Song of Solomon 2:13
What does Song of Solomon 2:13 mean?
A plain-English look at Song of Solomon 2:13 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Song of Solomon 2:13 means
The fig tree ripens its early fruit; the vines blossom and release fragrance. He repeats the invitation: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.” The agricultural signs point to fruitfulness and delight—what is budding will mature. The repeated call, bookending the seasonal tableau, underscores urgency without impatience. Love should seize the moment when conditions are right. The images assure her that stepping out will not be barren but sweet. He frames their companionship as participation in a season of growth and perfume, inviting her to share in joy that is already unfolding around them.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs, And the vines are in blossom; They give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
KJV
King James Version · 1611The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs, And the vines are in blossom; They give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949The fig-tree puts out her green fruit and the vines with their young fruit give a good smell. Get up from your bed, my beautiful one, and come away.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862The fig-tree hath ripened her green figs, And the sweet-smelling vines have given forth fragrance, Rise, come, my friend, my fair one, yea, come away.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752The fig tree hath put forth her green figs: the vines in flower yield their sweet smell. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come:
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890The fig-tree melloweth her winter figs, And the vines in bloom give forth [their] fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away!
Context
This verse completes the trilogy of seasonal signs (vv. 11–13) and reprises the call first heard in verse 10. With the reasons fully declared, the narrative will turn in verse 14 to a more intimate appeal, addressing her as a shy dove in rocky clefts. That shift shows that, even in the right season, a gentle, personal wooing is needed. Thus verse 13 stands as both the climax of public reasoning and the pivot to private persuasion, preparing the heart for the next assurance.
v.12The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing of birds is come, And the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land;
v.13This passage
v.14O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, In the covert of the steep place, Let me see thy countenance, Let me hear thy voice; For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Song of Solomon 2:10
My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
- Isaiah 55:10
For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
- 2 Corinthians 6:1
And working together with him we entreat also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain
- Isaiah 18:5
For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becometh a ripening grape, he will cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks, and the spreading branches will he take away and cut down.
- 2 Corinthians 5:20
We are ambassadors therefore on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled to God.
- Matthew 24:32
Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh;
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