there was a swarme of beyes, and hony:

American Standard Version
And after a while he returned to take her; and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

Bible in Basic English
Then after a time he went back to take her; and turning from the road to see the dead body of the lion, he saw a mass of bees in the body of the lion, and honey there.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And within a short space after, as he wet thyther againe to take her to wife, he turned out of the way to see the carkasse of the Lion: And beholde, there was a swarme of bees and hony in the carkasse of the Lion.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And after a while he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion; and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

King James Version (1611)
And after a time hee returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carkeis of the Lion: and beholde, there was a swarme of Bees, and honie in the carkeis of the Lion.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And after some time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees, and honey were in the mouth of the lion.

English Revised Version
And after a while he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

Berean Standard Bible
When Samson returned later to take her, he left the road to see the lion's carcass, and in it was a swarm of bees, along with their honey.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And aftir summe daies he turnede ayen to take hir `in to matrimonye; and he `bowide awey to se the `careyn of the lioun; and lo! a gaderyng of bees was in the `mouth of the lioun, and `a coomb of hony.

Young's Literal Translation
and he turneth back after [some] days to take her, and turneth aside to see the carcase of the lion, and lo, a company of bees [are] in the body of the lion -- and honey.

Update Bible Version
And after awhile he returned to take her; and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and saw that there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

Webster's Bible Translation
And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and behold, [there was] a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion.

World English Bible
After a while he returned to take her; and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

New King James Version
After some time, when he returned to get her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion.

New Living Translation
Later, when he returned to Timnah for the wedding, he turned off the path to look at the carcass of the lion. And he found that a swarm of bees had made some honey in the carcass.

New Revised Standard
After a while he returned to marry her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he returned, after a time, to take her, and went aside to see the carcass of the lion, - and lo! a swarm of bees, in the body of the lion, and, honey,

Douay-Rheims Bible
And after some days, returning to take her, he went aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold there was a swarm of bees in the mouth of the lion, and a honey-comb.

Revised Standard Version
And after a while he returned to take her; and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

THE MESSAGE
Some days later when he came back to get her, he made a little detour to look at what was left of the lion. And there a wonder: a swarm of bees in the lion's carcass—and honey! He scooped it up in his hands and kept going, eating as he went. He rejoined his father and mother and gave some to them and they ate. But he didn't tell them that he had scooped out the honey from the lion's carcass.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
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.

Contextual Overview

¹ Samson went down to Timnah. There he saw a woman, one of the daughters of the Philistines. ² He returned and told his father and mother, "I saw a woman in Timnah. She is one of the daughters of the Philistines. Now get her for me as a wife." ³ But his father and mother said to him, "Is there no woman among the daughters of your family or among all our people? Must you take a wife from the Philistines who have not gone through the religious act of the Jews?" Samson said to his father, "Get her for me, for she looks good to me." ⁴ His father and mother did not know that it was the Lord's leading. For He was planning a way to go against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel. ⁵ Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother. They came as far as the grape-fields of Timnah. There a young lion came running toward him, making a loud noise. ⁶ The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson with power. Samson tore the lion apart like one tears a young goat. He had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. ⁷ Then Samson went down and talked to the woman. She looked good to him. ⁸ When he returned later to take her, he turned to look at the dead lion. He saw that a lot of bees and some honey were inside the lion's body. ⁹ So he took the honey out with his hands and went on his way, eating as he went. He came to his father and mother and gave some honey to them, and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had taken the honey out of the lion's body.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

to take her: Genesis 29:21, Matthew 1:20

a swarm: It is probable, that the flesh had been entirely consumed off the bones, which had become dry; and the body having been throw into some private place - for Samson turned aside to visit it a swarm of bees had formed their combs in the cavity of the dry ribs, or region of the thorax; nor was it a more improper place than a hollow rock.

Reciprocal: Genesis 24:55 - a few days Psalms 81:16 - honey Proverbs 25:16 - Hast

Cross-References

Genesis 13:10
Lot looked and saw that the Jordan valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

Genesis 14:2
that they made war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

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

Genesis 14:10
Now the Siddim valley was full of deep holes with tar. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah turned and ran, and some fell there. But the others ran away into the hill country.

Genesis 19:20
See, this town is near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me run there (is it not small?) and my life will be saved."

Genesis 19:22
Hurry and run there. For I cannot do anything until you get there." So the name given to the town was Zoar.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And after a time he returned to take her,.... Matters being agreed on, and settled on both sides, and the espousals made, he and his parents returned, and, at the proper usual time for the consummation of the marriage, he went again to Timnath for that purpose. It is in the Hebrew text, "after days" c, which sometimes signifies a year, see Genesis 4:3 and so Ben Gersom interprets it, that a year after this woman became Samson's wife (i.e. betrothed to him) he returned to take her to himself to wife; and it seems, adds he, that twelve months were given her to prepare herself; and some considerable time must have elapsed, as appears from what had happened to the carcass of the lion, next related:

and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: just before he came to Timnath he thought of the lion he had slain some time ago, and he went a little out of the way to see what was become of it, or had happened to it. Josephus says d, when he slew it he threw it into a woody place, perhaps among some bushes, a little out of the road; for which reason it had not been seen and removed, and was in a more convenient place for what was done in it:

and, behold, [there was] a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion; and though naturalists e tell us that bees are averse to flesh, and will not touch any, yet in the course of time that the carcass of this lion had lain, its flesh might have been clean eaten off by the fowls of the air, or was quite dried away and consumed, so that it was nothing but a mere skeleton; a bony carcass, as the Syriac version. Josephus f says, the swarm was in the breast of the lion; and it is no more unlikely that a swarm of bees should settle in it, and continue and build combs, and lay up their honey there, than that the like should be done in the skull of Onesilus king of Cyprus, when hung up and dried, as Herodotus g relates. Besides, according to Virgil h, this was a method made use of to produce a new breed of bees, even from the corrupt gore and putrid bowels of slain beasts; and Pythagoras i observes, they are produced from thence. This may be an emblem of those sweet blessings of grace, which come to the people of Christ through his having destroyed Satan the roaring lion, and all his works; particularly which came to the poor Gentiles, when the devil was cast out from them, and his empire there demolished.

c מימים "a diebus", Montanus; "post dies", Vatablus. d Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 5.) e Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 40. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 21. f Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8.) sect. 6. g Terpsichore, sive, l. 5. c. 114. h "----quoquo modo caesis", &c. Georgic. l. 4. ver. 284, &c. "Liguefacta boum per viscera", &c. Ib ver. 555. i Apud Ovid. Melamorph. l. 15. fab. 4. ver. 365, 366.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The formal dowry and gifts having been given by Samson’s father, an interval, varying according to the Oriental custom, from a few days to a full year, elapsed between the betrothal and the wedding, during which the bride lived with her friends. Then came the essential part of the marriage ceremony, namely, the removal of the bride from her father’s house to that of the bridegroom or his father.

The carcase of the lion - The lion, slain by him a year or some months before, had now become a mere skeleton, fit for bees to swarm into. It was a universal notion among the ancients that bees were generated from the carcass of an ox.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 14:8. After a time — Probably about one year; as this was the time that generally elapsed between espousing and wedding.

A swarm of bees and honey in the carcass — By length of time the flesh had been entirely consumed off the bones, and a swarm of bees had formed their combs within the region of the thorax, nor was it an improper place; nor was the thing unfrequent, if we may credit ancient writers; the carcasses of slain beasts becoming a receptacle for wild bees. The beautiful espisode in the 4th Georgic of Virgil, beginning at ver. 317, proves that the ancients believed that bees might be engendered in the body of a dead ox: -

Pastor Aristaeus fugiens Peneia Tempe ___

Quatuor eximios praestanti corpore tauros

Ducit, et intacta totidem cervice juvencas.

Post, ubi nona suos Aurora induxerat ortus.

Inferias Orphei mittit, lucumque revisit.

Hic ver o subitum, ac dietu mirabile monstrum

Adspiciunt, liquefacta bourn per viscera toto

Stridere apes utero, et ruptis effervere costis;

Immensasque trahi nubes, jamque arbore summa

Confluere, et lentis uvam demittere ramis.

VIRG. Geor. lib. iv., ver. 550.

"Sad Aristaeus from fair Tempe fled,

His bees with famine or diseases dead ___

Four altars raises, from his herd he culls

For slaughter four the fairest of his bulls;

Four heifers from his female store he took,

All fair, and all unknowing of the yoke.

Nine mornings thence, with sacrifice and prayers,

The powers atoned, he to the grove repairs.

Behold a prodigy! for, from within

The broken bowels, and the bloated skin,

A buzzing noise of bees his ears alarms,

Straight issuing through the sides assembling swarms!

Dark as a cloud, they make a wheeling flight,

Then on a neighbouring tree descending light,

Like a large cluster of black grapes they show,

And make a large dependance from the bough.

DRYDEN.