Song of Solomon 1:17
What does Song of Solomon 1:17 mean?
A plain-English look at Song of Solomon 1:17 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Song of Solomon 1:17 means
“The beams of our house are cedars, and our rafters are firs.” The imagery builds a dwelling from sturdy, fragrant trees—lasting, noble, and lovely. Their love has a fitting environment: not flimsy or artificial, but strong and wholesome. Cedar and fir suggest both grandeur and simplicity, a home crafted by God’s good creation. The verse implies stability and protection, hinting that their union will endure. Love finds or fashions a place to abide, where delight can rest under a roof worthy of its promise.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000The beams of our house are cedars, And our rafters are firs.
KJV
King James Version · 1611The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901The beams of our house are cedars, And our rafters are firs.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Cedar-trees are the pillars of our house; and our boards are made of fir-trees.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862The beams of our houses <FI>are<Fi> cedars, Our rafters <FI>are<Fi> firs, I <FI>am<Fi> a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys!
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Not available in this translation
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890The beams of our houses are cedars, Our rafters are cypresses.
Context
This closing line completes the movement from open field to established dwelling. After mutual praise and pastoral rest, the couple now imagines a house—symbol of permanence and shared life. It rounds out the chapter’s arc from longing (verse 2) to union (verse 4) to affirmation (verses 9–16) and finally to settled joy (verse 17). The stage is set for the growing seasons of love that will unfold in the next chapter’s springtime images and invitations.
v.16Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: Also our couch is green.
v.17This passage
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ezekiel 41:16
the thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the threshold, ceiled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows (now the windows were covered),
- 1 Peter 2:4
unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious,
- Song of Solomon 7:5
Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, And the hair of thy head like purple; The king is held captive in the tresses thereof.
- Hebrews 11:10
for he looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
- 1 Kings 6:9
So he built the house, and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar.
- 1 Timothy 3:15
but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
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