Song of Solomon 8:9 (ASV)

Passage

If she be a wall, We will build upon her a turret of silver: And if she be a door, We will inclose her with boards of cedar.

Nearby Context

Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, Neither can floods drown it: If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, He would utterly be contemned.

Song of Solomon 8:8 We have a little sister, And she hath no breasts: What shall we do for our sister In the day when she shall be spoken for?

Song of Solomon 8:9 If she be a wall, We will build upon her a turret of silver: And if she be a door, We will inclose her with boards of cedar.

Song of Solomon 8:10 I am a wall, and my breasts like the towers [thereof] Then was I in his eyes as one that found peace.

Song of Solomon 8:11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; He let out the vineyard unto keepers; Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand [pieces] of silver.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wall", "build", "upon", "turret", "silver", "door", "inclose", and "boards". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wall" and "build", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "We have a little sister And she..." into verse 10's "I am a wall and my breasts...", so "wall" and "build" belong inside that flow. In Song of Solomon context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "wall" and "build" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.