Before I realized it, my strong desires had taken me to the chariot of a noble man.
Parallel translations
- WEB Without realizing it, my desire set me with my royal people’s chariots.
- KJV Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.
- BSB Before I realized it, my desire had set me among the royal chariots of my people.
- NKJV Before I was even aware, My soul had made me As the chariots of my noble people. The Beloved and His Friends
- NASB “Before I was aware, my soul set me Over the chariots of my noble people.”
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
Caught up by desire, the speaker is suddenly carried away as among royal chariots. The verse vividly conveys love's overwhelming, almost dizzying power.
Overview
This is one of the most difficult verses in the book to translate, and faithful interpreters differ on its precise meaning. The general sense is that strong longing has swept the speaker up unexpectedly, as if among a prince's chariots. However the details are construed, it testifies to the sudden, transporting force of love rightly given to one's beloved.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Hos 11:8–9“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within me, my compassion is aroused.
- Luke 15:20“He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
- Jer 31:18–20“I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as an untrained calf: turn me, and I shall be turned; for you are Yahweh my God.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 6:12 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.