34 Bible Verses about Riddles
Most Relevant Verses
Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him. The Lord's spirit empowered him and he tore the lion in two with his bare hands as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. Samson continued on down to Timnah and spoke to the girl. In his opinion, she was just the right one.read more.
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. He scooped it up with his hands and ate it as he walked along. When he returned to his father and mother, he offered them some and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had scooped the honey out of the lion's carcass. Then Samson's father accompanied him to Timnah for the marriage. Samson hosted a party there, for this was customary for bridegrooms to do. When the Philistines saw he had no attendants, they gave him thirty groomsmen who kept him company. Samson said to them, "I will give you a riddle. If you really can solve it during the seven days the party lasts, I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes. But if you cannot solve it, you will give me thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes." They said to him, "Let us hear your riddle." He said to them, "Out of the one who eats came something to eat; out of the strong one came something sweet." They could not solve the riddle for three days.
On the fourth day they said to Samson's bride, "Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle. If you refuse, we will burn up you and your father's family. Did you invite us here to make us poor?" So Samson's bride cried on his shoulder and said, "You must hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men a riddle, but you have not told me the solution." He said to her, "Look, I have not even told my father or mother. Do you really expect me to tell you?" She cried on his shoulder until the party was almost over. Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much. Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle.read more.
On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him, "What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?" He said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle!" The Lord's spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and murdered thirty men. He took their clothes and gave them to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home. Samson's bride was then given to his best man.
Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more. He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down to it!"read more.
Then his brothers asked him, "Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?" They hated him even more because of his dream and because of what he said. Then he had another dream, and told it to his brothers. "Look," he said. "I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me."
Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream the same night. Each man's dream had its own meaning. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were looking depressed. So he asked Pharaoh's officials, who were with him in custody in his master's house, "Why do you look so sad today?"read more.
They told him, "We both had dreams, but there is no one to interpret them." Joseph responded, "Don't interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me."
At the end of two full years Pharaoh had a dream. As he was standing by the Nile, seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. Then seven bad-looking, thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile, and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river.read more.
The bad-looking, thin cows ate the seven fine-looking, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. Then he fell asleep again and had a second dream: There were seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, healthy and good. Then seven heads of grain, thin and burned by the east wind, were sprouting up after them. The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream. In the morning he was troubled, so he called for all the diviner-priests of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
In the second year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams. His mind was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia. The king issued an order to summon the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men in order to explain his dreams to him. So they came and awaited the king's instructions. The king told them, "I have had a dream, and I am anxious to understand the dream."
There are three things that are too wonderful for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship in the sea, and the way of a man with a woman.
"Son of man, offer a riddle, and tell a parable to the house of Israel. Say to them: 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'A great eagle with broad wings, long feathers, with full plumage which was multi-hued, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. He plucked off its topmost shoot; he brought it to a land of merchants and planted it in a city of traders.read more.
He took one of the seedlings of the land, placed it in a cultivated plot; a shoot by abundant water, like a willow he planted it. It sprouted and became a vine, spreading low to the ground; its branches turning toward him, its roots were under itself. So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches. "'There was another great eagle with broad wings and thick plumage. Now this vine twisted its roots toward him and sent its branches toward him to be watered from the soil where it was planted. In a good field, by abundant waters, it was planted to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a beautiful vine.
At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. The king was watching the back of the hand that was writing. Then all the color drained from the king's face and he became alarmed. The joints of his hips gave way, and his knees began knocking together. The king called out loudly to summon the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple and have a golden collar placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.read more.
So all the king's wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its interpretation to the king. Then King Belshazzar was very terrified, and he was visibly shaken. His nobles were completely dumbfounded.
"I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech; a time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you plainly about the Father.
In a little while you will see me no longer; again after a little while, you will see me." Then some of his disciples said to one another, "What is the meaning of what he is saying, 'In a little while you will not see me; again after a little while, you will see me,' and, 'because I am going to the Father'?" So they kept on repeating, "What is the meaning of what he says, 'In a little while'? We do not understand what he is talking about."read more.
Jesus could see that they wanted to ask him about these things, so he said to them, "Are you asking each other about this -- that I said, 'In a little while you will not see me; again after a little while, you will see me'?
This calls for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the beast's number, for it is man's number, and his number is 666.
But the angel said to me, "Why are you astounded? I will interpret for you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss and then go to destruction. The inhabitants of the earth -- all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world -- will be astounded when they see that the beast was, and is not, but is to come. (This requires a mind that has wisdom.) The seven heads are seven mountains the woman sits on. They are also seven kings:
The Lord said, "Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known to him in a vision; I will speak with him in a dream. My servant Moses is not like this; he is faithful in all my house. With him I will speak face to face, openly, and not in riddles; and he will see the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"
For now we see in a mirror indirectly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known.
Concerning this salvation, the prophets who predicted the grace that would come to you searched and investigated carefully. They probed into what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified beforehand about the sufferings appointed for Christ and his subsequent glory.
Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies, your father's sons will bow down before you. You are a lion's cub, Judah, from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches and lies down like a lion; like a lioness -- who will rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; the nations will obey him.read more.
Binding his foal to the vine, and his colt to the choicest vine, he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
A shoot will grow out of Jesse's root stock, a bud will sprout from his roots.
He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him.
I will declare a wise saying; I will share my profound thoughts. I will learn a song that imparts wisdom; I will then sing my insightful song to the accompaniment of a harp.
Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king.
Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king.
Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret dreams, solve riddles, and decipher knotty problems. Now summon Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation."
The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: To learn wisdom and moral instruction, and to discern wise counsel. To receive moral instruction in skillful living, in righteousness, justice, and equity.read more.
To impart shrewdness to the morally naive, and a discerning plan to the young person. (Let the wise also hear and gain instruction, and let the discerning acquire guidance!) To discern the meaning of a proverb and a parable, the sayings of the wise and their riddles.
Go to the ant, you sluggard; observe its ways and be wise! It has no commander, overseer, or ruler, yet it prepares its food in the summer; it gathers at the harvest what it will eat.
Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool. Like a fluttering bird or like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause does not come to rest.
I will sing a song that imparts wisdom; I will make insightful observations about the past.
When Jotham heard the news, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He spoke loudly to the people below, "Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you! "The trees were determined to go out and choose a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, 'Be our king!' But the olive tree said to them, 'I am not going to stop producing my oil, which is used to honor gods and men, just to sway above the other trees!'read more.
"So the trees said to the fig tree, 'You come and be our king!' But the fig tree said to them, 'I am not going to stop producing my sweet figs, my excellent fruit, just to sway above the other trees!' "So the trees said to the grapevine, 'You come and be our king!' But the grapevine said to them, 'I am not going to stop producing my wine, which makes gods and men so happy, just to sway above the other trees!' "So all the trees said to the thornbush, 'You come and be our king!' The thornbush said to the trees, 'If you really want to choose me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches! Otherwise may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!'
So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to David, Nathan said, "There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children. It used to eat his food, drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms. It was just like a daughter to him.read more.
"When a traveler arrived at the rich man's home, he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed the traveler who had come to visit him. Instead, he took the poor man's lamb and cooked it for the man who had come to visit him."
I will sing to my love -- a song to my lover about his vineyard. My love had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He built a hedge around it, removed its stones, and planted a vine. He built a tower in the middle of it, and constructed a winepress. He waited for it to produce edible grapes, but it produced sour ones instead.
The Lord said to me, "Go and buy some linen shorts and put them on. Do not put them in water." So I bought the shorts as the Lord had told me to do and put them on. Then the Lord spoke to me again and said,read more.
"Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing and go at once to Perath. Bury the shorts there in a crack in the rocks." So I went and buried them at Perath as the Lord had ordered me to do. Many days later the Lord said to me, "Go at once to Perath and get the shorts I ordered you to bury there." So I went to Perath and dug up the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.
Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable. This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world."
