UBF Daily Bread

LOST--FOUND

Passage: SongofSongs 5:2~8:4

Key verse: 5:16b

She

²I slept but my heart was awake.
    Listen! My beloved is knocking:
“Open to me, my sister, my darling,
    my dove,^(A) my flawless^(B) one.^(C)
My head is drenched with dew,
    my hair with the dampness of the night.”
³I have taken off my robe—
    must I put it on again?
I have washed my feet—
    must I soil them again?
⁴My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening;
    my heart began to pound for him.
⁵I arose to open for my beloved,
    and my hands dripped with myrrh,^(D)
my fingers with flowing myrrh,
    on the handles of the bolt.
⁶I opened for my beloved,^(E)
    but my beloved had left; he was gone.^(F)
    My heart sank at his departure.^[a]
I looked^(G) for him but did not find him.
    I called him but he did not answer.
⁷The watchmen found me
    as they made their rounds in the city.^(H)
They beat me, they bruised me;
    they took away my cloak,
    those watchmen of the walls!
⁸Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you^(I)—
    if you find my beloved,^(J)
what will you tell him?
    Tell him I am faint with love.^(K)

Friends

⁹How is your beloved better than others,
most beautiful of women?^(L)
How is your beloved better than others,
that you so charge us?

She

¹⁰My beloved is radiant and ruddy,
    outstanding among ten thousand.^(M)
¹¹His head is purest gold;
    his hair is wavy
    and black as a raven.
¹²His eyes are like doves^(N)
    by the water streams,
washed in milk,^(O)
    mounted like jewels.
¹³His cheeks^(P) are like beds of spice^(Q)
    yielding perfume.
His lips are like lilies^(R)
    dripping with myrrh.^(S)
¹⁴His arms are rods of gold
    set with topaz.
His body is like polished ivory
    decorated with lapis lazuli.^(T)
¹⁵His legs are pillars of marble
    set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,^(U)
    choice as its cedars.
¹⁶His mouth^(V) is sweetness itself;
    he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,^(W) this is my friend,
    daughters of Jerusalem.^(X)

Friends

6 Where has your beloved^(Y) gone,
most beautiful of women?^(Z)
Which way did your beloved turn,
that we may look for him with you?

She

²My beloved has gone^(AA) down to his garden,^(AB)
    to the beds of spices,^(AC)
to browse in the gardens
    and to gather lilies.
³I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;^(AD)
    he browses among the lilies.^(AE)

He

⁴You are as beautiful as Tirzah,^(AF) my darling,
    as lovely as Jerusalem,^(AG)
    as majestic as troops with banners.^(AH)
⁵Turn your eyes from me;
    they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
    descending from Gilead.^(AI)
⁶Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
    coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin,
    not one of them is missing.^(AJ)
⁷Your temples behind your veil^(AK)
    are like the halves of a pomegranate.^(AL)
⁸Sixty queens^(AM) there may be,
    and eighty concubines,^(AN)
    and virgins beyond number;
⁹but my dove,^(AO) my perfect one,^(AP) is unique,
    the only daughter of her mother,
    the favorite of the one who bore her.^(AQ)
The young women saw her and called her blessed;
    the queens and concubines praised her.

Friends

¹⁰Who is this that appears like the dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
majestic as the stars in procession?

He

¹¹I went down to the grove of nut trees
    to look at the new growth in the valley,
to see if the vines had budded
    or the pomegranates were in bloom.^(AR)
¹²Before I realized it,
    my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.^[b]

Friends

¹³Come back, come back, O Shulammite;
come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!

He

Why would you gaze on the Shulammite
as on the dance^(AS) of Mahanaim?^[c]

7 ^[d]How beautiful your sandaled feet,
    O prince’s^(AT) daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
    the work of an artist’s hands.
²Your navel is a rounded goblet
    that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
    encircled by lilies.
³Your breasts^(AU) are like two fawns,
    like twin fawns of a gazelle.
⁴Your neck is like an ivory tower.^(AV)
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon^(AW)
    by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon^(AX)
    looking toward Damascus.
⁵Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.^(AY)
    Your hair is like royal tapestry;
    the king is held captive by its tresses.
⁶How beautiful^(AZ) you are and how pleasing,
    my love, with your delights!^(BA)
⁷Your stature is like that of the palm,
    and your breasts^(BB) like clusters of fruit.
⁸I said, “I will climb the palm tree;
    I will take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine,
    the fragrance of your breath like apples,^(BC)
⁹    and your mouth like the best wine.

She

May the wine go straight to my beloved,^(BD)
    flowing gently over lips and teeth.^[e]
¹⁰I belong to my beloved,
    and his desire^(BE) is for me.^(BF)
¹¹Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,
    let us spend the night in the villages.^[f]
¹²Let us go early to the vineyards^(BG)
    to see if the vines have budded,^(BH)
if their blossoms^(BI) have opened,
    and if the pomegranates^(BJ) are in bloom^(BK)—
    there I will give you my love.
¹³The mandrakes^(BL) send out their fragrance,
    and at our door is every delicacy,
both new and old,
    that I have stored up for you, my beloved.^(BM)

8 If only you were to me like a brother,
    who was nursed at my mother’s breasts!
Then, if I found you outside,
    I would kiss you,
    and no one would despise me.
²I would lead you
    and bring you to my mother’s house^(BN)—
    she who has taught me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
    the nectar of my pomegranates.
³His left arm is under my head
    and his right arm embraces me.^(BO)
⁴Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:
    Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.^(BP)

Footnotes

Song of Songs 5:6 Or heart had gone out to him when he spoke
Song of Songs 6:12 Or among the chariots of Amminadab; or among the chariots of the people of the prince
Song of Songs 6:13 In Hebrew texts this verse (6:13) is numbered 7:1.
Song of Songs 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-13 is numbered 7:2-14.
Song of Songs 7:9 Septuagint, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew lips of sleepers
Song of Songs 7:11 Or the henna bushes

1. He is altogether lovely (5:2-6:3)

The title 'Beloved' indicates that the woman is speaking. She sleeps, but her heart is awake, waiting for her lover. Can we wait for our Lord like this? She hears a knock, but when she opens it, he has gone. Her heart sinks. She must find him, so she goes out into the night. She is not dissuaded from her search-- even when she is caught by the watchmen and beaten. She asks help in her search. Her description of him in verses 10-16 is colored by her love. He is altogether lovely. We can learn from her how to search for Jesus, who is altogether lovely (Ps 45:2-3).

2. My dove, my perfect one is unique (6:4-8:4)

The title 'Lover' indicates that the man is speaking. He praised the beauty of his beloved. In verses 7:9b-8:4, she finds him and gives him her love.

Prayer: Lord, help me to love you and wait on you with a pure and single heart. And teach me to rejoice in your love.

One Word: Jesus is altogether lovely

Daily Bread Data Base

Song_of_Solomon 3:6~5:1

THE COMING OF THE BRIDEGROOM , 01/01 /2000
Song_of_Solomon 3:6~5:1

LOOK! THE BRIDEGROOM COMES , 08/19 /2017
Song_of_Solomon 5:2~8:4

LOST--FOUND , 01/01 /2000
Song_of_Solomon 5:2~6:3

ALTOGETHER LOVELY , 08/20 /2017

Bible Resource Data Base

Song_of_solomon 1:1~8:14

Song of Songs , Sarah Barry

Daily Bread

LOST--FOUND

Passage: SongofSongs 5:2~8:4

Key verse: 5:16b

She

Friends

She

Friends

She

He

Friends

He

Friends

He

She

Footnotes

Cross references

Daily Bread Data Base

Bible Resource Data Base

UBF Daily Bread App