Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that plunder the vineyards; for our vineyards are in blossom.
Parallel translations
- KJV Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
- BSB Catch for us the foxes—the little foxes that ruin the vineyards—for our vineyards are in bloom.
- NKJV Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes. The Shulamite
- NASB ¶“Catch the foxes for us, The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, While our vineyards are in blossom.”
- NLT Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming!
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
They call for the little foxes that spoil the blossoming vineyards to be caught. It warns against small things that can harm love.
Overview
The little foxes that ruin tender vines picture the small troubles, neglects, or sins that can spoil a flourishing relationship. The call to catch them urges vigilance over what threatens love while it is young. Likewise believers are warned that little compromises can damage fellowship with the Lord and must be guarded against (Heb. 12:15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Luke 13:32He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission.
- 2 Pet 2:1–3But false prophets also arose among the people, as false teachers will also be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction.
- Song 7:12Let’s go early up to the vineyards. Let’s see whether the vine has budded, its blossom is open, and the pomegranates are in flower. There I will give you my love.
- Ps 80:13The boar out of the wood ravages it. The wild animals of the field feed on it.
- Ezek 13:4–16Israel, your prophets have been like foxes in the waste places.
- Song 2:13The fig tree ripens her green figs. The vines are in blossom. They give out their fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.”
- Rev 2:2“I know your works, and your toil and perseverance, and that you can’t tolerate evil men, and have tested those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and found them false.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 2:15 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.