Song of Solomon 6:8
What does Song of Solomon 6:8 mean?
A plain-English look at Song of Solomon 6:8 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Song of Solomon 6:8 means
The beloved acknowledges a royal world crowded with “threescore queens,” “fourscore concubines,” and countless virgins. The numbers express abundance and availability. Yet the point is not indulgence but contrast—the stage is filled so that one figure may stand out. Even in a setting where beauty is common and desirable, mere numbers cannot rival true excellence. The verse subtly affirms that worth cannot be measured by status or multitude. It prepares us to hear how, among many acclaimed women, the Shulammite is uniquely prized. This backdrop heightens the coming declaration of her singularity and the universal acknowledgment she receives.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number.
KJV
King James Version · 1611There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949There are sixty queens, and eighty servant-wives, and young girls without number.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Sixty are queens, and eighty concubines, And virgins without number.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752One is my dove, my perfect one is but one, she is the only one of her mother, the chosen of her that bore her. The daughters saw her, and declared her most blessed: the queens and concubines, and they praised her.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number:
Context
After describing specific features (verses 5–7), the beloved broadens the horizon to the royal court’s potential rivals. Verse 8 creates tension: will she be just one among many? The next verse resolves it by declaring her “but one.” This contrast is key to the chapter’s theme—exclusive love in the midst of abundance. From there, the chorus will marvel (verse 10), and the scene will shift back to the garden and a sudden elevation (verses 11–12).
v.7Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate Behind thy veil.
v.8This passage
v.9My dove, my undefiled, is but one; She is the only one of her mother; She is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and called her blessed; Yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 1 Kings 11:3
And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.
- Revelation 7:9
After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and ofalltribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands;
- 1 Kings 11:1
Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites;
- 2 Chronicles 11:21
And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines, and begat twenty and eight sons and threescore daughters).
- Psalms 45:14
She shall be led unto the king in broidered work: The virgins her companions that follow her Shall be brought unto thee.
- Psalms 45:9
Kings’ daughters are among thy honorable women: At thy right hand doth stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
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