Song of Solomon 4:15
What does Song of Solomon 4:15 mean?
A plain-English look at Song of Solomon 4:15 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Song of Solomon 4:15 means
The bride is called “a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and flowing streams from Lebanon.” The imagery shifts from contents to source: she is not only a garden but the spring that nourishes many gardens. “Living waters” denote freshness, movement, and purity, and Lebanon’s streams evoke cool, clear, life-giving flow. The husband finds in her a continual supply of refreshment, not a stagnant pool. Her love revives and sustains, suggesting constancy as well as delight. The picture honors the bride as life-giver within marriage—her presence and affection renew him—while keeping the emphasis on purity and abundance rather than on mere momentary ecstasy.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Thou arta fountain of gardens, A well of living waters, And flowing streams from Lebanon.
KJV
King James Version · 1611A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Thou arta fountain of gardens, A well of living waters, And flowing streams from Lebanon.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949You are a fountain of gardens, a spring of living waters, and flowing waters from Lebanon.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862A fount of gardens, a well of living waters, And flowings from Lebanon!
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752The fountain of gardens: the well of living waters, which run with a strong stream from Libanus.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890A fountain in the gardens, A well of living waters, Which stream from Lebanon.
Context
After listing the garden’s delights (verses 13–14), the poetry identifies their source. This prepares for verse 16, where the bride herself will call for the winds to spread the fragrances and invite her beloved to partake. The sequence is deliberate: from exclusivity (verse 12) to abundance (verses 13–14) to vitality (verse 15) to invitation (verse 16). The imagery readies the reader for consummation, showing that what is enjoyed is rooted in a pure, ever-flowing spring, not in fleeting or artificial pleasures.
v.14Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.
v.15This passage
v.16Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; Blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, And eat his precious fruits.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ecclesiastes 2:6
I made me pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared;
- John 4:14
but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life.
- Song of Solomon 4:12
A garden shut up is my sister, my bride; A spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
- John 4:10
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
- John 7:38
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water.
- Psalms 36:8
They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; And thou wilt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
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