Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your young goats by the tents of the shepherds. New Living Translation If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman, follow the trail of my flock, and graze your young goats by the shepherds’ tents. English Standard Version If you do not know, O most beautiful among women, follow in the tracks of the flock, and pasture your young goats beside the shepherds’ tents. Berean Standard Bible If you do not know, O fairest of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and graze your young goats near the tents of the shepherds. King James Bible If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. New King James Version If you do not know, O fairest among women, Follow in the footsteps of the flock, And feed your little goats Beside the shepherds’ tents. New American Standard Bible “If you yourself do not know, Most beautiful among women, Go out on the trail of the flock, And pasture your young goats By the tents of the shepherds. NASB 1995 “If you yourself do not know, Most beautiful among women, Go forth on the trail of the flock And pasture your young goats By the tents of the shepherds. NASB 1977 “If you yourself do not know, Most beautiful among women, Go forth on the trail of the flock, And pasture your young goats By the tents of the shepherds. Legacy Standard Bible “If you yourself do not know, Most beautiful among women, Go forth on the trail of the flock And pasture your young goats By the dwellings of the shepherds. Amplified Bible “If you do not know [where your lover is], O you fairest among women, Run along, follow the tracks of the flock, And pasture your young goats By the tents of the shepherds. Christian Standard Bible If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and pasture your young goats near the shepherds’ tents. Holman Christian Standard Bible If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and pasture your young goats near the shepherds’ tents. American Standard Version If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, And feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. Aramaic Bible in Plain English But you shall know yourself; you are beautiful among women. Come into the footprints of the sheep and feed your kids in the tents of Shepherds Brenton Septuagint Translation If thou know not thyself, thou fair one among women, go thou forth by the footsteps of the flocks, and feed thy kids by the shepherd's tents. Contemporary English Version My dearest, if you don't know, just follow the path of the sheep. Then feed your young goats near the shepherds' tents. Douay-Rheims Bible If thou know not thyself, O fairest among women, go forth, and follow after the steps of the flocks, and feed thy kids beside the tents of the shepherds. English Revised Version If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. GOD'S WORD® Translation If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the flocks, and graze your young goats near the shepherds' tents. Good News Translation Don't you know the place, loveliest of women? Go and follow the flock; find pasture for your goats near the tents of the shepherds. International Standard Version If you don't know, most beautiful of women, go out after the flock and graze your young goats beside the shepherd's tents. JPS Tanakh 1917 If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock And feed thy kids, beside the shepherds' tents. Literal Standard Version If you do not know, | O beautiful among women, | Go forth by the traces of the flock, | And feed your kids by the shepherds’ dwellings! Majority Standard Bible If you do not know, O fairest of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and graze your young goats near the tents of the shepherds. New American Bible If you do not know, most beautiful among women, Follow the tracks of the flock and pasture your lambs near the shepherds’ tents. NET Bible If you do not know, O most beautiful of women, simply follow the tracks of my flock, and pasture your little lambs beside the tents of the shepherds. New Revised Standard Version If you do not know, O fairest among women, follow the tracks of the flock, and pasture your kids beside the shepherds’ tents. New Heart English Bible If you do not know, most beautiful among women, follow the tracks of the sheep. Graze your young goats beside the shepherds' tents. Webster's Bible Translation If thou knowest not, O thou fairest among women, go forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds tents. World English Bible If you don’t know, most beautiful among women, follow the tracks of the sheep. Graze your young goats beside the shepherds’ tents. Young's Literal Translation If thou knowest not, O fair among women, Get thee forth by the traces of the flock, And feed thy kids by the shepherds' dwellings! Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Bride Confesses Her Love…7Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions? 8If you do not know, O fairest of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and graze your young goats near the tents of the shepherds. 9I compare you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.… Cross References Song of Solomon 5:9 How is your beloved better than others, O most beautiful among women? How is your beloved better than another, that you charge us so? Song of Solomon 6:1 Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you. Treasury of Scripture If you know not, O you fairest among women, go your way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed your kids beside the shepherds' tents. o thou Song of Solomon 1:15 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes. Song of Solomon 2:10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. Song of Solomon 4:1,7,10 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead… go Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. Jeremiah 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. 1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. feed John 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. Jump to Previous Beautiful Dwellings Fair Fairest Feed Flock Follow Food Footsteps Forth Goats Graze Kids Pasture Sheep Shepherds Tents Tracks Trail Way Women YoungJump to Next Beautiful Dwellings Fair Fairest Feed Flock Follow Food Footsteps Forth Goats Graze Kids Pasture Sheep Shepherds Tents Tracks Trail Way Women YoungSong of Solomon 1 1. the church's love unto Christ5. She confesses her deformity 7. and prays to be directed, to his flock 8. Christ directs her to the shepherd's tents 9. and showing his love to her 11. gives her gracious promises 12. the church and Christ congratulate one another (8) If thou know not.--With this verse one subsection of the poem plainly ends. Most of the supporters of the dramatic theory make Song of Solomon 1:9 begin the second scene of Act I.; and many of them understand this reply to the heroine's question as an ironical allusion on the part of the court ladies to her low birth. We take it rather as one of the many playful ways in which the poet either recalls or arranges meetings with the object of his passion (comp. Song of Solomon 2:10-14). In the first seven verses he imagines her sighing for him, and in his absence, fancying, as lovers do, causes which might keep them asunder or make him forsake her, such as the loss of her complexion, her abduction into a royal harem; and then in Song of Solomon 1:8 shows how groundless her fears are by playfully suggesting a well known way of finding him.Verse 8. - (Chorus of ladies.) If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. That another voice is here introduced there can be no doubt; and as it is not like the voice of the bridegroom himself, which is heard in the next verse, we must suppose it to be the chorus of attendant ladies. Delitzsch suggests very plausibly that they are pleasantly chiding the simplicity of the country maiden, and telling her that, if she cannot understand her position, she had better return to her country life. In that case, "if thou know not" would mean - If thou canst not rise up to thy privilege; the knowledge referred to being general knowledge or wisdom. The delicate irony is well expressed, as in the reference to the kids - "feed thy kids," like a child as thou art. But there may be no intentional irony in the words; rather a playful and sympathetic response to the beautiful simplicity of the bride - If thou art waiting to be brought to thy beloved, if thou art seeking thy shepherd, thou most lovely woman, then go quietly on thy way, like a shepherdess tending the kids beside the shepherds' tents; follow the peaceful footsteps of the flock, and in due time the beloved one will appear. This is better than to suppose the ladies presuming to indulge in irony when they must know that Shulamith is the king's favourite. Besides, the first scene of the poem, which is a kind of introduction, thus ends appropriately with an invitation to peaceful waiting for love. We are prepared for the entrance of the beloved one. The spiritual meaning is simple and clear - Those that would be lifted up into the highest enjoyments of religion must not be impatient and doubt that the Lord will reveal himself, but go quietly and patiently on with the work of life, "in the footsteps of the flock," in fellowship with humble souls, and in the paths of peace, in the green pastures and beside the still waters, ready to do anything assigned them, and the time of rejoicing and rapture will come. Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Ifאִם־ (’im-) Conjunction Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not you do not לֹ֤א (lō) Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no know, תֵדְעִי֙ (ṯê·ḏə·‘î) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person feminine singular Strong's 3045: To know O fairest הַיָּפָ֖ה (hay·yā·p̄āh) Article | Adjective - feminine singular Strong's 3303: Fair, beautiful of women, בַּנָּשִׁ֑ים (ban·nā·šîm) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine plural Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female follow צְֽאִי־ (ṣə·’î-) Verb - Qal - Imperative - feminine singular Strong's 3318: To go, bring, out, direct and proxim the tracks בְּעִקְבֵ֣י (bə·‘iq·ḇê) Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct Strong's 6119: Heel, footprint, hind part of the flock, הַצֹּ֗אן (haṣ·ṣōn) Article | Noun - common singular Strong's 6629: Small cattle, sheep and goats, flock and graze וּרְעִי֙ (ū·rə·‘î) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - feminine singular Strong's 7462: To tend a, flock, pasture it, in, to graze, to rule, to associate with your young goats גְּדִיֹּתַ֔יִךְ (gə·ḏî·yō·ṯa·yiḵ) Noun - feminine plural construct | second person feminine singular Strong's 1429: A kid (a young goat) near עַ֖ל (‘al) Preposition Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against the tents מִשְׁכְּנ֥וֹת (miš·kə·nō·wṯ) Noun - masculine plural construct Strong's 4908: A residence, the Tabernacle of the shepherds. הָרֹעִֽים׃ (hā·rō·‘îm) Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural Strong's 7462: To tend a, flock, pasture it, in, to graze, to rule, to associate with Links Song of Solomon 1:8 NIVSong of Solomon 1:8 NLT Song of Solomon 1:8 ESV Song of Solomon 1:8 NASB Song of Solomon 1:8 KJV Song of Solomon 1:8 BibleApps.com Song of Solomon 1:8 Biblia Paralela Song of Solomon 1:8 Chinese Bible Song of Solomon 1:8 French Bible Song of Solomon 1:8 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Song of Solomon 1:8 If you don't know most beautiful among (Song Songs SS So Can) |
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