Song of Solomon 5:6

Translations

Modern

I opened for my beloved, but he had turned and gone. My heart sank at his departure. I sought him but did not find him. I called, but he did not answer.

Traditional

I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

Literal

I opened for my beloved, and my beloved had turned away and had gone! My heart went forth at his speaking. I sought him, and could not find him; I called to him, and he did not answer me.

Latin

Pessulum ostii mei aperui dilecto meo, at ille declinaverat, atque transierat. Anima mea liquefacta est, ut locutus est; quæsivi, et non inveni illum; vocavi, et non respondit mihi.

Original

Hebrew

English

I opened for my beloved, but he had turned and gone. My heart sank at his departure. I sought him but did not find him. I called, but he did not answer.

Notes

Song of Solomon 5:4–6

My beloved put his hand to the latch; my heart pounded for him: The man keeps trying to excite the woman, and she eventually responds positively. However, by the time she responds, he has either given up or become busy with something else. This is a strong poetic image of the challenges two lovers face in becoming intimate with each other.

Song of Solomon 5:2–6:3

One verse earlier, the couple fully enjoys their intimate union. Now the woman feels the pain of separation. In the dramatic interpretation, the woman has been separated from the man twice before and has searched for him (Song of Solomon 1:4–7; 3:1–4). This last time, the separation occurs in her dreams—it is only a nightmare. Her dream seems to continue to Song of Solomon 6:3, given the natural flow of questions and answers between the woman and the young women of Jerusalem.
If the Song is a collection of poems, these poems explore love rather than recounting actual events. This poem reminds us that an intimate relationship is not always easy or perfectly satisfying.

Theme notes and profiles

Human Sexuality

Related verses

Song of Solomon 5:2
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 the dampness of the night.”
Hosea 5:15
Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
Revelation 3:19
Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
Hosea 5:6
They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, but they do not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.
2 Samuel 16:10
But the king replied, “What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? If he curses me because the LORD told him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why did you do this?’”
Luke 22:61–62
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”
Matthew 26:75
Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Isaiah 54:6–8
For the LORD has called you back, like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit, like the rejected wife of one’s youth,” says your God.
Isaiah 50:2
Why was no one there when I arrived? Why did no one answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem you? Or do I lack the strength to deliver you? Behold, My rebuke dries up the sea; I turn the rivers into a desert; the fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
Psalm 22:1–2
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning?
Psalm 30:7
O LORD, You favored me; You made my mountain stand strong. When You hid Your face, I was dismayed.
Song of Solomon 3:1–2
On my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him.

Glossary

Perfume Song of Solomon

Song of Solomon 5:6

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