Judges 15:2

Douay-Rheims Bible

I thought thou hadst hated her, and therefore I gave her to thy friend: but she hath a sister, who is younger and fairer than she, take her to wife instead of her.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“I was sure you hated her,” her father said, “so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Isn’t her younger sister more beautiful than she is? Why not take her instead?”

Hebrew Names Version
Her father said, I most assuredly thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion: isn't her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her, instead.

King James Version
And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

Lexham English Bible
Her father said, "I really thought that you hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please, take her instead."

English Standard Version
And her father said, "I really thought that you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead."

New Century Version
He said to Samson, "I thought you really hated your wife, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more beautiful. Take her instead."

New English Translation
Her father said, "I really thought you absolutely despised her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!"

Amplified Bible
Her father said, "I really thought you utterly hated her; so I gave her to your companion. Is her younger sister not more beautiful than she? Please take her [as your wife] instead."

New American Standard Bible
Her father said, "I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I gave her to your companion. Is her younger sister not more beautiful than she? Please let her be yours instead."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And her father sayde, I thought that thou hadst hated her: therefore gaue I her to thy companion. Is not her yonger sister fayrer then shee? take her, I pray thee, in stead of the other.

Legacy Standard Bible
En haar vader het gesê: Ek het vir seker gedink dat jy niks om haar gee nie; daarom het ek haar aan jou metgesel gegee; is haar jonger suster nie mooier as sy nie? Laat sy tog joue word in haar plek.

Contemporary English Version
"When you left the way you did, I thought you were divorcing her. So I arranged for her to marry one of the young men who were at your party. But my younger daughter is even prettier, and you can have her as your wife."

Complete Jewish Bible
Her father said, "I really thought you hated her altogether, so I gave her to your best man. But her younger sister — isn't she even prettier? Why not take her instead?"

Darby Translation
And her father said, I verily thought that thou didst utterly hate her; therefore I gave her to thy companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Let her, I pray thee, be thine instead of her.

Easy-to-Read Version
He said, "I thought you hated her, so I let her marry the best man at the wedding. Her younger sister is more beautiful. Take her younger sister."

George Lamsa Translation
And her father said, I surely thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your groomsman; behold, her younger sister, who is fairer than she, take her to wife instead.

Good News Translation
He told Samson, "I really thought that you hated her, so I gave her to your friend. But her younger sister is prettier, anyway. You can have her, instead."

Literal Translation
And her father said, I certainly said that hating you would hate her, and I gave her to your companion. Is not her sister, the young one, better than she? Please let her belong to you, instead of her.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and sayde: I thoughte thou wast displeased at her, and I gaue her vnto thy frende. But she hath a yonger sister which is more beutyfull then she, let ye same be thine for her.

American Standard Version
And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

Bible in Basic English
And her father said, It seemed to me that you had only hate for her; so I gave her to your friend: but is not her younger sister fairer than she? so please take her in place of the other.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And her father sayde, I thought that thou haddest hated her, & therfore gaue I her to thy companion: Is not her younger sister fayrer then she? Take her I pray thee, in steade of the other.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And her father said: 'I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion; is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.'

King James Version (1611)
And her father saide, I verily thought that thou haddest vtterly hated her, therfore I gaue her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer then she? take her, I pray thee, in stead of her.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And her father spoke, saying, I said that thou didst surely hate her, and I gave her to one of thy friends: is not her younger sister better than she? let her be to thee instead of her.

English Revised Version
And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

Berean Standard Bible
"I was sure you thoroughly hated her," said her father, "so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Y gesside that thou haddist hatid hir, and therfor Y yaf hir to thi freend; but sche hath a sistir, which is yongere and fairere than sche, be sche `wijf to thee for hir.

Young's Literal Translation
and her father saith, I certainly said, that thou didst certainly hate her, and I give her to thy companion; is not her sister -- the young one -- better than she? Let her be, I pray thee, to thee, instead of her.'

Update Bible Version
And her father said, I truly thought that you had completely hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion: isn't her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray you, instead of her.

Webster's Bible Translation
And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: [is] not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

World English Bible
Her father said, I most assuredly thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion: isn't her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her, instead.

New King James Version
Her father said, "I really thought that you thoroughly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please, take her instead."

New Living Translation
"I truly thought you must hate her," her father explained, "so I gave her in marriage to your best man. But look, her younger sister is even more beautiful than she is. Marry her instead."

New Life Bible
Her father said, "I thought you hated her. So I gave her to your friend. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Let her be yours instead."

New Revised Standard
Her father said, "I was sure that you had rejected her; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister prettier than she? Why not take her instead?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And her father said - I, thought, that thou didst, hate, her, so I gave her to thy companion, - Is not, her younger sister, fairer than she? Pray let her be thine, in her stead.

Revised Standard Version
And her father said, "I really thought that you utterly hated her; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Pray take her instead."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Her father said, "I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please let her be yours instead."

Contextual Overview

¹ And a while after, when the days of the wheat harvest were at hand, Samson came, meaning to visit his wife, and he brought her a kid of the flock. And when he would have gone into her chamber, as usual, her father would not suffer him, saying: ² I thought thou hadst hated her, and therefore I gave her to thy friend: but she hath a sister, who is younger and fairer than she, take her to wife instead of her. ³ And Samson answered him: From this day I shall be blameless in what I do against the Philistines: for I will do you evils. ⁴ And he went and caught three hundred foxes, and coupled them tail to tail, and fastened torches between the tails: ⁶ And setting them on fire he let the foxes go, that they might run about hither and thither. And they presently went into the standing corn of the Philistines. Which being set on fire, both the corn that was already carried together, and that which was yet standing, was all burnt, insomuch that the flame consumed also the vineyards and the oliveyards. Then the Philistines said: Who hath done this thing? And it was answered: Samson, the son in law of the Thamnathite, because he took away his wife, and gave her to another, hath done these things. And the Philistines went up and burnt both the woman and her father. ⁷ But Samson said to them: Although you have done this, yet will I be revenged of you, and then I will be quiet. ⁸ And he made a great slaughter of them, so that in astonishment they laid the calf of the leg upon the thigh. And going down he dwelt in a cavern of the rock Etam.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I verily: Judges 14:16, Judges 14:20, Acts 26:9

I gave: Judges 14:20, Genesis 38:14

take her: Heb. let her be thine

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 22:13 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 15:1
Now when these things were done, the word of the Lord came to Abram by a vision, saying: Fear not, Abram, I am thy protector, and thy reward exceeding great.

Genesis 15:2
And Abram said: Lord God, what wilt thou give me? I shall go without children: and the son of the steward of my house is this Damascus Eliezer.

Genesis 15:3
And Abram added: But to me thou hast not given seed: and lo my servant born in my house, shall be my heir.

Genesis 15:4
And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying:He shall not be thy heir: but he that shall come out of thy bowels, him shalt thou have for thy heir.

Genesis 15:6
Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.

Genesis 24:2
And he said to the elder servant of his house, who was ruler over all he had: Put thy hand under my thigh,

Genesis 24:10
And he took ten camels of his master’s herd, and departed, carrying something of all his goods with him, and he set forward and went on to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nachor.

Genesis 25:21
And Isaac besought the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and he heard him, and made Rebecca to conceive.

Genesis 39:9
Neither is there any thing which is not in my power, or that he hath not delivered to me, but thee, who art his wife; how then can I do this wicked thing, and sin against my God?

Genesis 43:19
Wherefore, going up to the steward of the house, at the door,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her,.... Not only thought so, but said so, and had said it over and over again; for the words are, "saying I said" t, affirmed it confidently and constantly, that "in hating thou hast hated her" u, with an implacable hatred, that there was no hope of any reconciliation:

therefore I gave her to thy companion; this he said to excuse his daughter, and soften his resentment, that it was not his daughter's doing, but his, and that he had disposed of her not to anybody, but to a companion of Samson's; and what follows seems to be said with the same view, for he might be in some fear of Samson, knowing him to be a man of spirit and strength:

is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her; that is, to wife; and two things he observes to recommend her, her youth and beauty, in which she was preferable to her sister. Such incestuous marriages were common with the old Canaanites, and it seems still continued; but were condemned by the law of God, and not allowed an Israelite, which Samson knew full well, and therefore listened not to the proposal; see Leviticus 18:3.

t אמר אמרתי "dicendo dixi", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator. u שנא שנאתה "odiendo odires eam", Pagninus, Montanus; so Piscator.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I gave her - In marriage. Samson had probably not heard of this before. Samson’s father had paid the dowry for the older sister; her father therefore offers her sister in her room. The fear of Samson probably also influenced him.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 15:2. Thou hadst utterly hated her — As he was conscious she had given him great cause so to do.

Her younger sister — The father appears to have been perfectly sincere in this offer.