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Saturday, August 23rd, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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Bishop's Bible

Song of Solomon 4:14

Nardus, & Saffron, Calamus, Sinamom, with all sweete smellyng trees, Myrre, Aloes, and all the best spyces,

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Aloes;   Bridegroom;   Calamus;   Cinnamon;   Myrrh;   Spikenard;   Thompson Chain Reference - Aloes;   Calamus;   Cane, Sweet;   Cinnamon;   Trees;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Herbs, &C;   Incense;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Aloes;   Cane;   Cinnamon;   Gardens;   Reed;   Saffron;   Spikenard;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Incense;   Spices;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Aloes;   Calamus;   Cinnamon;   Frankincense;   Saffron;   Spikenard;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Aloe;   Calamus;   Canticles;   ;   Garden;   Magi;   Reed;   Saffron;   Spikenard;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Aloe;   Cinnamon;   Flowers;   Ointment;   Plants in the Bible;   Sex, Biblical Teaching on;   Spices;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Aloes;   Cinnamon;   Reed;   Saffron;   Song of Songs;   Spikenard;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Aloes;   Cinnamon ;   Nard ;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Aloes, Lign-Aloes;   Calamus;   Cinnamon;   Frankincense,;   Garden, Gardener;   Myrrh;   Saffron;   Spikenard,;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Aloe;   Calamus;   Spikenard;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Aloes, Lign Aloes;   Saffron;   Spikenard;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Spice;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Aloe;   Calamus;   Cinnamon;   Myrrh;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Aloes;   Cinnamon;   Frankincense;   Garden;   Myrrh;   Reed;   Saffron;   Spikenard;   Wisdom of Solomon, the;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Aloes;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Calamus;   Camphire;   Frankincense;   Horticulture;   Nard;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,with all the trees of frankincense,myrrh and aloes,with all the best spices.
Hebrew Names Version
Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree; Myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices,
King James Version
Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
English Standard Version
nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all choice spices—
New American Standard Bible
Nard and saffron, spice reed and cinnamon, With all the trees of frankincense, Myrrh, and aloes, along with all the finest balsam oils.
New Century Version
nard and saffron, calamus, and cinnamon, with trees of incense, myrrh, and aloes— all the best spices.
Amplified Bible
Fragrant plants and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, along with all the finest spices.
World English Bible
Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree; Myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices,
Geneva Bible (1587)
Euen spikenarde, and saffran, calamus, and cynamon with all the trees of incense, myrrhe and aloes, with all the chiefe spices.
Legacy Standard Bible
Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,With all the trees of frankincense,Myrrh and aloes, along with all the finest spices.
Berean Standard Bible
with nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes, with all the finest spices.
Contemporary English Version
saffron, calamus, cinnamon, frankincense, myrrh, and aloes —all the finest spices.
Complete Jewish Bible
nard, saffron and aromatic cane, cinnamon and all kinds of frankincense trees, myrrh, aloes, all the best spices.
Darby Translation
Spikenard and saffron; Calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
Easy-to-Read Version
nard, saffron, calamus, and cinnamon. Your limbs are like a garden filled with trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloe.
George Lamsa Translation
Spikenard and saffron; sweet cane and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices;
Good News Translation
of saffron, calamus, and cinnamon, or incense of every kind. Myrrh and aloes grow there with all the most fragrant perfumes.
Lexham English Bible
nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon spice with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes with all chief spices.
Literal Translation
spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon; with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes; with all the chief balsam spices;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
as Cypresse, Nardus, Saffron, Calmus, and all the trees of Libanus: Myrre, Aloes, and all the best spyces.
American Standard Version
Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.
Bible in Basic English
Spikenard and safron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.
King James Version (1611)
Spikenard and Saffron, Calamus and Cynamom, with all trees of Frankincense, Mirrhe and Aloes, with all the chiefe spices.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon; with all woods of Libanus, myrrh, aloes, with all chief spices:
English Revised Version
Spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
narde, and saffrun, an erbe clepid fistula, and canel, with alle trees of the Liban, myrre, and aloes, with alle the beste oynementis.
Update Bible Version
Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.
Webster's Bible Translation
Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
New English Translation
nard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon with every kind of spice, myrrh and aloes with all the finest spices.
New King James Version
Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, With all the chief spices--
New Living Translation
nard and saffron, fragrant calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes, and every other lovely spice.
New Life Bible
There is nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices.
New Revised Standard
nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices—
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Nard and saffron, sweet cane and cinnamon, with all woods of frankincense, - myrrh and aloes, with all the chiefs of spices:
Douay-Rheims Bible
Spikenard and saffron, sweet cane and cinnamon, with all the trees of Libanus, myrrh and aloes with all the chief perfumes.
Revised Standard Version
nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices--
Young's Literal Translation
Cypresses with nard -- nard and saffron, Cane and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, With all the trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, along with all the finest 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

calamus: Exodus 30:23, Ezekiel 27:19

cinnamon: Proverbs 7:17, Revelation 18:13

trees: Song of Solomon 4:6, Song of Solomon 5:1, Numbers 24:6

the chief: Song of Solomon 6:2, Genesis 43:11, 1 Kings 10:10, 2 Chronicles 9:9, Mark 16:1

Reciprocal: Psalms 45:8 - All Song of Solomon 1:13 - bundle Song of Solomon 1:14 - camphire Song of Solomon 4:13 - camphire Song of Solomon 4:16 - the spices Song of Solomon 5:5 - my hands Mark 14:3 - of ointment John 12:3 - ointment John 19:39 - a

Cross-References

Genesis 4:5
But vnto Cain and to his offeryng he had no respect: for the whiche cause Cain was exceedyng wroth, and his countenaunce abated.
Genesis 4:6
And the Lorde saide vnto Cain: why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenaunce abated?
Genesis 4:11
And nowe art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receaue thy brothers blood from thy hande.
Genesis 4:12
If thou tyll the grounde, she shall not yeelde vnto thee her strength. A fugitiue and a vacabound shalt thou be in the earth.
Genesis 4:13
And Cain sayde vnto the Lord: My iniquitie is more then that it may be forgeuen.
Genesis 4:14
Beholde, thou hast cast me out this day from the vpper face of the earth, & from thy face shall I be hyd, fugitiue also and a vacabounde shall I be in the earth: and it shall come to passe, that euery one that fyndeth me shal slay me.
Genesis 4:15
And the Lorde said vnto him: Uerely whosoeuer slayeth Cain, he shalbe punished seuen folde. And the Lorde set a marke vpon Cain, lest any man fyndyng hym shoulde kyll hym.
Genesis 4:16
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lorde, & dwelt in the lande of Nod, eastwarde from Eden.
Genesis 4:20
And Ada bare Iabel, which was the father of such as dwel in the tentes, and of such as haue cattell.
Genesis 4:24
If Cain shalbe auenged seuen folde, truely Lamech seuentie tymes & seuen tymes.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Spikenard and saffron,.... The former is the best sort of nard, and therefore mentioned and repeated, to which saints may be compared, because of the graces of the Spirit in them; which, when exercised, give a sweet odour, and are exceeding grateful to Christ; see Song of Solomon 1:12; and the latter, according to Schindler s, seems to have been read "carcos", the same with "crocus", and is a plant well known by us for its cheering nature; and has its name from the Arabic, "zaffran", because of its yellow or golden colour; but "crocus", from "Corycus" t, a mountain in Cilicia, where it grew; it is properly joined with spikenard, since itself is a "spica", and is sometimes called "spica Cilissa" u. Next follow

calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; "calamus" is the sweet cane in Isaiah 43:24; "cinnamon" is the rind or bark of a tree; both grow in India w and in Arabia x; as also trees of "frankincense", which are only in Arabia; hence one of the Arabias is called "thurifera" y, for they do not grow in all Arabia: the two first were ingredients in the holy anointing oil, and the latter in the holy perfume, Exodus 30:23;

myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices; Solomon's gardens might be furnished with all these; and with the above trees, plants, and spices, from Arabia Felix, where, as Appianus z says, "cassia" grew in marshy places; myrrh and frankincense were gathered from trees, cinnamon from shrubs, and their meadows naturally produced nard; hence called "aromatifera", the spicy country a: myrrh was also an ingredient in the anointing oil; and aloes, according to the Targum, is the same with lign aloes; see Numbers 24:6; not the herb which has a very bitter juice, but the tree of a sweet odour, which Isidore b distinguishes, and is what is meant in Psalms 45:8; and were both of a very fragrant smell. Now all these trees, plants, and spices, signify truly precious souls, possessed of the graces of the Spirit; comparable to them for their valuableness and excellency, their sweet smell, and the reviving and refreshing nature of them; which make the subjects of these graces very agreeable to Christ, and to one another. What a garden is the church thus planted!

s Lexic. Pentaglott. col. 910. t "Corycii pressura croci", Lucan. Pharsal. l. 9. v. 809. u Ovid. Fast. l. 1. v. 76. in Ibin, v. 200. Propert. l. 4. Eleg. 6. v. 74. w Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 12. c. 19, 22. Strabo, l. 15. p. 478. x Herodot. Thalia, c. 107. "Cinnamoni et multi pastor odoris Araba", Propert. l. 3. Eleg. 13. v. 8, 9. y Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 12. c. 14. z Apud Schindler. Lexic. col. 1192. a Strabo. Geograph. l. 16. p. 538. Vid. p. 535. b Origin. l. 17. c. 8, 9.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The loveliness and purity of the bride are now set forth under the image of a paradise or garden fast barred against intruders, filled with rarest plants of excellent fragrance, and watered by abundant streams. Compare Proverbs 5:15-20.

Song of Solomon 4:12

A fountain sealed - i. e., A well-spring covered with a stone Genesis 29:3, and sealed with “the king’s own signet” (Daniel 6:17; compare Matthew 27:66).

Song of Solomon 4:13

Orchard - This is the renderlng here and in Ecclesiastes 2:5 of “pardes” (see Nehemiah 2:8 note). The pomegranate was for the Jews a sacred fruit, and a characteristic product of the land of promise (compare Exodus 28:33-34; Numbers 20:5; Deuteronomy 8:8; 1 Kings 7:18, 1 Kings 7:20). It is frequently mentioned in the Song, and always in connection with the bride. It abounds to this day in the ravines of the Lebanon.

Camphire - Cyprus. See Song of Solomon 1:14 note.

Song of Solomon 4:13-15

Seven kinds of spices (some of them with Indian names, e. g. aloes, spikenard, saffron) are enumerated as found in this symbolic garden. They are for the most part pure exotics which have formed for countless ages articles of commerce in the East, and were brought at that time in Solomon’s ships from southern Arabia, the great Indian Peninsula, and perhaps the islands of the Indian Archipelago. The picture here is best regarded as a purely ideal one, having no corresponding reality but in the bride herself. The beauties and attractions of both north and south - of Lebanon with its streams of sparkling water and fresh mountain air, of Engedi with its tropical climate and henna plantations, of the spice-groves of Arabia Felix, and of the rarest products of the distant mysterious Ophir - all combine to furnish one glorious representation, “Thou art all fair!”


 
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