Judges 12:9

12:9 He had thirty sons. He arranged for thirty of his daughters to be married outside his extended family, ¹  and he arranged for thirty young women to be brought from outside as wives for his sons. ²  Ibzan ³  led ⁴  Israel for seven years;

Judges 14:12

14:12 Samson said to them, “I will give you a riddle. If you really can solve it during the seven days the party lasts, ⁵  I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets ⁶  of clothes.

Judges 14:17

14:17 She cried on his shoulder ⁷  until the party was almost over. ⁸  Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much. ⁹  Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle. ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “thirty daughters he sent off outside.” Another option is to translate, “He arranged for his thirty daughters…” It is not clear if he had more than the “thirty daughters” mentioned in the text.

² tn Heb “and thirty daughters he brought for his sons from the outside.”

³ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ibzan) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for English stylistic reasons.

⁴ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

⁵ tn Heb “If you really can tell it to me [during] the seven days of the feast and you find [its answer].”

⁶ tn Heb “changes.”

⁹ tn Heb “on him.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “the seven days [during] which they held the party.” This does not mean she cried for the entire seven days; v. 15 indicates otherwise. She cried for the remainder of the seven day period, beginning on the fourth day.

¹¹ tn Heb “because she forced him.”

¹² tn Heb “she told the riddle to the sons of her people.”