Song of Solomon 2:17
New International Version
Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the rugged hills.

New Living Translation
Before the dawn breezes blow and the night shadows flee, return to me, my love, like a gazelle or a young stag on the rugged mountains.

English Standard Version
Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag on cleft mountains.

Berean Standard Bible
Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.

King James Bible
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

New King James Version
Until the day breaks And the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, And be like a gazelle Or a young stag Upon the mountains of Bether.

New American Standard Bible
“Until the cool of the day, when the shadows flee, Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.”

NASB 1995
“Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.”

NASB 1977
“Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.”

Amplified Bible
“Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away, Return quickly, my beloved, and be like a gazelle Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether [which separate us].”

Christian Standard Bible
Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn around, my love, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the divided mountains.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Before the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn to me, my love, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the divided mountains.

American Standard Version
Until the day be cool, and the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart Upon the mountains of Bether.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
While the day will grow cold and the shadows shall lengthen, return, my love, be like a deer or to a fawn of a hart on the mountains of spices

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Until the day dawn, and the shadows depart, turn, my kinsman, be thou like to a roe or young hart on the mountains of the ravines.

Contemporary English Version
Pretend to be a young deer dancing on mountain slopes until daylight comes and shadows fade away.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Till the day break, and the shadows retire. Return: be like, my beloved, to a roe, or to a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

English Revised Version
Until the day be cool, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When the day brings a cooling breeze and the shadows flee, turn around, my beloved. Run like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains that separate us!

Good News Translation
until the morning breezes blow and the darkness disappears. Return, my darling, like a gazelle, like a stag on the mountains of Bether.

International Standard Version
Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn around, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the rugged mountains.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Until the day breathe, and the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, and be thou like a gazelle or a young hart Upon the mountains of spices.

Literal Standard Version
Until the day breaks forth, | And the shadows have fled away, | Turn, be like, my beloved, | To a roe, or to a young one of the harts, | On the mountains of separation!

Majority Standard Bible
Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.

New American Bible
Until the day grows cool and the shadows flee, roam, my lover, Like a gazelle or a young stag upon the rugged mountains.

NET Bible
Until the dawn arrives and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved--be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountain gorges.

New Revised Standard Version
Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag on the cleft mountains.

New Heart English Bible
Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.

Webster's Bible Translation
Until the day shall break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

World English Bible
Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be like a roe or a young deer on the mountains of Bether.

Young's Literal Translation
Till the day doth break forth, And the shadows have fled away, Turn, be like, my beloved, To a roe, or to a young one of the harts, On the mountains of separation!

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Bride's Admiration
16My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies. 17Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.

Cross References
Proverbs 5:19
A loving doe, a graceful fawn--may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.

Song of Solomon 2:7
O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.

Song of Solomon 2:8
Listen! My beloved approaches. Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.

Song of Solomon 2:9
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look, he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.

Song of Solomon 4:6
Before the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.


Treasury of Scripture

Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be you like a roe or a young hart on the mountains of Bether.

the day

Song of Solomon 4:6
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

Luke 1:78
Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

Romans 13:12
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

the shadows

Hebrews 8:5
Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

Hebrews 10:1
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

beloved

Song of Solomon 2:9
My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.

Song of Solomon 8:14
Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.

Jump to Previous
Beloved Break Breaks Breathe Breathes Cool Dark Dawn Evening Fled Flee Forth Gazelle Hart Hills Lover Mountains Roe Rugged Shadows Sky Slowly Spices Stag Turn Young
Jump to Next
Beloved Break Breaks Breathe Breathes Cool Dark Dawn Evening Fled Flee Forth Gazelle Hart Hills Lover Mountains Roe Rugged Shadows Sky Slowly Spices Stag Turn Young
Song of Solomon 2
1. the mutual love of Christ and his church
8. The hope
10. and calling of the church
14. Christ's care of the church
16. The profession of the church, her faith, and hope














(17) Until the day break.--Heb., breathe, i.e., becomes cool, as it does when the evening breeze sets in. The time indicated is therefore evening, "the breathing blushing hour" (Campbell). (Comp. Genesis 3:8, "The cool of the day"--margin, wind. This interpretation is also fixed by the mention of the flying, i.e., lengthening shadows. Comp. Virg. Ecl. i. 84: "Majoresque cadunt altis de montibus umbrae;" and Tennyson, The Brook--

"We turned our foreheads from the falling sun,

And followed our own shadows, thrice as long

As when they followed us.")

Bether.--Marg., of division; LXX., of ravines or hollows, either as separating the lovers or as intersected by valleys. Gesenius compares Bethron (2Samuel 2:29).

Verse 17. - Until the day be cool, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether. This is generally supposed to be the voice of the maiden addressing her suitor, and bidding him return in the evening, when the day cools, and when the lengthening shadows fall into night. Some have seen in such words a clear indication of a clandestine interview, and would find in them a confirmation of their hypothesis that the poem is founded on a romantic story of Solomon's attempt to draw a shepherdess from her shepherd. But there is no necessity to disturb the flow of the bride's loving recollections by such a fancy. She is recalling the visit of her lover. How, at first, she declined his invitation to go forth with him to the vineyards, but with professions of love appealed to him to return to the mountains, and in the evening come once more and rejoice in her love. But the words may be rendered, "during the whole day, and until the evening comes, turn thyself to me," which is the view taken by some critics. The language may be general; that is, "Turn, and I will follow." "The mountains of Bether" are the rugged mountains; Bether, from a root "to divide," "to cut," i.e. divided by ravines; or the word may be the abstract for the concrete - "the mountains of separation" i.e. the mountains which separate. LXX., ὄρη τῶν κοιλωματῶν, "decussated mountains." The Syriac and Theodotion take the word as for beshamim, i.e. offerings of incense (θυμιαματῶν). There is no such geographical name known, though there is Bithron, east of Jordan, near Mahauaim (2 Samuel 2:29). The Chaldee, Ibn-Ezra, Rashi, and many others render it "separation" (cf. Luther's scheideberge). Bochart says, "Montes scissionis ita dicti propter ῤωχμοῦς et χασματὰ." The meaning has been thus set forth: "The request of Shulamith that he should return to the mountains breathes self-denying humility, patient modesty, inward joy in the joy of her beloved. She will not claim him for herself till he have accomplished his work. But when he associates with her in the evening, as with the Emmaus disciples, she will rejoice if he becomes her guide through the newborn world of spring. Perhaps we may say the Parousia ot the Lord is here referred to in the evening of the world" (cf. Luke 24.). On the whole, it seems most in harmony with the context to take the words as preparing us for what follows - the account of the maiden's distress when she woke up and found not her beloved. We must not expect to be able to explain the language as though it were a clear historical composition, relating facts and incidents. The real line of thought is the underlying connection of spiritual meaning. There is a separation of the lovers. The soul wakes up to feel that its object of delight is gone. Then it complains.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Before
עַ֤ד (‘aḏ)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

the day
הַיּ֔וֹם (hay·yō·wm)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

breaks
שֶׁיָּפ֙וּחַ֙ (še·yā·p̄ū·aḥ)
Pronoun - relative | Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6315: To puff, blow with the breath, air, to fan, to utter, to kindle, to scoff

and shadows
הַצְּלָלִ֑ים (haṣ·ṣə·lā·lîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6752: Shadow

flee,
וְנָ֖סוּ (wə·nā·sū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 5127: To flit, vanish away

turn to me,
סֹב֩ (sōḇ)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 5437: To turn about, go around, surround

my beloved,
דוֹדִ֜י (ḏō·w·ḏî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1730: To love, a love-token, lover, friend, an uncle

and be like
דְּמֵה־ (də·mêh-)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 1819: To compare, to resemble, liken, consider

a gazelle
לִצְבִ֗י (liṣ·ḇî)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6643: Splendor, a gazelle

or
א֛וֹ (’ōw)
Conjunction
Strong's 176: Desire, if

a young stag
לְעֹ֥פֶר (lə·‘ō·p̄er)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6082: A young hart, stag

on
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the mountains
הָ֥רֵי (hā·rê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2022: Mountain, hill, hill country

of Bether.
בָֽתֶר׃ (ḇā·ṯer)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1335: A part, piece


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OT Poetry: Song of Solomon 2:17 Until the day is cool and (Song Songs SS So Can)
Song of Solomon 2:16
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