Song of Songs 7

KJV · Chapter 7/8

1How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

2Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.

3Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.

4Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath–rabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

5Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.

6How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

7This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.

8I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;

9And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

10I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.

11Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.

12Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.

13The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The lover continues to admire the beloved's beauty, from head to foot, comparing her to a palm tree and its fruit. She responds by inviting him to go out with her to the fields and villages to enjoy their love.

Explanation

This chapter returns to the descriptive, admiring style, but now it is the beloved who takes the initiative to propose a romantic outing in the open air, among vineyards and pomegranate trees — symbols of fruitfulness and life in Israel's agricultural landscape. The expression "I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me" (echoing 2:16 and 6:3) reinforces the book's central theme: the mutuality and reciprocity of desire between the two. Application for today: in a healthy marriage, both husband and wife are free to take the initiative in expressing desire and pursuing intimacy.

Chapters