Keraia
Song of Solomon 5

Song of Solomon 5:8

The Bride and Her Beloved · Song of Solomon 5:1–16
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Translations

Modern
O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you, if you find my beloved, tell him I am sick with love.
Traditional
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
Literal
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, what you should declare to him: I am sick with love.
Latin
Adjuro vos, filiæ Jerusalem, si inveneritis dilectum meum, ut nuntietis ei quia amore langueo.

Original

Hebrew
English
O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you, if you find my beloved, tell him I am sick with love.

Notes

Song of Solomon 5:8

I am sick with love: The woman's trauma symbolizes her lovesickness (compare Song of Solomon 2:5).

Song of Solomon 5:8–9

The woman asks the young women of Jerusalem to help find her lover. They ask her to describe him, leading to the second descriptive poem (wasf) of the Song (see study note on Song of Solomon 4:1–5:1).

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

Places

Jerusalem: The capital of Israel, a holy city for three religions

Glossary

Perfume Song of Solomon