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Friday, August 22nd, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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Read the Bible

Bishop's Bible

Song of Solomon 4:10

O howe fayre are thy breastes, my sister, my spouse? Thy breastes are more pleasaunt then wine, and the smell of thyne oyntmentes passeth all spices.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Anointing;   Bridegroom;   Ointment;   Thompson Chain Reference - Odours, Sweet;   Perfume;   Sweet Odours;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Anointing;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Spices;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Spouse;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Canticles;   ;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Sex, Biblical Teaching on;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Song of Songs;   Spice, Spices;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Abba;   Spikenard;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Marriage;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Smell;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Paradise;   Wisdom of Solomon, the;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Anointing;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Constellations;   Oil;   Solomon ben Judah Ha-Babli;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
How delightful your caresses are, my sister, my bride.Your caresses are much better than wine,and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam.
Hebrew Names Version
How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine! The fragrance of your perfumes than all manner of spices!
King James Version
How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
English Standard Version
How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
New American Standard Bible
"How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much sweeter is your love than wine, And the fragrance of your oils Than that of all kinds of balsam oils!
New Century Version
Your love is so sweet, my sister, my bride. Your love is better than wine, and your perfume smells better than any spice.
Amplified Bible
"How beautiful is your love, my sister, my [promised] bride! How much better is your love than wine, And the fragrance of your oils Than all kinds of balsam and spices.
World English Bible
How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine! The fragrance of your perfumes than all manner of spices!
Geneva Bible (1587)
My sister, my spouse, how faire is thy loue? howe much better is thy loue then wine? and the sauour of thine oyntments then all spices?
Legacy Standard Bible
How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!How much better is your love than wine,And the fragrance of your oilsThan all kinds of spices!
Berean Standard Bible
How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride. Your love is much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than all spices.
Contemporary English Version
Your love is sweeter than wine; the smell of your perfume is more fragrant than spices.
Complete Jewish Bible
My sister, my bride, how sweet is your love! How much better your love than wine, more fragrant your perfumes than any spice!
Darby Translation
How fair is thy love, my sister, [my] spouse! How much better is thy love than wine! And the fragrance of thine ointments than all spices!
Easy-to-Read Version
Your love is so beautiful, my darling, my bride! Your love is better than wine. The smell of your perfume is better than any kind of spice!
George Lamsa Translation
How beautiful are your breasts, O my sister, my bride! how much better are your breasts than wine! and the fragrance of your ointments than all spices!
Good News Translation
Your love delights me, my sweetheart and bride. Your love is better than wine; your perfume more fragrant than any spice.
Lexham English Bible
How beautiful is your love, my sister bride! How better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
Literal Translation
How beautiful are your loves, My sister, My spouse! How much better are your loves than wine, and the scent of your ointments than all spices!
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
O how fayre and louely are thy brestes, my sister, my spouse? Thy brestes are more pleasaunt then wyne, and the smell of thy oyntmentes passeth all spices.
American Standard Version
How fair is thy love, my sister, my bride! How much better is thy love than wine! And the fragrance of thine oils than all manner of spices!
Bible in Basic English
How fair is your love, my sister! How much better is your love than wine, and the smell of your oils than any perfume!
JPS Old Testament (1917)
How fair is thy love, my sister, my bride! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all manner of spices!
King James Version (1611)
How faire is thy loue, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy loue then wine! and the smell of thine oyntments then all spices!
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
How beautiful are thy breasts, my sister, my spouse! how much more beautiful are thy breasts than wine, and the smell of thy garments than all spices!
English Revised Version
How fair is thy love, my sister, [my] bride! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all manner of spices!
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
My sistir spousesse, thi tetis ben ful faire; thi tetis ben feirere than wyn, and the odour of thi clothis is aboue alle swete smellynge oynementis.
Update Bible Version
How fair is your love, my sister, [my] bride! How much better is your love than wine! And the fragrance of your oils than all manner of spices!
Webster's Bible Translation
How fair is thy love, my sister, [my] spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thy ointments than all spices!
New English Translation
How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine; the fragrance of your perfume is better than any spice!
New King James Version
How fair is your love, My sister, my spouse! How much better than wine is your love, And the scent of your perfumes Than all spices!
New Living Translation
Your love delights me, my treasure, my bride. Your love is better than wine, your perfume more fragrant than spices.
New Life Bible
How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the sweet smell of your oils than all kinds of spices!
New Revised Standard
How sweet is your love, my sister, my bride! how much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
How beautiful are thy caresses, my sister, bride, - how much more delightful thy caresses, than wine, and the fragrance of thine oils, than all spices:
Douay-Rheims Bible
How beautiful are thy breasts, my sister, my spouse! thy breasts are more beautiful than wine, and the sweet smell of thy ointments above all aromatical spices.
Revised Standard Version
How sweet is your love, my sister, my bride! how much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
Young's Literal Translation
How wonderful have been thy loves, my sister-spouse, How much better have been thy loves than wine, And the fragrance of thy perfumes than all spices.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, And the fragrance of your oils Than all kinds of spices!

Contextual Overview

8 Come to me from Libanus (O my spouse) come to me from Libanus: looke from the top of Amana, from the top of Sanir and Hermon, from the lions dennes, and from the mountaines of the leopardes. 9 Thou hast [with loue] bewitched my heart O my sister my spouse, thou hast bewitched my heart with one of thyne eyes, and with one chayne of thy necke. 10 O howe fayre are thy breastes, my sister, my spouse? Thy breastes are more pleasaunt then wine, and the smell of thyne oyntmentes passeth all spices. 11 Thy lippes, O my spouse, drop as the hony combe, yea mylke and hony is vnder thy tongue, and the smell of thy garmentes is like the smell of Libanus. 12 A garden well locked is my sister, my spouse: a garden well locked, and a sealed well. 13 The fruites that are planted in thee, are lyke a very paradise of pomegranates with sweete fruites, as Camphire, 14 Nardus, & Saffron, Calamus, Sinamom, with all sweete smellyng trees, Myrre, Aloes, and all the best spyces,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

love: Heb. loves, Song of Solomon 1:2, *marg.

how much: Song of Solomon 1:2, Song of Solomon 1:4

the smell: Song of Solomon 1:3, Song of Solomon 1:12, Song of Solomon 3:6, Song of Solomon 5:5, 2 Corinthians 1:21, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Galatians 5:22, Philippians 4:18, Revelation 5:8

Reciprocal: Genesis 8:21 - smelled Genesis 43:11 - spices 1 Kings 9:3 - mine eyes Psalms 45:11 - So shall Proverbs 27:9 - Ointment Ecclesiastes 7:1 - precious Song of Solomon 1:8 - O thou Song of Solomon 1:15 - thou art fair Song of Solomon 4:1 - my Song of Solomon 4:9 - my sister Song of Solomon 4:11 - the smell Song of Solomon 7:6 - General Song of Solomon 8:2 - I would cause Matthew 12:50 - and sister Mark 3:34 - Behold John 12:3 - ointment 1 Corinthians 9:5 - a sister

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
And the Lord God sayd vnto the woman: Why hast thou done this? And the woman sayde: the serpent begyled me, and I dyd eate.
Genesis 4:9
And the Lorde said vnto Cain: where is Habel thy brother? Which sayde I wote not: Am I my brothers keper?
Genesis 4:10
And he sayde: What hast thou done? the voyce of thy brothers blood cryeth vnto me out of the grounde.
Genesis 9:5
And surely your blood of your lyues wyl I require: at the hande of euery beast wyll I require it, and at the hand of man, at the hande of mans brother wyll I require the life of man.
Genesis 18:20
And the lorde saide: because the crye of Sodome and Gomorrhe is great, and because their sinne is exceding greeuous:
Exodus 3:7
And the Lorde saide: I haue surely seene the trouble of my people which are in Egypt, and haue heard their crie from the face of their taske maisters: for I knowe their sorowes,
Numbers 35:33
So ye shall not pollute the lande whiche ye shall dwell in, for blood defileth the lande: and the lande can not be clensed of the blood that is shed therin, but by the blood of hym that shed blood.
Joshua 7:19
And Iosuah sayde vnto Achan: My sonne, I beseche thee geue glorie to the Lorde God of Israel, and make confession vnto him, and shewe me what thou hast done, hyde it not from me.
2 Kings 9:26
I haue seene yesterday the blood of Naboth & the blood of his sonnes, sayde the Lord: and I wil quite it thee in this ground sayth the Lord. Nowe therfore take [him] and cast him in the plat of ground, according to ye word of the Lord.
Job 16:18
O earth couer not thou my blood, and let my crying finde no roome.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

How fair is thy love, [my] sister, my spouse!.... Of these titles, :-;

:-; and of the love of the church to Christ,

:-; here said to be "fair", lovely and delightful, grateful and acceptable; as it is to Christ, in the several acts and effects of it, and therefore the word is plural, "thy loves" r; being exceeding beautiful in his eye, and extremely well pleasing to him; therefore says, "how fair!" as admiring it, it being hard to say how fair it was; and this appears from the large manifestations of Christ's love to those that love him; and from his causing all things to work together for the good of such; and from his preparing and laying up things, unseen and unheard of, for them;

how much better is thy love than wine! which is saying the same thing of her love to him she says of his to her, Song of Solomon 1:2; her love to Christ is more pleasant, more cheering, and more acceptable to him, than the wine of legal sacrifices, or than all burnt offerings; or than any duty whatever, unless that is the principle from whence it flows,

Mark 12:33;

and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! the same with Christ's ointments, commended Song of Solomon 1:3; namely, the graces of the Spirit, which are in Christ without measure, and from him communicated to his people; and when exercised by them, are very delightful to him, and preferred by him to "all spices": even to all those used in the holy anointing oil, typical of them, Exodus 30:23.

r דודיך "amores tui", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The similes employed refer to the graces of adornment, speech, and gesture, as expressions of inward character and sentiment.

Song of Solomon 4:9

With one of thine eyes - Rather, with one look of thine.

Song of Solomon 4:11

Honeycomb - literally, Thy lips distill a dropping (of pure honey). Compare the marginal references.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 10. How much better is thy love — דדיך dodayich; Hebrew. μαστοισου; Septuagint. Ubera tua; Vulgate. "Thy breasts." And so all the versions, except the Chaldee.

Smell of thine ointments — Perfumes.


 
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