8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your young goats by the tents of the shepherds.
9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariot horses. 10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.
8 If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.
9 I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. 10 Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.
8 If you do not know, O most beautiful among women, follow in the tracks of the flock, and pasture your young goats beside the shepherds' tents.
9 I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots. 10 Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels.
8 If you can't find me, loveliest of all women, it's all right. Stay with your flocks. Lead your lambs to good pasture. Stay with your shepherd neighbors.
9 You remind me of Pharaoh's well-groomed and satiny mares. 10 Pendant earrings line the elegance of your cheeks; strands of jewels illumine the curve of your throat.
8 The Beloved If you do not know, O fairest among women, Follow in the footsteps of the flock, And feed your little goats Beside the shepherds' tents.
9 I have compared you, my love, To my filly among Pharaoh's chariots. 10 Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, Your neck with chains of gold.
8 If you don't know, OÂ most beautiful woman, follow the trail of my flock, and graze your young goats by the shepherds' tents.
9 You are as exciting, my darling, as a mare among Pharaoh's stallions. 10 How lovely are your cheeks; your earrings set them afire! How lovely is your neck, enhanced by a string of jewels.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Song of Solomon 1:8-10
Commentary on Song of Solomon 1:7-8
(Read Song of Solomon 1:7-8)
Observe the title given to Christ, O Thou whom my soul loveth. Those that do so, may come to him boldly, and may humbly plead with him. Is it with God's people a noon-time of outward troubles, inward conflicts? Christ has rest for them. Those whose souls love Jesus Christ, earnestly desire to share in the privileges of his flock. Turning aside from Christ is what gracious souls dread more than anything else. God is ready to answer prayer. Follow the track, ask for the good old way, observe the footsteps of the flock, look what has been the practice of godly people. Sit under the direction of good ministers; beside the tents of the under shepherds. Bring thy charge with thee, they shall all be welcome. It will be the earnest desire and prayer of the Christian, that God would so direct him in his worldly business, and so order his situation and employment, that he may have his Lord and Saviour always before him.
Commentary on Song of Solomon 1:9-17
(Read Song of Solomon 1:9-17)
The Bridegroom gives high praises of his spouse. In the sight of Christ believers are the excellent of the earth, fitted to be instruments for promoting his glory. The spiritual gifts and graces which Christ bestows on every true believer, are described by the ornaments then in use, verse 16, speaks with praise of those holy ordinances in which true believers have fellowship with Christ. Whether the believer is in the courts of the Lord, or in retirement; whether following his daily labours, or confined on the bed of sickness, or even in a dungeon, a sense of the Divine presence will turn the place into a paradise. Thus the soul, daily having fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, enjoys a lively hope of an incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inheritance above.