Song of Solomon 1:8
“Where the Beloved Feeds His Flock”Song of Solomon 1:7–8
King James 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.
Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain
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.
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain
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.
Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain
World English Bible Messianic
If you don’t know, most beautiful among women, follow the tracks of the sheep. Graze your young goats beside the shepherds’ tents.
Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain
Geneva Bible (1599)
If thou knowe not, O thou the fairest among women, get thee foorth by the steps of the flocke, and feede thy kiddes by the tents of the shepheards.
Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain
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!
Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain
King James Version — Interlinear
- אִם'imifH518PrtParticle Conditional
- לֹאlo'notH3808NegParticle Negative
- תֵדְעִיte·de·'Iyou knowH3045V-Qal-Imperf-2fsVerb Qal Imperfect 2nd Singular Feminine
- לָךְLakh[for] yourselfPrep-l ¦ 2fsSuffix Personal 2nd Singular Feminineלָ[for]ךְyourself
- הַיָּפָהhai·ya·FahO beautiful [one]H3303Art ¦ Adj-fsAdjective Singular Feminine AbsoluteהַOיָּפָהbeautiful [one]
- בַּנָּשִׁיםba·na·Shimamong [the] womenH802Prep-b ¦ N-mpNoun Plural (-îm ending) Absoluteבַּamong [the]נָּשִׁיםwomen
- צְאִיtze·'igo outH3318V-Qal-Imp-2fsVerb Qal Imperative 2nd Singular Feminine
- לָךְlakh[for] yourselfPrep-l ¦ 2fsSuffix Personal 2nd Singular Feminineלָ[for]ךְyourself
- בְּעִקְבֵיbe·'ik·Veiin [the] footprints ofH6119Prep-b ¦ N-mpcNoun Plural Masculine Constructבְּinעִקְבֵי[the] footprints of
- הַצֹּאןha·Tzonthe flockH6629Art ¦ N-csNoun Singular common gender Absoluteהַtheצֹּאןflock
- וּרְעִיu·re·'Iand pastureH7462Conj-w ¦ V-Qal-Imp-2fsVerb Qal Imperative 2nd Singular Feminineוּandרְעִיpasture
- אֶת'et[obj.]H853DirObjMParticle Object Indicator
- גְּדִיֹּתַיִךְge·di·yo·Ta·yikhyour young goatsH1429N-fpc ¦ 2fsNoun Plural Feminine Construct with suffixגְּדִיֹּתַיִyoung goatsךְyour
- עַל'alatH5921PrepPreposition
- מִשְׁכְּנוֹתmish·ke·Not[the] dwelling places ofH4908N-fpcNoun Plural (-ôt ending) Construct
- הָרֹעִיםha·ro·'Imthe shepherdsH7462Art ¦ V-Qal-Prtcpl-mpVerb Qal Participle Plural Masculine Absoluteהָtheרֹעִיםshepherds
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Hebrew, not the KJV's wording. Why?
This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Hebrew word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Hebrew word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “the LORD” where the gloss reads “Yahweh”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.
Words in [ ] are added by the English.
Translation differences
Translation
Details
In the KJVVerse 17,546 of 31,102 · 56.4%
LawLawHistoryHistPoetryPoetProphetsProphNew TestamentNT
In the BSBVerse 17,546 of 31,086 · 56.4%
LawLawHistoryHistPoetryPoetProphetsProphNew TestamentNT
In the ASVVerse 17,546 of 31,086 · 56.4%
LawLawHistoryHistPoetryPoetProphetsProphNew TestamentNT
In the WEBMVerse 17,546 of 31,098 · 56.4%
LawLawHistoryHistPoetryPoetProphetsProphNew TestamentNT
In the GenevaVerse 17,521 of 31,064 · 56.4%
LawLawHistoryHistPoetryPoetProphetsProphNew TestamentNT
In the YLTVerse 17,546 of 31,102 · 56.4%
LawLawHistoryHistPoetryPoetProphetsProphNew TestamentNT
Study this verse
Historical interpretation
Five Centuries of Reception
4 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
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Therefore, this is what the present passage teaches the soul under the guise of a woman, so that she may know herself.…And for this reason, where she has neglected knowledge, it is is now necessary that she “be borne about by every wind of doctrine to be deceived by errors,” so that now she pitches her tent now by that shepherd, that is, a teacher of the word, and now by another shepherd. And in this way she is borne about as she shepherds not sheep, which is a simple animal, but goats, namely lascivious and restless feelings that lead to sin, while she has sought out various teachers and cultivated them for this very purpose. And this will be the punishment of the guilt of that soul, which was not eager to know itself and to follow that shepherd alone, who “lay down his life for his sheep.”
“If you do not know yourself, go out, you, in the tracks of the flocks, and graze your goats in the tents of the shepherds.” Go out in the tracks, not of the flock but of the flocks, and graze, not like Peter my sheep but your goats; in the tabernacles, not of the shepherd but of the shepherds; not of unity but of division, not established in the place where there is one flock and one shepherd.By this answer she has been stiffened, built up, made stronger as the beloved wife, ready to die for her husband and live with her husband.
If you do not know yourself, O fairest among women, go forth, etc. Why, he says, do you speak in such a way as if you could by any means be abandoned by me amidst temptation, and you complain that you have been darkened by the excessive fervor in guarding our vineyard from the enemies, as if by the sun of midday, which I myself have endowed through the washing of regeneration to be already fair among women, that is, among the synagogues of other doctrines, but I have decided that you should be rendered much fairer by the examination of tribulations? But if you perhaps do not know this, do you not now remember that no one is crowned unless he has competed according to the rules (II Tim. II)? Withdraw from my company, and follow after the footsteps of the flocks; that is, imitate the acts of those who err, although I have decreed you rather to be the keeper of my one flock, which was to have one fold and one shepherd.
And feed your kids beside the tents of the shepherds. That is, feed lost listeners, having followed the doctrines of foolish teachers, abandoning the words of the wise, which are given by the counsel of teachers from one shepherd. For indeed if you love me, I have ordered you to feed my lambs, that is, the souls serving me simply and innocently with the word of salvation; I have wanted you to devote such care to this duty, that you would prefer to endure all adverse things, even to undergo the torment of death itself, rather than desist from their feeding. But if you do not know that you have been betrothed to me under such a condition, rather feed your kids, that is, those united with erring teachers, yielding to the luxurious and proud; who are rightly called kids, and your kids, namely, who are to be placed on the left in judgment. Yours indeed, because they are not instructed according to the rule of my commandments, but rather according to your errors, that is, those whom you retained before you were joined to me. However, the Lord does not say this by commanding, but rather by threatening, and by indicating what happens to those who, not bearing the adversities of temptations, separate themselves from the unity of the peace of the church. As in the Gospel, when he says: Either make the tree good and its fruit good; or make the tree bad and its fruit bad (Matt. XII). He does not command us to do evil, but teaches what reward awaits evildoers. Because indeed the Lord does not want the holy Church to be ignorant of itself, but earnestly desires it to learn what it has received from him as gifts, and what it must suffer or do for his love, he consequently indicates to it what its state is when he adds:
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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This verse
The fairest among women is told to follow the tracks of the flock and graze her young goats beside the shepherds’ tents, where the one she seeks will be found.
“If thou know not,”
The reply takes up her own uncertainty (yâdaʻ) and answers it.
“O thou fairest among women,”
A tender, admiring address (yâpheh) before the directions are given.
“go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock,”
Follow the trail the flock has worn, since the shepherd is where his flock has gone.
“and feed thy kids”
She keeps up her own work with her young goats, and the verb is the one used of his feeding in verse 7.
“beside the shepherds’ tents.”
Near the shepherds’ camp, where they gathered and rested and where her beloved will be found.
Passage studySong of Solomon 1:7–8
Where the Beloved Feeds His Flock
Summary
The bride speaks to the one she loves with her whole self and asks him a plain question: where does he graze his flock, and where does he let it lie down at noon? She wants to go straight to him, because she shrinks from wandering, veiled, among the flocks of his companions as though she were unattached. The answer comes back at once, tender and practical. She, the fairest among women, is to follow the tracks the flock has left and feed her own young goats beside the shepherds’ tents. In two verses we see a love that seeks one person and longs to be known as his, and we hear of a shepherd who feeds his flock and gives it rest, which is how Scripture speaks of the Lord and of Christ, the Good Shepherd.
“Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth”
Up to this point the bride, the Shulamite, has spoken of her longing for her beloved’s kisses and her wish to be drawn after him (Song of Solomon 1:2–4). Now she turns and speaks to him directly. “Tell me” (nâgad) asks for a clear answer, and she asks it urgently, because she wants to know exactly where to find him.
She calls him “thou whom my soul loveth”. The verb ʼâhab is the ordinary Hebrew word for love, meaning to love or to have affection for a person, a thing or a practice. The phrase takes its weight from the word for soul, nephesh. It means a breathing creature, and so life, soul, self, person, even appetite. To say “my soul loveth” is to say that she loves him with her whole self, with her very life. This seeking and finding of the beloved runs all through the Song, and it comes back when she searches for him in the city (Song of Solomon 3:1–4).
Where he feeds his flock and makes it rest
Her questions are a shepherd’s questions. “Where thou feedest” uses râʻâh, to tend a flock, to pasture or graze it, a word that can also stretch to ruling and to keeping company with a friend. “Where thou makest thy flock to rest” uses râbats, to make the animals lie down. Shepherds in Israel had to lead their flocks to good grazing and then to a safe resting place, and a shepherd who did both was his flock’s provider and protector. She wants to be where he is while he does that work, and to share the care and the rest that are found with him.
Why does she ask about noon?
Noon, tsôhar, is the hottest part of the day, when the sun is at its strongest. At that hour the flock needed shade, water and rest, and the shepherd had to find a cool, sheltered place for his sheep to lie down and recover. So her question is about more than where he happens to be. She is asking where he gives rest in the heat of the day, because that is where he will be, and that is where she wants to be.
The Lord is pictured as this kind of shepherd. “The LORD is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1–3), and he makes his people lie down in green pastures and leads them beside the still waters (Psalm 23:2). Jesus calls the weary to himself with the same promise of rest: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28–30).
Why should she be “as one that turneth aside”?
She wants her place beside him to be plain to everyone. The word behind “turneth aside”, ʻâṭâh, means to wrap, cover or veil, so her phrase can describe a woman who goes veiled as well as one who wanders from flock to flock. A woman going about alone among other shepherds and their flocks could easily be taken for someone unattached, or for a harlot looking for company, and that would shame her and her family. So she asks him directly, to spare herself a search among “the flocks of thy companions”. Her question shows a love that wants one person only and wants to be known publicly as belonging to him.
That single-hearted love is the shape of marriage in Scripture, and it is the shape of the love God asks of his people. The LORD tells Israel to worship no other god, “for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14), and through Hosea he promises his people, “I will betroth thee unto me for ever” (Hosea 2:19–20).
“Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock”
The answer in verse 8 comes straight back to her. “If thou know not” uses yâdaʻ, the common verb for knowing, which covers seeing, recognising and understanding. She has confessed that she is unsure where he is, and the reply meets her there gently.
She is addressed as “O thou fairest among women”. The word yâpheh means beautiful or fair, an appearance pleasing to the eye. As a form of address it is tender and admiring, so the directions that follow come as kind counsel to someone held dear.
Who answers her?
The reply is spoken to her, and Scripture leaves the speaker unnamed. Believers differ here. Some hear the beloved himself answering the question she put to him and telling her how to find him. Others hear the daughters of Jerusalem, or a group of companions, guiding her with the admiration that “fairest among women” expresses. On either reading the guidance is the same, and it is kind.
The tracks of the flock and the shepherds’ tents
The first direction is to follow “the footsteps of the flock”. Grazing flocks left visible, well-worn trails that led to known pastures and water, and a shepherd was found where his flock had gone. His whereabouts follow a pattern, so she can find him by watching patiently where the flock has walked.
The second direction is to “feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents”. Kids are young goats, and she has her own to tend. The verb is râʻâh again, the same word she used of him in verse 7, so her shepherding and his belong to the same life. She is to carry on with her work near the shepherds’ tents, the temporary dwellings where shepherds gathered and rested, and that is where she will find him. Her daily work, done in the right place, brings her to the one she seeks. Wisdom praises the same care: “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds” (Proverbs 27:23).
The paths the Lord sets before those who seek him
The well-trodden way of the flock fits the way Scripture speaks of the Lord guiding his people. The psalmist prays, “Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths” (Psalm 25:4–5), and Proverbs promises that when we trust in the LORD with all our heart and acknowledge him in all our ways, “he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6). Through Jeremiah the LORD tells his people to “ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16). God’s word is the light for that way: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).
Christ the Good Shepherd and his bride
The Song is a song of love between a bride and her beloved, and the shepherd she seeks also points us to Jesus. He says, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). His sheep know his voice, and he calls them by name, leads them out and goes before them (John 10:3–4). He came so that they might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). The bride’s longing to know where her shepherd is finds its answer in him: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
Her wish to belong to him alone is the longing of the church, which the New Testament calls the bride of Christ. Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, to present it to himself a glorious church, holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25–27), and the marriage of the Lamb is coming, when his wife will have made herself ready (Revelation 19:7–9). So we keep from turning aside to other “companions”, whether false gods, empty promises or the distractions of this age, and we stay close to the one Shepherd who laid down his life for us.
The footsteps we follow are his own. Peter writes that Christ left us an example, that we should follow his steps (1 Peter 2:21). The shepherds’ tents have their likeness in his church, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ himself the chief corner stone, a habitation of God through the Spirit (Ephesians 2:20–22).
Finding the Shepherd at Noon
When you long to know where the Lord is leading, these verses point you to the paths his people have already walked: the teaching of Scripture, the example of faithful believers and the fellowship of the church. You meet him there, and in the work he has already put in your hands. The bride is told to go on feeding her kids while she looks for her beloved, and Paul tells us to do whatever we do heartily, as to the Lord, for we serve the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23–24). Faithfulness in ordinary duties is part of the way to him.
When the heat of the day is at its worst, you can ask him the bride’s question and expect his answer. He knows where his flock lies down at noon, and he gives rest to those who come to him (Matthew 11:28). You can love him with your whole soul, and be glad to be known as his.
Song of Solomon 1:7
“Tell me,”
She now speaks to him directly and asks for a plain answer (nâgad).
“O thou whom my soul loveth,”
Her name for him. Her love (ʼâhab) comes from her whole self, her nephesh.
“where thou feedest,”
She asks where he pastures (râʻâh) his flock, so that she can be with him at his work.
“where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon:”
The resting place (râbats) in the midday heat (tsôhar), the hour when shade and the shepherd’s care mattered most.
“for why should I be as one that turneth aside”
Her reason for asking. The word (ʻâṭâh) can mean veiled as well as wandering, and either way she could be mistaken for a woman with no man of her own.
“by the flocks of thy companions?”
The other shepherds and their flocks. She wants to be found with him, and her question asks him to spare her a search among them.
Song of Solomon 1:8 This verse
“If thou know not,”
The reply takes up her own uncertainty (yâdaʻ) and answers it.
“O thou fairest among women,”
A tender, admiring address (yâpheh) before the directions are given.
“go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock,”
Follow the trail the flock has worn, since the shepherd is where his flock has gone.
“and feed thy kids”
She keeps up her own work with her young goats, and the verb is the one used of his feeding in verse 7.
“beside the shepherds’ tents.”
Near the shepherds’ camp, where they gathered and rested and where her beloved will be found.
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