Song of Solomon 8:9
What does Song of Solomon 8:9 mean?
A plain-English look at Song of Solomon 8:9 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Song of Solomon 8:9 means
Two images guide the family’s strategy. If the sister is a “wall”—firm in chastity and resolve—they will “build on her a turret of silver,” honoring and adorning her virtue. If she is a “door”—too open to premature advances—they will “enclose her with boards of cedar,” providing boundaries and protection. The aim is constructive: to strengthen character, not shame weakness. Silver and cedar suggest beauty and stability. The metaphors teach that wise guardianship adapts to the person’s disposition, rewarding self-control and supplying safeguards where vulnerability exists, so that in time she may be ready for love’s sacred trust.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000If she be a wall, We will build upon her a turret of silver: And if she be a door, We will inclose her with boards of cedar.
KJV
King James Version · 1611If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901If she be a wall, We will build upon her a turret of silver: And if she be a door, We will inclose her with boards of cedar.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949If she is a wall, we will make on her a strong base of silver; and if she is a door, we will let her be shut up with cedar-wood.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862If she is a wall, we build by her a palace of silver. And if she is a door, We fashion by her board-work of cedar.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752If she be a wall: let us build upon it bulwarks of silver: if she be a door, let us join it together with boards of cedar.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890If she be a wall, We will build upon her a turret of silver; And if she be a door, We will enclose her with boards of cedar.
Context
This verse proposes practical care in response to the concern of verse 8. The community outlines two paths, each fitting the sister’s condition. Immediately next (v. 10), the Shulamite speaks, testifying that she herself has become a “wall” and thus found “peace” in her beloved’s eyes. The movement from communal plan to personal fulfillment illustrates the Song’s theme: love matures through wisdom, honor, and wisely set boundaries, leading not to repression but to true delight and security.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Acts 14:27
And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith unto the Gentiles.
- Zechariah 6:12
and speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build the temple of Jehovah;
- 1 Kings 6:15
And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar: from the floor of the house unto the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the house with boards of fir.
- Acts 15:16
After these things I will return, And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; And I will build again the ruins thereof, And I will set it up:
- Song of Solomon 2:9
My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: Behold, he standeth behind our wall; He looketh in at the windows; He glanceth through the lattice.
- Isaiah 58:12
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
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