Who is this who shines like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as the stars in procession?
Parallel translations
- WEB Who is she who looks out as the morning, beautiful as the moon, clear as the sun, and awesome as an army with banners?
- KJV Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?
- NKJV Who is she who looks forth as the morning, Fair as the moon, Clear as the sun, Awesome as an army with banners? The Shulamite
- NASB ¶‘Who is this who looks down like the dawn, As beautiful as the full moon, As pure as the sun, As awesome as an army with banners?’
- NLT “Who is this, arising like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as an army with billowing banners?”
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
Onlookers marvel at the bride, radiant as dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, and majestic as a bannered army. Her beauty inspires wonder.
Overview
The cascading images of dawn, moon, sun, and army convey a beauty that is both lovely and awe-inspiring. The question 'Who is this?' expresses astonishment. The church has often applied such radiant language to the bride of Christ, who shines with a borrowed glory, reflecting the light of her Lord to a watching world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 22
- Song 6:4You are as beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners.
- Rev 12:1And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
- Job 31:26if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
- 2 Sam 23:4is like the light of the morning at sunrise of a cloudless dawn, the glistening after the rain on the sprouting grass of the earth.’
- Song 3:6Who is this coming up from the wilderness like a column of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense from all the spices of the merchant?
- Isa 58:8Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
- Eph 5:27and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.
- Matt 17:2There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
- Rev 22:5There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.
- Rev 10:1Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire.
- Mal 4:2“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.
- Rev 21:23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
- Ps 14:5There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is in the company of the righteous.
- Matt 13:43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
- Rev 21:10–11And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
- Rom 8:37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
- Rev 22:16“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”
- Song 8:5Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? I roused you under the apple tree; there your mother conceived you; there she travailed and brought you forth.
- Isa 63:1Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.”
- Job 11:17Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.
- Prov 4:18The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
- Hos 6:5Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and My judgments go forth like lightning.
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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 6:10 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.