Song of Solomon 8:4 (DBY)

Passage

I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, Why should ye stir up, why awake [my] love, till he please?

Nearby Context

Song of Solomon 8:2 I would lead thee, bring thee into my mother's house; Thou wouldest instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, Of the juice of my pomegranate.

Song of Solomon 8:3 His left hand would be under my head, And his right hand embrace me.

Song of Solomon 8:4 I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, Why should ye stir up, why awake [my] love, till he please?

Song of Solomon 8:5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved? I awoke thee under the apple-tree: There thy mother brought thee forth; There she brought thee forth [that] bore thee.

Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal upon thy heart, As a seal upon thine arm: For love is strong as death; Jealousy is cruel as Sheol: The flashes thereof are flashes of fire, Flames of Jah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "charge", "daughters", "jerusalem", "should", "stir", "awake", "love", and "till". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "charge" and "daughters", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "His left hand would be under my..." into verse 5's "Who is this that cometh up from...", so "charge" and "daughters" 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 "charge" and "daughters" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.