Song of Solomon 5:3
What does Song of Solomon 5:3 mean?
A plain-English look at Song of Solomon 5:3 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Song of Solomon 5:3 means
Here the bride hesitates, offering practical excuses: she has taken off her garment and washed her feet, and getting up would undo her readiness for sleep. In the ancient setting, floors and courtyards could be dusty; to step out would mean soiling cleansed feet and re-dressing. The smallness of the reasons is the point: sometimes love is hindered not by hostility but by convenience and comfort. The line exposes a moment of reluctance that stands at odds with the Beloved’s urgent, tender plea. It is a human, honest hesitation that the reader recognizes, and it sets the stage for regret once the opportunity passes.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000I have put off my garment; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
KJV
King James Version · 1611I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901I have put off my garment; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949I have put off my coat; how may I put it on? My feet are washed; how may I make them unclean?
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862I have put off my coat, how do I put it on? I have washed my feet, how do I defile them?
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752I have put off my garment, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890— I have put off my tunic, how should I put it on? I have washed my feet, how should I pollute them? —
Context
This verse follows immediately on the Beloved’s earnest request. Instead of immediate welcome, the bride delays. The narrative uses this pause to create tension: love’s visit has arrived, but response lags. That friction will soon have consequences. In the next lines, the Beloved will attempt the latch, her heart will finally stir, and she will rush to open—only to discover that the moment has slipped away. The missed timing becomes the chapter’s central sorrow.
v.2I was asleep, but my heart waked: It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled; For my head is filled with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.
v.3This passage
v.4My beloved put in his hand by the holeof the door, And my heart was moved for him.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Romans 7:22
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
- Proverbs 22:13
The sluggard saith, There is a lion without; I shall be slain in the streets.
- Matthew 26:38
Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: abide ye here, and watch with me.
- Proverbs 13:4
The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
- Matthew 25:5
Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
- Proverbs 3:28
Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, And to-morrow I will give; When thou hast it by thee.
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