Song of Solomon 8:7
What does Song of Solomon 8:7 mean?
A plain-English look at Song of Solomon 8:7 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Song of Solomon 8:7 means
No flood can extinguish true love; it is not a commodity to be bought or sold. Offer all one’s wealth for it, and one earns only scorn, because love given for a price ceases to be love. The language of waters and drowning magnifies love’s resilience in trials and its immunity to bribery. Wealth may secure many things, but not a faithful heart. In the Song’s world, love endures because it is covenantal, personal, and freely pledged. Thus, love’s value exceeds possessions and its durability outlasts disasters. Attempts to purchase it betray a misunderstanding: real love is a gift guarded by promise, not a product of transaction.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Many waters cannot quench love, Neither can floods drown it: If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, He would utterly be contemned.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Many waters cannot quench love, Neither can floods drown it: If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, He would utterly be contemned.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Much water may not put out love, or the deep waters overcome it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would be judged a price not great enough.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Many waters are not able to quench the love, And floods do not wash it away. If one give all the wealth of his house for love, Treading down--they tread upon it.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown it: if a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Many waters cannot quench love, Neither do the floods drown it: Even if a man gave all the substance of his house for love, It would utterly be contemned.
Context
Flowing directly from verse 6’s “flame of Jehovah,” this verse completes the hymn to love’s invincibility. The focus moves from love’s internal intensity to its external unquenchability and inestimable worth. With love’s essence affirmed, the poem turns in verses 8–10 to community responsibility: how to prepare the immature for such a high calling. The shift is not a digression; it is application. If love is priceless and powerful, then it must be protected and rightly formed, especially in those not yet ready for its demands.
v.6Set me as a seal upon thy heart, As a seal upon thine arm: For love is strong as death; Jealousy is cruel as Sheol; The flashes thereof are flashes of fire, A very flame of Jehovah.
v.7This passage
v.8We have a little sister, And she hath no breasts: What shall we do for our sister In the day when she shall be spoken for?
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Romans 13:8
Owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law.
- Romans 8:28
And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.
- Matthew 7:24
Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock:
- Proverbs 6:31
But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; He shall give all the substance of his house.
- Proverbs 6:35
He will not regard any ransom; Neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
- Isaiah 43:2
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Related questions readers ask
Keep reading
Want to dig deeper? Explore Song of Solomon 8
Hand-picked devotionals, topical studies, and pastoral answers that draw on Song of Solomon 8.