Song of Solomon 5:3
in Song of Solomon 5I have taken off my robe—must I put it back on? I have washed my feet—must I soil them again?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I have put off my garment; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
KJV
I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
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This verse in Song of Solomon 5
Commentary
13 notes on this verseIn this night of the world the garment of corporeal life is first to be taken off as the Lord divested himself in his flesh that for you he might triumph over the dominions and powers of this world.
This site's exposition
I sleep, but my heart is awake
on Song of Solomon 5:2-3
"I sleep, but my heart is awake" opens the second night scene. He knocks and says, "My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night." She answers with questions and a shut door, "I have taken off my robe" and "I have washed my feet."
This site's exposition
I have washed my feet
Adam Clarke explained the custom behind her excuse. People wore only sandals, so they washed their feet before lying down, and walking to the door would soil them again. He judged the excuses frivolous while the beloved of verse 2 stood outside in the night dew.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
She is now awakened from sleep by him, although she was keeping watch with her heart so that she might hear his voice at once when he knocked. But while she was rising, she experienced a delay, because she could not match the swiftness of the Word. While she was opening the door, the Word passed by.
The Medieval Church3 voices
I have washed my feet, etc. Now I have cleansed my thoughts, which once were accustomed to touch the earth, with frequent tears of secret compunction, and, as much as was possible by manners, I have made them worthy of heavenly entry, so that I …
I have stripped off my tunic, etc. As if he openly says, I have abandoned the affairs of weak matters, how can I take them up again? For he who girds himself for the duty of preaching and takes on the care of governing souls, …
A commentator
Robert of TombelaineCommentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 5 · Written in the 11th century.
proposed
His bride stripped herself of her tunic, because she cast off all the outward things by which she was burdened. Concerning this tunic it is said: "Now let him who has a tunic sell it and buy a sword" (Luke 22:36). For he buys a …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
18 ) is interpreted making light of Christ ( Matt. xxii. Those put a great contempt upon Christ that cannot find in their hearts to bear a cold blast for him, or get out of a warm bed. The powerful influences of divine grace, by which she was made willing to rise and open to her beloved.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
My coat - My day clothes, as persons use to do when they go to rest. How - It is inconvenient and troublesome to do it at this time. Washed my feet - Which the eastern people commonly did when they went to bed.
I have put off my coat,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
I have put off my coat - The bride must have been in a dream or in much disorder of mind to have made the frivolous excuses here mentioned. The words relate to the case of a person who had gone to take rest on his bed. As they wore nothing but sandals, they were obliged to wash their feet previously to their lying down. I have washed my feet, taken off my clothes, and am gone to bed: I cannot therefore be disturbed. A Hindoo always washes his feet before he goes to bed.
When, all too late, the bride did arise, she seems to have been more concerned to anoint herself with the liquid myrrh than to speedily welcome her waiting Lord.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
She makes trivial excuses, as one in a dream.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פָּשַׁ֙טְתִּי֙ | pashati | I have taken off | H6584 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כֻּתָּנְתִּ֔י | kutaneti | tunic my | H3801 → | |
| אֵיכָ֖כָה | ʾeikhakhah | how? | H349 → | 82 times |
| אֶלְבָּשֶׁ֑נָּה | ʾelbashenah | will I put on it | H3847 → | |
| רָחַ֥צְתִּי | rachatzti | I have washed | H7364 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| רַגְלַ֖י | raglai | feet my | H7272 → | |
| אֵיכָ֥כָה | ʾeikhakhah | how? | H349 → | 82 times |
| אֲטַנְּפֵֽם׃ | ʾatanefem | will I dirty them | H2936 → |
פָּשַׁ֙טְתִּי֙I have taken off
pashatiH6584 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כֻּתָּנְתִּ֔יtunic my
kutanetiH3801 →
אֵיכָ֖כָהhow?
ʾeikhakhahH349 →82 times
אֶלְבָּשֶׁ֑נָּהwill I put on it
ʾelbashenahH3847 →
רָחַ֥צְתִּיI have washed
rachatztiH7364 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
רַגְלַ֖יfeet my
raglaiH7272 →
אֵיכָ֥כָהhow?
ʾeikhakhahH349 →82 times
אֲטַנְּפֵֽם׃will I dirty them
ʾatanefemH2936 →
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
Proverbs 13:4The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.
it leads to
- Proverbs 12:24
The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
- Proverbs 12:11
The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks judgment.
- 2 Peter 1:5–11
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;
- Proverbs 10:4
Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
- Proverbs 2:2–9
if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding,
- Proverbs 12:24
Through
Proverbs 3:28Do not tell your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I will provide”—when you already have the means.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:13
You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.
- Deuteronomy 24:12–15
If he is a poor man, you must not go to sleep with the security in your possession;
- 2 Corinthians 8:11
Now finish the work, so that you may complete it just as eagerly as you began, according to your means.
- Leviticus 19:13
About Song of Solomon
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Virginity 9:55; Ambrose of Milan, On Isaac and the Soul 6.50-52; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Songs; Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; Hudson Taylor, Union and Communion; or, Thoughts on the Song of Solomon; 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 5.