The Meaning of Judges 14:10 Explained

Judges 14:10

KJV: So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.

YLT: And his father goeth down unto the woman, and Samson maketh there a banquet, for so the young men do;

Darby: And his father went down to the woman, and Samson made a feast there; for so the young men used to do.

ASV: And his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So his father  went down  unto the woman:  and Samson  made  there a feast;  for so used the young men  to do. 

What does Judges 14:10 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 14:1-14 - A Self-Willed Youth
Timnath lay just across the frontier, in the Philistine country. It was a bad match and the beginning of life-trouble. Young people cannot be too careful as to their first love-match. Pray over it before you let your heart go. Take the advice of parents and friends. Whatever you do, marry only "in the Lord." For a Christian to marry one who is destitute of the divine life, is not only to set Christ's law at defiance, but to incur the misery of perpetual discord. It is impossible to have perfect fellowship with one who is not agreed with you in your deepest nature, 1 Corinthians 7:39.
This young lion, on the path between the vineyards, seems to have been the means of awakening Samson to claim that divine strength which had awaited his appeal but until that moment had been undiscovered. May it not be that lions have been allowed to roar at you, that you might be driven back upon God, and compelled to avail yourself of those infinite resources which reside in the ever-living Savior? [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 14

1  Samson desires a wife of the Philistines
6  In his journey he kills a lion
8  In a second journey he finds honey in the carcass
10  Samson's marriage feast
12  His riddle by his wife is made known
19  He strikes down thirty Philistines
20  His wife is married to another

What do the individual words in Judges 14:10 mean?

So went down his father to the woman and gave there Samson a feast for so used to do young men
וַיֵּ֥רֶד אָבִ֖יהוּ אֶל־ הָאִשָּׁ֑ה וַיַּ֨עַשׂ שָׁ֤ם שִׁמְשׁוֹן֙ מִשְׁתֶּ֔ה כִּ֛י כֵּ֥ן יַעֲשׂ֖וּ הַבַּחוּרִֽים

וַיֵּ֥רֶד  So  went  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
אָבִ֖יהוּ  his  father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
הָאִשָּׁ֑ה  the  woman 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
וַיַּ֨עַשׂ  and  gave 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
שִׁמְשׁוֹן֙  Samson 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שִׁמְשֹׁון  
Sense: a Danite, son of Manoah, a Nazarite for life, and a judge of Israel for 20 years.
מִשְׁתֶּ֔ה  a  feast 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁתֶּה  
Sense: feast, drink, banquet.
כֵּ֥ן  so 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֵּן 
Sense: so, therefore, thus.
יַעֲשׂ֖וּ  used  to  do 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
הַבַּחוּרִֽים  young  men 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: בָּחוּר 
Sense: youth, young man.