Song of Solomon 8:4
in Song of Solomon 8O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you: 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, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Until he please.
KJV
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.
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This verse in Song of Solomon 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
That ye stir not up - literally, as in the margin. For “my love” read as before love. The omission of “the roes and hinds” here is noticeable. Hebrew scholars regard this charge here and elsewhere Son 2:7; Son 3:5 as an admonition to Israel not to attempt obtaining a possession of, or restoration to, the promised land, and union or reunion there with the Holy One, before being inwardly prepared for it by the trials of the wilderness and the exile. This interpretation comes very near to what appears to be the genuine literal meaning (see Son 2:7 note).
This site's exposition
O that you were to me like a brother
on Song of Solomon 8:1-4
She wishes he were like a brother, whom she could kiss outdoors and bring openly to her mother's house, as at 3:4. The fourth and last charge to the daughters falls here (2:7, 3:5, 5:8, 8:4): "Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right".
This site's exposition
Do not arouse or awaken love
This last charge drops the gazelles and does of the field sworn by at 2:7 and 3:5. Albert Barnes marked the omission. He reported Hebrew scholars read the refrain as a warning to Israel against seeking its return before the wilderness and the exile had prepared it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The church answers unto [God the Word], "Who will give you to me, my brother, you who did suck the breasts of my mother? If I find you outside I will kiss you, and indeed they will not despise me. I will take you, and bring you into the house of my mother; and into the secret chamber of her who conceived me. You shall teach me." You see how, delighted with the gifts of grace, she longs to attain to the innermost mysteries and to consecrate all her affections to Christ. She still seeks, she still stirs up his love, and asks of the daughters of Jerusalem to stir it up for her, and desires that by their beauty, which is that of faithful souls, her spouse may be incited to ever richer love for her.
The Medieval Church1 voice
I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, not to awaken, etc. For such souls are rightly called daughters of Jerusalem, because they are united to the body of the holy Church through the bath of regeneration, because they aspire to the heavenly kingdom, although on the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The Christian church was raised up from a low and desolate condition by the grace of Christ relied on, Gal. iv. Particular believers are amiable, nay, admirable, and divine grace is to be admired in them, when by the power of that grace they are brought up from the wilderness, leaning with a holy confidence and complacency upon Jesus Christ their beloved.
Am I weary of Christ's presence, that I affront him and provoke him to depart from me? Why should I do that which he will take so unkindly and which I shall certainly repent of?" The Church's Dependence on Christ; The Love of the Church to Christ.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִשְׁבַּ֥עְתִּי | hishba'ti | I adjure | H7650 → | 186 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֖ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנ֣וֹת | benot | O daughters of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| תָּעִ֧ירוּ׀ | tairu | will you awaken | H5782 → | 80 times |
| וּֽמַה־ | umah- | and why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| תְּעֹֽרְר֛וּ | teoreru | will you 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 |
הִשְׁבַּ֥עְתִּיI adjure
hishba'tiH7650 →186 times
אֶתְכֶ֖ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
בְּנ֣וֹתO daughters of
benotH1323 →588 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
מַה־why?
mah-H4100 →752 times
תָּעִ֧ירוּ׀will you awaken
tairuH5782 →80 times
וּֽמַה־and why?
umah-H4100 →752 times
תְּעֹֽרְר֛וּwill you arouse
teoreruH5782 →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
7 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 3:5O 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 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.
- Micah 4:8
And 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.”
- 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 3:5
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 1:5
I am dark, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
- Song of Solomon 5:8–9
O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you, if you find my beloved, tell him I am sick with love.
- Proverbs 5:19
A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.
- Song of Solomon 5:16
His mouth is most sweet; he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
- Song of Solomon 3:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About Song of Solomon
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Ambrose of Milan, On the Mysteries 7:40; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Songs; Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.