Song of Solomon 8:4

What does Song of Solomon 8:4 mean?

A plain-English look at Song of Solomon 8:4 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Song of Solomon 8:4 means

Once more she adjures the daughters of Jerusalem to respect the sanctity and timing of love. Love should not be forced awake before its proper moment, nor manipulated to satisfy curiosity or haste. The repetition throughout the Song teaches that desire, however strong, must be governed by wisdom. In context, after images of home and embrace, the charge guards what is precious: intimacy belongs where commitment and consent are secure. The counsel is gentle but firm, recognizing both love’s beauty and its vulnerability. True affection is not a spectacle; it is a trust to be honored. Waiting preserves the very rest and joy love seeks.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Until he please.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Until he please.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

I say to you, O daughters of Jerusalem, do not let love be moved till it is ready.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, How ye stir up, And how ye wake the love till she please!

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up, nor awake my love till she please.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, ...Why should ye stir up, why awake [my] love, till he please?

Context

This refrain concludes the first movement of the chapter (vv. 1–4), which has progressed from longing for public honor, to domestic nurture, to tender embrace. Now the bride addresses the community, urging restraint and reverence. The next scene (v. 5) shifts to a new perspective—an arrival from the wilderness and a reminiscence under an apple tree—leading into the Song’s most famous lines about love’s strength (vv. 6–7). Reading verse 4 as a protective seal helps us appreciate why the coming declarations can safely exalt love: it has been rightly guarded.

v.3His left handshould beunder my head, And his right hand should embrace me.

v.4This passage

v.5Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple-tree I awakened thee: There thy mother was in travail with thee, There was she in travail that brought thee forth.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

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 3:5
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.

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