His legs are pillars of marble Set on bases of fine gold. His countenance is like 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.
- KJV His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as 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.
- 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 4:33He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he also spoke of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish.
- Rev 1:15–16His feet were like burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice was like the voice of many waters.
- Song 4:11Your lips, my bride, drip like the honeycomb. Honey and milk are under your tongue. The smell of your garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
- Song 2:14My dove in the clefts of the rock, In the hiding places of the mountainside, Let me see your face. Let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
- Song 7:4Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bathrabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon which looks toward Damascus.
- Hos 14:7Men will dwell in his shade. They will revive like the grain, and blossom like the vine. Their fragrance will be like the wine of Lebanon.
- Exod 26:19You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons.
- Acts 2:28You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
- 1 Tim 3:16Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory.
- Ps 92:12The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
- Matt 28:3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
- Matt 17:2He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light.
- Zech 9:17For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins.
- Judg 13:6Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me, and his face was like the face of the angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he was from, neither did he tell me his name;
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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 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.