I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine. He browses among the lilies,
Parallel translations
- KJV I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.
- BSB I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
- NKJV I am my beloved’s, And my beloved is mine. He feeds his flock among the lilies. The Beloved
- NASB “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine, He who pastures his flock among the lilies.”
- NLT I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine. He browses among the lilies.
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
The bride joyfully reaffirms mutual belonging: she is her beloved's and he is hers. This is the heart of covenant love secure and reciprocal.
Overview
This refrain (cf. 2:16) expresses the settled assurance of belonging to one another. Earlier she said 'My beloved is mine, and I am his'; here she puts her belonging to him first, a mark of maturing love. The words beautifully picture covenant union, which Christians see fulfilled in Christ's bond with his people: 'I will be their God, and they shall be my people.'
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Song 2:16My beloved is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies.
- Song 7:10I am my beloved’s. His desire is toward me.
- Heb 8:10“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days,” says the Lord; “I will put my laws into their mind, I will also write them on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
- Rev 21:2–4I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
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 6:3 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.