Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.
Parallel translations
- WEB Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be like a roe or a young deer on the mountains of Bether.
- KJV Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.
- NKJV Until the day breaks And the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, And be like a gazelle Or a young stag Upon the mountains of Bether.
- NASB “Until the cool of the day, when the shadows flee, Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.”
- NLT Before the dawn breezes blow and the night shadows flee, return to me, my love, like a gazelle or a young stag on the rugged mountains.
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
She bids her beloved return swiftly until the day breaks. It expresses longing for his presence and reunion.
Overview
As the day cools and shadows flee, she calls him to turn and come like a swift gazelle over the hills. The verse voices the ache of separation and the desire for renewed nearness. The longing for the beloved's return resonates with the believer's hope for the day when shadows flee and the Lord is fully present (Song 8:14; Rev. 21:23-25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Song 4:6Before the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.
- Song 2:8–9Listen! My beloved approaches. Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.
- Heb 8:5The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
- 2 Pet 1:19We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
- Rom 13:12The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
- Luke 1:78because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
- Song 8:14Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.
- Heb 10:1For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
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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 2:17 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.