Song of Solomon 8:4

4 Women of Jerusalem, take an oath and make me a promise. Don't stir up love. Don't wake it up until it's ready." The other women say,

Song of Solomon 8:4 Meaning and Commentary

Song of Solomon 8:4

I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up,
nor awake [my] love, until he please.
] The phrase, "by the roes [and] by the hinds of the field", used in ( Song of Solomon 2:7 ) ( 3:5 ) ; is here omitted; not as if the charge was less vehement and earnest here, for the form of expostulation seems rather to express more earnestness: for the words may be rendered, "why will ye", or "why should ye stir up, and why awake my love?" ^F9 being apprehensive they were about to do it; and which she dissuades from, as unreasonable and dangerous, and might be prejudicial to them as well as to her. The allusion is to virgins, that sung songs at marriages; one in the evening, lulling to sleep; and another in the morning, awaking and stirring up from it ^F11.

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 (hm) , "cur", Montanus, Schmidt.
F11 Vid. Theocrit. Idyll. 18.

Song of Solomon 8:4 In-Context

2 I'd bring you to my mother's house. She taught me everything I know. I'd give you spiced wine to drink. It's the juice of my pomegranates.

3 Your left arm is under my head. Your right arm is around me.

4 Women of Jerusalem, take an oath and make me a promise. Don't stir up love. Don't wake it up until it's ready." The other women say,

5 "Who is this woman coming up from the desert? She's leaning on the one who loves her." The woman says to the king, "Under the apple tree I woke you up. That's where your mother became pregnant with you. She went into labor, and you were born there.

6 Hold me close to your heart like the seal around your neck. Keep me close to yourself like the ring on your finger. My love for you is so strong it won't let you go. Love is as powerful as death. Love's jealousy is as strong as the grave. Love is like a blazing fire. It burns like a mighty flame.