Song of Solomon 3:5
in Song of Solomon 3O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Until he please.
KJV
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
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This verse in Song of Solomon 3
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
So So 2:7; but there it was for the non-interruption of her own fellowship with Jesus Christ that she was anxious; here it is for the not grieving of the Holy Ghost, on the part of the daughters of Jerusalem.
This site's exposition
O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you
The second refrain repeats 2:7, "Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right," and it returns at 5:8 and 8:4. Its place after the search closes that scene as the first closed the banquet of 2:4, love found and left to rest in its time.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
A commentator
Robert of TombelaineCommentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 3 · Written in the 11th century.
proposed
Resting delightfully among them, free from their disturbance, the Bridegroom forbids the wicked, saying: "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and the deer of the fields, do not stir up nor awaken the beloved until she herself wills it." In this, …
I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, etc. If we look at the preceding verses, we will not find in them that the bride reached rest or sleep, but rather that, leaping from the bed, with the greatest effort of searching, she reached …
A commentator
BonaventureItinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Concerning this hierarch, then, and the ecclesiastical hierarchy, the whole of sacred Scripture exists, through which we are taught to be purged, illumined, and perfected, and this according to the threefold law handed down in it, namely of nature, of Scripture, and of grace; or …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Some make this to be Christ's charge to the daughters of Jerusalem not to disturb or disquiet his church, nor trouble the minds of the disciples; for Christ is very tender of the peace of his church, and all the members of it, even the little ones; and those that trouble them shall bear their judgment, Gal. v. 10 . The Love of the Church to Christ.
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
'It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.''Song of Solomon 3:4-5. IS IT NECESSARY to say that the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer corporeally present in his church?
'It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.''Song of Solomon 3:4-5. IS IT NECESSARY to say that the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer corporeally present in his church? It ought not to be needful to assert so evident a truth; and yet it is important to do so, since there are some who teach that in what they are pleased to call 'the Holy Sacrament.' Christ is actually present in his flesh and blood. Such persons unwittingly deny the real humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, for if he has indeed assumed our humanity, and is in all points made like unto his brethren, his flesh and blood cannot be in two places at one time. Our bodily humanity could not be present in more places than one at one time, and if Christ's humanity be like ours it cannot be in an unlimited number of places at once; in fact, it can only be in one place. Where that place is we know from Scripture, for he sitteth at the right hand of God, expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. Unless you are to suppose that the humanity of Christ is something altogether different from ours, it cannot be here and there and everywhere; but to suppose that it is a different humanity from ours is to deny that he is Incarnate in our nature. Our Lord Jesus told his disciples that he would go away, and he has gone away. He ascended into heaven, bearing humanity up to the throne of God.
I charge you - The same adjuration as before, Son 2:7.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Scarcely had I departed from them. Shortly after their parting from me, 8 I.e., shortly after the deaths of Moshe and Aharon. at the end of the forty years.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִשְׁבַּ֨עְתִּי | hishba'ti | I adjure | H7650 → | 186 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֜ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנ֤וֹת | benot | O daughters of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| בִּצְבָא֔וֹת | bitzvaot | by gazelles | H6643 → | 33 times |
| א֖וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| בְּאַיְל֣וֹת | beaylot | by [the] does of | H355 → | |
| הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| תָּעִ֧ירוּ׀ | tairu | you will awaken | H5782 → | 80 times |
| וְֽאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| תְּעֽוֹרְר֛וּ | teoru | you will arouse | H5782 → | 80 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאַהֲבָ֖ה | haahavah | <the> love | H160 → | 38 times |
| עַ֥ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| שֶׁתֶּחְפָּֽץ׃ ס | shetechpatz | that it will please | H2654 → | 74 times |
הִשְׁבַּ֨עְתִּיI adjure
hishba'tiH7650 →186 times
אֶתְכֶ֜ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
בְּנ֤וֹתO daughters of
benotH1323 →588 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙Jerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
בִּצְבָא֔וֹתby gazelles
bitzvaotH6643 →33 times
א֖וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
בְּאַיְל֣וֹתby [the] does of
beaylotH355 →
הַשָּׂדֶ֑הthe field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
תָּעִ֧ירוּ׀you will awaken
tairuH5782 →80 times
וְֽאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
תְּעֽוֹרְר֛וּyou will arouse
teoruH5782 →80 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאַהֲבָ֖ה<the> love
haahavahH160 →38 times
עַ֥דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
שֶׁתֶּחְפָּֽץ׃ סthat it will please
shetechpatzH2654 →74 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Song of Solomon 8:4O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 2:7
O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.
- Song of Solomon 2:7
Through
Song of Solomon 2:7O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 8:4
O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.
- Song of Solomon 1:5
I am dark, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
- Song of Solomon 8:4
Through
Micah 4:8And you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion—the former dominion will be restored to you; sovereignty will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:26
I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning. After that you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.”
- Revelation 22:5
There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and…
- Zechariah 9:10
And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend…
- Genesis 35:21
Israel again set out and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder.
- Daniel 2:44
In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms…
- Isaiah 1:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Song of Solomon
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Songs; Bonaventure, Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1035: “The Real Presence, the Great Want of the Church” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Robert of Tombelaine, Commentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 3.