Title/Superscription 1 Solomon’s Most Excellent Love Song. The Desire for Love The Beloved to Her Lover: 2 Oh, how I wish you would kiss me passionately!For your lovemaking is more delightful than wine.3 The fragrance of your colognes is delightful;your name is like the finest perfume.No wonder the young women adore you!4 Draw me after […]
This book is a Divine allegory, which represents the love between Christ and his church of true believers, under figures taken from the relation and affection that subsist between a bridegroom and his espoused bride; an emblem often employed in Scripture, as describing the nearest, firmest, and most sure relation: see Ps. 45; Is. 54:5,6; 62:5; Jer. 2:2; 3:1; also in Ezekiel, Hosea, and by our Lord himself, Matt. 9:15; 25:1: see also Rev. 21:2,9; Eph. 5:27. There is no character in the church of Christ, and no situation in which the believer is placed, but what may be traced in this book, as humble inquirers will find, on comparing it with other Scriptures, by the assistance of God the Holy Spirit, in answer to their supplications. Much, however, of the language has been misunderstood by expositors and translators. The difference between the customs and manners of Europe, and those of the East, must especially be kept in view. The little acquaintance with eastern customs possessed by most of our early expositors and translators, has in many cases prevented a correct rendering. Also, the changes in our own language, during the last two or three centuries, affect the manner in which some expressions are viewed, and they must not be judged by modern notions. But the great outlines, rightly interpreted, fully accord with the affections and experience of the sincere Christian.
Matthew Henry
Song of Solomon 2
The Lily among the Thorns and the Apple Tree in the Forest The Beloved to Her Lover: 1 I am a meadow flower from Sharon,a lily from the valleys. The Lover to His Beloved: 2 Like a lily among the thorns,so is my darling among the maidens. The Beloved about Her Lover: 3 Like an […]
Song of Solomon 3
The Lost Lover is Found The Beloved about Her Lover: 1 All night long on my bedI longed for my lover.I longed for him but he never appeared.2 “I will arise and look all around throughout the town,and throughout the streets and squares;I will search for my beloved.”I searched for him but I did not […]
Song of Solomon 4
The Wedding Night: Praise of the Bride The Lover to His Beloved: 1 Oh, you are beautiful, my darling!Oh, you are beautiful!Your eyes behind your veil are like doves.Your hair is like a flock of female goatsdescending from Mount Gilead.2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly-shorn sheepcoming up from the washing place;each of […]
Song of Solomon 5
The Lover to His Beloved: 1 I have entered my garden, O my sister, my bride;I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam spice.I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;I have drunk my wine and my milk! The Poet to the Couple: Eat, friends, and drink!Drink freely, O lovers! The Trials of Love: The […]
Song of Solomon 6
The Lost Lover Found The Maidens to the Beloved: 1 Where has your beloved gone,O most beautiful among women?Where has your beloved turned?Tell us, that we may seek him with you. The Beloved to the Maidens: 2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,to the flowerbeds of balsam spices,to graze in the gardens,and to […]
Song of Solomon 7
The Lover to His Beloved: 1 How beautiful are your sandalled feet,O nobleman’s daughter!The curves of your thighs are like jewels,the work of the hands of a master craftsman.2 Your navel is a round mixing bowl –may it never lack mixed wine!Your belly is a mound of wheat,encircled by lilies.3 Your two breasts are like […]
Song of Solomon 8
The Beloved’s Wish Song The Beloved to Her Lover: 1 Oh, how I wish you were my little brother,nursing at my mother’s breasts;if I saw you outside, I could kiss you –surely no one would despise me!2 I would lead you and bring you to my mother’s house,the one who taught me.I would give you […]