His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
Parallel translations
- WEB His legs are like pillars of marble set on sockets of fine gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
- BSB His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, as majestic as the cedars.
- NKJV His legs are pillars of marble Set on bases of fine gold. His countenance is like Lebanon, Excellent as the cedars.
- NASB “His thighs are pillars of alabaster Set on pedestals of pure gold; His appearance is like Lebanon, Choice as the cedars.
- NLT His legs are like marble pillars set in sockets of finest gold. His posture is stately, like the noble cedars of Lebanon.
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
His legs are like marble pillars on gold, and his whole bearing is majestic as Lebanon and its cedars. He is strong, stable, and impressively grand.
Overview
Marble pillars suggest firmness and reliability, while Lebanon and its towering cedars were proverbial for grandeur and strength. The bride praises her beloved as both stable and majestic. Christians have often heard in this stately picture a fitting reflection of Christ, the unshakable foundation and glorious head of his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 1 Kgs 4:33And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.
- Rev 1:15–16And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
- Song 4:11Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
- Song 2:14O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
- Song 7:4Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.
- Hos 14:7They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
- Exod 26:19And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons.
- Acts 2:28Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
- 1 Tim 3:16And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
- Ps 92:12The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
- Matt 28:3His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
- Matt 17:2And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
- Zech 9:17For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.
- Judg 13:6Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
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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 5:15 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.