Song of Solomon 2:17

Translations

Modern

Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.

Traditional

Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

Literal

Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, may you turn and be likened yourself, my beloved, to a gazelle or to a young stag of the deer, upon the mountains of Bether.

Latin

…donec aspiret dies, et inclinentur umbræ. Revertere; similis esto, dilecte mi, capreæ, hinnuloque cervorum super montes Bether.

Original

Hebrew

English

Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.

Notes

Song of Solomon 2:16–17

be like a gazelle: The woman sees her lover as strong and fast like a gazelle. She describes his delay as if he is grazing in the countryside.
Alternatively, the lover, like a gazelle, grazes among the lilies, which might represent the woman. This suggests their close relationship. The woman is often compared to a garden (see also Song of Solomon 4:12, 15–16; 5:1; 6:2).
turn: Her desire to see him in the evening grows stronger by the hour.

Song of Solomon 2:8–17

In this poem, the woman looks forward to her lover's arrival. She describes winter ending and spring beginning, a time of floral scents and new starts. She and her lover are in their country garden, a place of closeness, though there is a hint of danger even here (Song of Solomon 2:15).

Song of Solomon 2:16–3:5

In this dramatic scene, the woman is already apart from her lover and is terrified that she will not see him soon. One night, her worries push her out of bed to search frantically for him. She finds him and takes him to meet her mother.

Theme notes and profiles

Beauty in Nature Human Sexuality

Related verses

Song of Solomon 4:6
Before the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.
Song of Solomon 2:8–9
Listen! My beloved approaches. Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.
2 Peter 1:19
We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Song of Solomon 8:14
Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.
Hebrews 8:5
The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
Hebrews 10:1
For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
Romans 13:12
The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Luke 1:78
…because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,

Places

Bether Mountain: Mountain or mountains mentioned in Song of Solomon

Glossary

Bether Deer Gazelle Song of Solomon

Topics

Bether: Mountains of Day: Artificial, Divided Into: Break of Sex The Hart of Christ The Roe: Christ

Song of Solomon 2:17

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