Song of Songs 2:16

Song of Songs 2:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
• New International Version (NIV)My beloved is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies.
• English Standard Version (ESV)My beloved is mine, and I am his; he grazes among the lilies.
• New King James Version (NKJV)My beloved is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the lilies.

Context of Song of Songs 2:16

14My dear friend, you are like a dove that is hiding among the rocks. You hide from me in the mountains. Show your face to me because it is lovely. Let me hear your voice because it has a sweet sound. 15Catch the foxes for us! Our vines now have flowers and they will soon give us fruit. So catch the little foxes before they destroy our vineyards. My lover belongs to me, and I belong to him. He moves among the lilies with his sheep. 17Turn back to me, my lover. Stay until dawn comes and the shadows have gone, Be like a gazelle or a young male deer that plays among the mountains' rocks.

Song of Songs 2:16 word by word

דּוֹדִ֥י לִי֙ וַאֲנִ֣י ל֔וֹ הָרֹעֶ֖ה בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• My belovedדּוֹדdôd dôd · belovedH1730
• his: he feedethרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
• among the liliesשׁוּשַׁןshûshan shôshân shôshân shôshannâh · lilyH7799

Commentaries on Song of Songs 2:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16My 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 odor with which he is surrounded is as fine as if he passed the night among the sweetest scented flowers.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-17Verses 14-17 The church is Christ's dove; she returns to him, as her Noah. Christ is the Rock, in whom alone she can think herself safe, and find herself easy, as a dove in the hole of a rock, when struck at by the birds of prey. Christ calls her to come boldly to the throne of grace, having a great High Priest there, to tell what her request is. Speak freely, fear not a slight or a repulse. The voice of prayer is sweet and acceptable to God; those who…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-17be like a gazelle: The woman sees her lover as strong and fast like a gazelle. She describes his delay as if he is grazing in the countryside. Alternatively, the lover, like a gazelle, grazes among the lilies, which might represent the woman. This suggests their close relationship. The woman is often compared to a garden (see also Song of Solomon 4:12, 15–16; 5:1; 6:2). turn: Her desire to see him in the evening grows stronger by the hour.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. mine ... his--rather, "is for me ... for Him" (Ho 3:3), where, as here, there is the assurance of indissoluble union, in spite of temporary absence. So 2:17, entreating Him to return, shows that He has gone, perhaps through her want of guarding against the "little sins" (So 2:15). The order of the clauses is reversed in So 6:3, when she is riper in faith: there she rests more on her being His; here, on His being hers; and no doubt her sense of love to…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Tender
• Lily
• Marble

Commentaries on Song of Songs 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary