Song of Solomon 3:5
What does Song of Solomon 3:5 mean?
A plain-English look at Song of Solomon 3:5 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Song of Solomon 3:5 means
She solemnly charges the daughters of Jerusalem by the roes and hinds—graceful creatures of the field—not to stir up or awaken love until it pleases. The refrain functions as a protective boundary around love. It recognizes love’s power and timing: it cannot be forced from outside or rushed by impatience. Having just found and embraced her beloved, she knows the sweetness of love in its season and the pain of seeking before its time. The oath-like language lends gravity. The verse counsels restraint, not repression; honor love’s nature and pace, and let it awaken of itself, not by artificial prodding or unwise pressure from others.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Until he please.
KJV
King James Version · 1611I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Until he please.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949I say to you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes of the field, let not love be moved till it is ready.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes or by the hinds of the field, Stir not up nor wake the love till she please!
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and the harts of the fields, that you stir not up, nor awake my beloved, till she please.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake [my] love, till he please.
Context
This refrain concludes the first scene (vv. 1–4), turning private reunion into a lesson addressed to the onlookers—the daughters of Jerusalem. It serves as a seal on what has just occurred, affirming that love’s fulfillment came in its time. The verse also creates a literary hinge. With the warning complete, the chapter shifts dramatically from the bedroom and city streets to a royal, public spectacle (vv. 6–11). The refrain’s pause readies the reader for a new vantage point, where love will be displayed in regal procession rather than sought in anxious nighttime wandering.
v.4It was but a little that I passed from them, When I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, Until I had brought him into my mother’s house, And into the chamber of her that conceived me.
v.5This passage
v.6Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all powders of the merchant?
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Micah 4:8
And thou, O tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, yea, the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
- Song of Solomon 2:7
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Until he please.
- Song of Solomon 8:4
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Until he please.
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