the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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New King James Version
Song of Solomon 2:16
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Young Woman
My lover is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies.My beloved is mine, and I am his: He feeds [his flock] among the lilies.
My lover is mine, and I am his. He feeds among the lilies
The Beloved about Her Lover:
My lover is mine and I am his; he grazes among the lilies.My beloved [is] mine, and I [am] his: he feedeth among the lilies.
My beloved is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies.
"My beloved is mine and I am his; He pastures his flock among the lilies.
My beloved is mine, and I am his; he grazes among the lilies.
My derlyng is to me, and Y am to hym, which is fed among lilies;
My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth [his flock] among the lilies.
My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
She Speaks: My darling, I am yours, and you are mine, as you feed your sheep among the lilies.
My beloved is mine, and I am his: He feedeth his flock among the lilies.
My loved one is mine, and I am his: he takes his food among the flowers.
My darling is mine, and I am his, as he pastures his flock among the lilies.
My beloved is mine, and I am his; He feedeth [his flock] among the lilies,
My lover is mine, and I am his! My lover feeds among the lilies,
My beloved is mine, and I am his, that feedeth among the lilies.
My beloued is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lillies.
My love is mine, and I am his. He lets his flock eat among the lilies.
My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
My welbeloued is mine, and I am his: hee feedeth among the lilies,
My beloved is mine, and I am his; he feeds among the lilies.
The Woman
My lover is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the liliesSHEMy beloved, is, mine, and, I, am, his, he that pastureth among lilies!
My beloved to me, and I to him who feedeth among the lilies,
My beloved is mine and I am his, he pastures his flock among the lilies.
My loue is mine, & I am his, whiche feedeth among the lillies vntill the day breake, and till the shadowes be gone:
My kinsman is mine, and I am his: he feeds his flock among the lilies.
My love is mine and I am his;he feeds among the lilies.
My beloved is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies.
My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
My beloved belongs to me and I belong to him; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
My Beloved is mine, and I am His. He feeds among the lilies.
My beloved [is] mine, and I [am] his, Who is delighting among the lilies,
My loue is myne, and I am his, (which fedeth amoge the lylies)
My lover is mine, and I am his. Nightly he strolls in our garden, Delighting in the flowers until dawn breathes its light and night slips away. Turn to me, dear lover. Come like a gazelle. Leap like a wild stag on delectable mountains!
"My beloved is mine, and I am his; He pastures his flock among the lilies.
"My beloved is mine, and I am his; He pastures his flock among the lilies.
"My beloved is mine, and I am his,He who shepherds his flock among the lilies.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
beloved: Song of Solomon 6:3, Song of Solomon 7:10, Song of Solomon 7:13, Psalms 48:14, Psalms 63:1, Jeremiah 31:33, 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, Galatians 2:20, Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:3
he: Song of Solomon 2:1, Song of Solomon 1:7, Song of Solomon 6:3
Reciprocal: Song of Solomon 4:5 - feed Song of Solomon 5:16 - my beloved Isaiah 5:1 - wellbeloved Jeremiah 30:22 - General Hosea 2:23 - Thou art my God Hosea 14:5 - he shall Zechariah 1:8 - among Malachi 3:17 - they shall Acts 27:23 - whose Hebrews 8:10 - I will be
Cross-References
Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.
And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
So Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;
Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
My beloved [is] mine, and I [am] his,.... These are the words of the church; who, having had such evidences of Christ's love to her, and care of her, expresses her faith of interest in him, and suggests the obligations she lay under to observe his commands. The words are expressive of the mutual interest had property Christ and his church have in each other: Christ is the church's, by the Father's gift of him to her, to be her Head, Husband, and Saviour; and by the gift of himself unto her, to be her Redeemer and ransom price; and by marriage, having espoused her to himself, in righteousness and lovingkindness; and by possession, he living and dwelling in her, by his Spirit and grace: the church also acknowledges herself to be his, as she was, by the Father's gift of her to Christ, as his spouse and bride, his portion and inheritance; and by purchase, he having bought her with his precious blood; and by the conquest of her, by his grace in effectual calling; and by a voluntary surrender of herself unto him, under the influence of his grace: hence all he is, and has, are hers, his person, fulness, blood, and righteousness; and therefore can want no good thing. Moreover, these words suggest the near union there is between Christ and his church; they are one in a conjugal relation, as husband and wife are one; which union is personal, of the whole person of Christ to the whole persons of his people; it is a spiritual one, they having the same Spirit, the one without measure, the other in measure; it is a vital one, as is between the vine and its branches; and it is a mysterious one, next to that of the union of the three Persons in the Godhead, and of the two natures in Christ; it is an indissoluble one, the everlasting love of Christ being the bond of it, which call never be dissolved; and from this union flow a communication of the names of Christ to his church, conformity to him, communion with him, and an interest in all he has. Likewise these phrases express the mutual affliction, complacency, and delight, Christ and his church have in each other; he is beloved by his church, and she by him; she seems to have a full assurance of interest in him, and to make her boast of him; excluding all other beloveds, as unworthy to be mentioned with him: of whom she further says,
he feedeth among the lilies; which is either an apostrophe to him, "O thou that feedest", c. thou only art my beloved or is descriptive of him to others, inquiring who he was, and where to be seen: the answer is, he is the person that is yonder, feeding among the lilies; either recreating and delighting himself in his gardens, the churches, where his saints are, comparable to lilies; :-, and
:-; or feeding his sheep in fields where lilies grow: and it may be observed, it is not said, he feedeth on, or feeds his flock with lilies, but among them; for it is remarked y, that sheep will not eat them: or the sense may be, Christ feeds himself, and feeds his people, and feeds among them, as if he was crowned with lilies, and anointed with the oil of them; as was the custom of the ancients at festivals z, thought to be here alluded to by some who read the words, "that feeds"; that is, sups in or with lilies, being anointed and crowned with them. The lily is a summer flower a; the winter was now past, Song of Solomon 2:11.
y Tuccius in Soto Major in loc. z Vid. Fortunat. Schacc. Eleochrysm. Sacr. l. 1. c. 28. p. 137. a Theophrast. apud Athenaeum in Deipnosoph. l. 15. c. 7. p. 679.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The bride relates to the chorus a visit which the beloved had paid her some time previously in her native home. He on a fair spring morning solicits her company. The bride, immersed in rustic toils, refuses for the present, but confessing her love, bids him return at the cool of day. It is a spring-time of affection which is here described, still earlier than that of the former chapter, a day of pure first-love, in which, on either side, all royal state and circumstance is forgotten or concealed. Hence, perhaps, the annual recitation of the Song of Songs by the synagogue with each return of spring, at the Feast of Passover, and special interpretations of this passage by Hebrew doctors, as referring to the paschal call of Israel out of Egypt, and by Christian fathers, as foreshadowing the evangelic mysteries of Easter - Resurrection and Regeneration. The whole scene has also been thought to represent the communion of a newly-awakened soul with Christ, lie gradually revealing Himself to her, and bidding her come forth into fuller communion.
Song of Solomon 2:8
Voice - Better, “sound.” Not a voice, but the sound of approaching footsteps is meant (compare “noise,” Isaiah 13:4).
Song of Solomon 2:9
Like a roe - Gazelle (compare Proverbs 5:19 note). The points of comparison here are beauty of form, grace, and speed of movement. In 2 Samuel 2:18; 1 Chronicles 12:8, princes are compared to “gazelles.”
Wall - The clay-built wall of the house or vineyard of the bride’s family, different from the strong wall of a city or fortress Song of Solomon 5:7; Song of Solomon 8:9-10.
Looketh forth at the windows - The meaning evidently is, that he is looking in at, or through, the window from the outside. Compare Song of Solomon 5:4 note.
Shewing himself - Or, peering. Some, taking the marginal rendering, imagine that the radiant face of the beloved is thus compared to some beautiful flower entangled in the lattice-work which protects the opening of the window, from where he gazes down upon the bride.
Song of Solomon 2:10-13
Arise, my friend, my beautiful one, and come away - The stanza begins and ends with this refrain, in which the bride reports the invitation of the beloved that she should come forth with him into the open champaign, now a scene of verdure and beauty, and at a time of mirth and mutual affection. The season indicated by six signs Song of Solomon 2:11-13 is that of spring after the cessation of the latter rain in the first or paschal month Joel 2:23, i. e., Nisan or Abib, corresponding to the latter part of March and early part of April. Cyril interpreted Song of Solomon 2:11-12 of our Lord’s Resurrection in the spring.
Song of Solomon 2:12
The time of the singing ... - i. e., The song of pairing birds. This is better than the rendering of the ancient versions, “the pruning time is come.”
Song of Solomon 2:13
The vines ... - The vines in blossom give forth fragrance. The fragrance of the vine blossom (“semadar”), which precedes the appearance of “the tender grape,” is very sweet but transient.
Song of Solomon 2:14
The secret places of the stairs - A hidden nook approached by a zig-zag path. The beloved urges the bride to come forth from her rock-girt home.
Song of Solomon 2:15
The bride answers by singing what appears to be a fragment of a vine-dresser’s ballad, insinuating the vineyard duties imposed on her by her brethren Song of Solomon 1:6, which prevent her from joining him. The destructive propensities of foxes or jackals in general are referred to, no grapes existing at the season indicated. Allegorical interpretations make these foxes symbolize “false teachers” (compare Ezekiel 13:4).
Song of Solomon 2:16
Feedeth among the lilies - Pursues his occupation as a shepherd among congenial scenes and objects of gentleness and beauty.
Song of Solomon 2:17
Until the day break - Or, rather, until the day breathe, i. e., until the fresh evening breeze spring up in what is called Genesis 3:8 “the cool” or breathing time of the day.
And the shadows flee - i. e., Lengthen out, and finally lose their outlines with the sinking and departure of the sun (compare Jeremiah 6:4). As the visit of the beloved is most naturally conceived of as taking place in the early morning, and the bride is evidently dismissing him until a later time of day, it seems almost certain that this interpretation is the correct one which makes that time to be evening after sunset. The phrase recurs in Song of Solomon 4:6.
Mountains of Bether - If a definite locality, identical with Bithron, a hilly district on the east side of the Jordan valley 2 Samuel 2:29, not far from Mahanaim (Song of Solomon 6:13 margin). If used in a symbolic sense, mountains of “separation,” dividing for a time the beloved from the bride. This interpretation seems to be the better, though the local reference need not be abandoned.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 16. My beloved is mine — The words of the bride on his entering: "I am thy own; thou art wholly mine."
He feedeth among the lilies. — The odour with which he is surrounded is as fine as if he passed the night among the sweetest scented flowers.
