Song of Solomon 2:4
He has brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me is love.
BSB
ASV
He brought me to the banqueting-house, And his banner over me was love.
KJV
He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
"Bring me into the wine cellar." The Bridegroom had stopped outside and was welcomed by the bride. Truly he had rested on her bosom. Many young maidens are not such as to be worthy of having the Bridegroom as their guest: "to the crowds" outside, he "speaks in parables." How I fear that many of us are maidens! "Bring me into the wine cellar." Why do I wait outside for so long? "See, I stand at the door and knock. If someone opens to me, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me."
He brought me to the banqueting house - Literally, the house of wine. The ancients preserved their wine, not in barrels or dark cellars under ground, as we do, but in large pitchers, ranged against the wall in some upper apartment in the house, the place where they kept their most precious effects.
Spiritually, the bride or beloved is led (So 2:4) first into the King's chambers, thence is drawn after Him in answer to her prayer; is next received on a grassy couch under a cedar kiosk; and at last in a "banqueting hall," such as, JOSEPHUS says, Solomon had in his palace, "wherein all the vessels were of gold" (Antiquities, 8:5,2).
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Revelation 3:20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.
leads to
Then you will be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once.
Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door.
I sleep, but my heart is awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with…
Through
Song of Solomon 1:4Take me away with you—let us hurry! May the king bring me to his chambers. We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. It is only right…
leads to
I led them with cords of kindness, with ropes of love; I lifted the yoke from their necks and bent down to feed them.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
In colorful garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions are brought before you.
