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Song of Songs 1:9

WEBKJVBSBESVNKJVNASBNLT
I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots.
Song of Songs 1:9 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB I have compared you, my love, to a steed in Pharaoh’s chariots.
  • BSB I compare you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
  • NKJV I have compared you, my love, To my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots.
  • NASB ¶“To me, my darling, you are like My mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.
  • NLT You are as exciting, my darling, as a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The beloved praises the bride, comparing her to a magnificent mare among Pharaoh's chariots. It is high praise of her striking beauty.

Overview

A prized royal mare was an object of great admiration, and the comparison honors the woman's stately loveliness. The beloved delights openly in her. So too the Lord rejoices over His people and finds them beautiful, not because of their merit but because of His love (Isa. 62:5; Zeph. 3:17).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Song 2:10My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
  • Song 2:13The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
  • John 15:14–15Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
  • Song 2:2As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
  • Song 1:15Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes.
  • Song 5:2I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.
  • Isa 31:1Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!
  • Song 4:7Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.
  • Song 6:4Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.
  • 2 Chr 1:14–17And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
  • Song 4:1Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.
  • 1 Kgs 10:28And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.

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Christ at the center

The poetry of covenant love between bride and bridegroom pictures, at its highest, the love of Christ for his church — the Bridegroom who gave himself for his bride.

How Song of Songs 1:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.

I have comparedדָּמָהthee, O my loveרַעְיָהto a company of horsesסוּסָהin Pharaoh'sפַּרְעֹהchariotsרֶכֶב
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