Song of Solomon 4:13
What does Song of Solomon 4:13 mean?
A plain-English look at Song of Solomon 4:13 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Song of Solomon 4:13 means
Within the enclosed garden are “an orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits,” and plants like henna and spikenard. The imagery of shoots or branches suggests growth and variety. Pomegranates often signal fertility and festivity; henna and spikenard imply beauty and lavish fragrance. The point is not literal botany but the abundance, richness, and diversity of delights found in faithful love. This is no barren enclosure; it is cultivated and fruitful. The bride’s inner life and marital union are pictured as both beautiful and bountiful, where many distinct joys flourish together, each with its own scent and sweetness, contributing to a unified, pleasing whole.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Thy shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits; Henna with spikenard plants,
KJV
King James Version · 1611Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Thy shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits; Henna with spikenard plants,
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949The produce of the garden is pomegranates; with all the best fruits, henna and spikenard,
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Thy shoots a paradise of pomegranates, With precious fruits,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Thy plants are a paradise of pomegranates with the fruits of the orchard. Cypress with spikenard.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Thy shoots are a paradise of pomegranates, with precious fruits; Henna with spikenard plants;
Context
Having established the garden’s exclusivity (verse 12), the poem now catalogs its treasures. Verse 13 begins the list that will continue in verse 14, painting a lush scene. The flow underscores that covenant boundaries do not diminish joy; they concentrate and multiply it. After naming the plants and spices, the song will culminate in verse 15 with imagery of living waters, before the bride herself speaks in verse 16 to invite the beloved to partake. The sequence moves from protection to provision to participation.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Song of Solomon 6:2
My beloved is gone down to his garden, To the beds of spices, To feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
- Song of Solomon 1:12
While the king sat at his table, My spikenard sent forth its fragrance.
- Mark 14:3
And while he was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster cruse of ointment of pure nard very costly; and she brake the cruse, and poured it over his head.
- John 12:3
Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
- Isaiah 61:11
For as the earth bringeth forth its bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord Jehovah will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
- Isaiah 60:21
Thy people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
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