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Song of Solomon 5

Song of Solomon 5 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Song of Solomon 5 presents both joy and strain in the lovers' relationship. The bride is slow to answer the knock, then feels the pain of distance when her beloved is gone. The chapter ends with a warm and detailed praise of his beauty and friendship.

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What happens in Song of Solomon 5?

The chapter opens with the beloved inviting friends to share in the joy of the garden, then shifts to the bride as she hears him knocking in the night. Her hesitation leads to separation, and when she finally opens the door, he is gone. She searches the city, suffers mistreatment from the watchmen, and pleads for help. The chapter closes with the women asking what makes her beloved so special, and the bride responds with a full description of his excellence, ending by calling him her beloved and her friend.

This chapter comes after the couple's close exchange in the previous chapter and before renewed searching and movement in the next. It continues the book's pattern of longing, union, loss, and desire, with the bride's words carrying much of the emotional weight. As part of Song of Solomon, it uses personal love language to portray deep affection and pursuit.

Themes to notice

  • Delayed responseThe bride hesitates at the door, showing how hesitation can lead to sorrow and distance.
  • Searching and lossWhen the beloved is gone, the bride looks for him and feels the pain of not finding him.
  • Praise of the belovedThe bride describes her beloved in vivid terms, ending with a clear confession of his value and friendship.

Questions for Song of Solomon 5

  • What does the bride's hesitation teach about responding to love and invitation?
  • Why do you think the bride describes her beloved in such detailed and poetic terms?
  • How does this chapter hold together joy, longing, and pain in one relationship?

Read the full text of Song of Solomon 5 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Song of Solomon 5

The Bride and Her Beloved

The Bridegroom

1I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride;

I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.

I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;

I have drunk my wine with my milk.

The Friends

Eat, O friends, and drink;

drink freely, O beloved.

The Bride

2I sleep, but my heart is awake.

A sound! My beloved is knocking:

“Open to me, my sister, my darling,

my dove, my flawless one.

My head is drenched with dew,

my hair with the dampness of the night.”

3I have taken off my robe—

must I put it back on?

I have washed my feet—

must I soil them again?

4My beloved put his hand to the latch;

my heart pounded for him.

5I rose up to open for my beloved.

My hands dripped with myrrh,

my fingers with flowing myrrh

on the handles of the bolt.

6I opened for my beloved,

but he had turned and gone.

My heart sank at his departure.

I sought him, but did not find him.

I called, but he did not answer.

7I encountered the watchmen on their rounds of the city.

They beat me and bruised me;

they took away my cloak,

those guardians of the walls.

8O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you,

if you find my beloved,

tell him I am sick with love.

The Friends

9How is your beloved better than others,

O most beautiful among women?

How is your beloved better than another,

that you charge us so?

The Bride

10My beloved is dazzling and ruddy,

outstanding among ten thousand.

11His head is purest gold;

his hair is wavy and black as a raven.

12His eyes are like doves

beside the streams of water,

bathed in milk

and mounted like jewels.

13His cheeks are like beds of spice,

towers of perfume.

His lips are like lilies,

dripping with flowing myrrh.

14His arms are rods of gold

set with beryl.

His body is an ivory panel

bedecked with sapphires.

15His legs are pillars of marble

set on bases of pure gold.

His appearance is like Lebanon,

as majestic as the cedars.

16His mouth is most sweet;

he is altogether lovely.

This is my beloved, and this is my friend,

O daughters of Jerusalem.

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