New English Translation
Song of Songs 1:4
41Draw me after you; let us hurry! May the kingbring me into his bedroom chambers! We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. The Beloved to Her Lover: How rightlythe young women adore you!
Song of Songs 1:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.
- New International Version (NIV)Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers. We rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. How right they are to adore you!
- English Standard Version (ESV)Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine; rightly do they love you.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Draw me away! We will run after you. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in you. We will remember your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you.
Context of Song of Songs 1:4
2Oh, how I wish youwould kiss me passionately! For your lovemaking is more delightfulthan wine. 3The fragrance of your colognes is delightful; your name is like the finest perfume. No wonder the young women adore you! Draw me after you; let us hurry! May the kingbring me into his bedroom chambers! We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. The Beloved to Her Lover: How rightlythe young women adore you! 5I am dark but lovely, O maidens of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Qedar, lovely like the tent curtains of Salmah. 6Do not stare at me because I am dark, for the sun has burned my skin. My brothers were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards. Alas, my own vineyard I could not keep!
Read all of Song of Songs 1Song of Songs 1:4 word by word
מָשְׁכֵ֖נִי אַחֲרֶ֣יךָ נָּר֑וּצָה הֱבִיאַ֨נִי הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ חֲדָרָ֗יו נָגִ֤ילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה֙ בָּ֔ךְ נַזְכִּ֤ירָה דֹדֶ֙יךָ֙ מִיַּ֔יִן מֵישָׁרִ֖ים אֲהֵבֽוּךָ׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Drawמָשַׁךְmâshak · to drawH4900
- me, we will runרוּץrûts · to run: runH7323
- afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- thee: the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- hath broughtבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
- me into his chambersחֶ֫דֶרcheder · chamberH2315
- we will be gladגִּילgîyl gûl · to rejoiceH1523
- and rejoiceשָׂמַחώâmach · to rejoiceH8055
- in thee, we will rememberזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
- thy loveדּוֹדdôd dôd · beloved: loveH1730
- more than wineיַ֫יִןyayin · wineH3196
- the uprightמֵישָׁרmêyshâr · uprightnessH4339
- loveאָהֵב'âhab 'âhêb · to love: loverH157
Commentaries on Song of Songs 1:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Draw me - Let me have the full assurance of thy affection. We will run after thee - Speaking in the plural through modesty, while still herself is meant. The king hath brought me - My spouse is a potentate, a mighty king, no ordinary person. Into his chambers - He has favored me with his utmost confidence. The upright love thee - The most perfect and accomplished find thee worthy of their highest esteem.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 2-6Verses 2-6 The church, or rather the believer, speaks here in the character of the spouse of the King, the Messiah. The kisses of his mouth mean those assurances of pardon with which believers are favoured, filling them with peace and joy in believing, and causing them to abound in hope by the power of the Holy Ghost. Gracious souls take most pleasure in loving Christ, and being loved of him. Christ's love is more valuable and desirable than the best this…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Take me away: The two lovers are very active throughout the Song, traveling through the hills, to the city, and out to the country. This time, the woman invites the man to take her away with him and urgently expresses her desire to run. According to the three-character dramatic view, they might be running to escape the king, who has brought the young woman into his palace. May the king bring me to his chambers (literally into his rooms): A common…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. (1) The cry of ancient Israel for Messiah, for example, Simeon, Anna, &c. (2) The cry of an awakened soul for the drawing of the Spirit, after it has got a glimpse of Christ's loveliness and its own helplessness. Draw me--The Father draws (Joh 6:44). The Son draws (Jr 31:3; Ho 11:4; Joh 12:32). "Draw" here, and "Tell" (So 1:7), reverently qualify the word "kiss" (So 1:2). me, we--No believer desires to go to heaven alone. We are converted as…Read the comment
- Rashi on Tanakh · v. 4Draw me, we will run after you I heard from your messengers a hint that you said to draw me, and I said, “We will run after you to be your wife.”Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Notes
- 1. Song of Songs 1:4 Normally in the Song, the person/gender of the pronouns and suffixes makes the identify of the speaker or addressee clear. However, there are several places in which there is grammatical ambiguity that makes it difficult to identify either the speaker or the addressee (e.g., 6:11-13; 7:9b). This is particularly true when 1st person common plural or 3rd person common plural verbs or suffixes are present (1:3[4]; 2:15; 5:1b; 8:8-9), as is the case in the three lines of 1:3b[4b]. There are four views to the identity of the speaker(s): (1) NASB attributes all three lines to the maidens, (2) NIV attributes the first two lines to the friends and the third line to the Beloved (= woman), (3) NJPS attributes all three lines to the Beloved, speaking throughout 1:2-4, and (4) The first line could be attributed to the young man speaking to his beloved, and the last two lines attributed to the Beloved who returns praise to him. The referents of the 1st person common plural cohortatives and the 2sg suffixes have been taken as: (1) the maidens of Jerusalem, mentioned in 1:4[5] and possibly referred to as the 3rd person common plural subject of אֲהֵבוּךָ (’ahevukha, “they love you”) in 1:3b[4b], using the 1st person common plural cohortatives in reference to themselves as they address her lover: “We (= maidens) will rejoice in you (= the young man).” (2) The Beloved using 1st person common plural cohortatives in a hortatory sense as she addresses her lover: “Let us (= the couple) rejoice in you (= the young man), let us praise your lovemaking…” (3) The Beloved using the 1st person common plural cohortatives in reference to herself – there are examples in ancient Near Eastern love literature of the bride using 1st person common plural forms in reference to herself (S. N. Kramer, The Sacred Marriage Rite, 92, 99) – as she addresses the young man: “We (= I) will rejoice in you (= the young man).” Note: This problem is compounded by the ambiguity of the gender on בָּךְ (bakh, “in you”) which appears to be 2nd person feminine singular but may be 2nd person masculine singular in pause (see note below). ↩
Commentaries on Song of Songs 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- 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
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries