Song of Solomon 4:5

Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

Song of Solomon 4:5, King James Version

Song of Solomon 4:5 in other translations

BSB	Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.
WEB	Your two breasts are like two fawns that are twins of a roe, which feed among the lilies.
ASV	Thy two breasts are like two fawns That are twins of a roe, Which feed among the lilies.
YLT	Thy two breasts are as two fawns, Twins of a roe, that are feeding among lilies.
DARBY	Thy two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, Which feed among the lilies.
BBE	Your two breasts are like two young roes of the same birth, which take their food among the lilies.
Webster	Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

What does Song of Solomon 4:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

5. breasts--The bust is left open in Eastern dress. The breastplate of the high priest was made of "two" pieces, folded one on the other, in which were the Urim and Thummim (lights and perfection). "Faith and love" are the double breastplate (1Th 5:8), answering to "hearing the word" and "keeping it," in a similar connection with breasts (Lu 12:27, 28). roes--He reciprocates her praise (So 2:9). Emblem of love and satisfaction (Pr 5:19). feed--(Psa 23:2). among the lilies--shrinking from thorns of strife, worldliness, and ungodliness (2Sa 23:6; Mt 13:7). Roes feed among, not on the lilies: where these grow, there is moisture producing green pasturage. The lilies represent her white dress (Psa 45:14; Re 19:8).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 5 Thy two breasts are like two young roes - I have met with many attempts to support this similitude, or rather to show that there is a similitude; but I judge them unworthy of citation. The poet speaks the language of nature; and in a case of this kind, where the impassioned lover attempts to describe the different perfections of his bride, language often fails him, and his comparisons and similitudes are often without strict correctness. In love songs we have heard ladies' necks compared to that of the swan, not only for its whiteness, but also for its length! The description here shows more of nature than of art, which I consider a high recommendation. Feed among the lilies - It may be the nipples especially, which the poet compares to the two young roes; and the lilies may refer to the whiteness of the breasts themselves.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Song of Solomon 4:1-7

Christ sets forth the graces of the church. (Song 4:1-7) Christ's love to the church. (Song 4:8-15) The church desires further influences of Divine grace. (Song 4:16) Verses 1-7 If each of these comparisons has a meaning applicable to the graces of the church, or of the faithful Christian, they are not clearly known; and great mistakes are made by fanciful guesses. The mountain of myrrh appears to mean the mountain…

Read the full comment on Song of Solomon 4:1-7 →

Song of Solomon 4:5 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

שְׁנֵ֥יshe.Nei[the] twoH8147

שָׁדַ֛יִךְsha.Da.yikhbreasts yourH7699

כִּשְׁנֵ֥יkish.Nei[are] like twoH8147

עֳפָרִ֖ים'o.fa.RimfawnsH6082

תְּאוֹמֵ֣יte.'o.Meitwins ofH8380

צְבִיָּ֑הtze.vi.Yaha gazelleH6646

הָרוֹעִ֖יםha.ro.'Imwhich grazeH7462

בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּֽים\׃ba.sho.sha.Nimamong the liliesH7799

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Song of Solomon 4:5

Song of Solomon 7:3
Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.
Song of Solomon 6:3
I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.
Song of Solomon 2:16
My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
1 Peter 2:2
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
Song of Solomon 8:10
I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.
Proverbs 5:19
Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
Song of Solomon 1:13
A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
Isaiah 66:10-12
Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.
Song of Solomon 7:7
This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.
Song of Solomon 8:1
O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

two breasts.
1:13; 7:3,7; 8:1,10; Pr 5:19; Isa 66:10-12; 1Pe 2:2
feed.
2:16; 6:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Song of Solomon 4:4
Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.
Song of Solomon 4:5
Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.
Song of Solomon 4:6
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

Read all of Song of Solomon 4

Song of Solomon 4:5 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Tus dos pechos, como dos cabritos mellizos de gama, que son apacentados entre azucenas.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Tes deux seins sont comme deux faons jumeaux d’une gazelle, qui paissent parmi les lis.
German Elberfelder 1871	Deine beiden Brüste sind wie ein Zwillingspaar junger Gazellen, die unter den Lilien weiden. -
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Duo ubera tua sicut duo hinnuli, capreæ gemelli, qui pascuntur in liliis.