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 dove is hiding behind the rocks, behind an outcrop on the cliff. Let me see your face; let me hear your voice. For your voice is pleasant, and your face is lovely. 15Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming! My lover is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies. 17Before the dawn breezes blow and the night shadows flee, return to me, my love, like a gazelle or a young stag on the rugged mountains.

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