Song of Solomon 8:8 (LSB)

Passage

“We have a little sister, And she has no breasts; What shall we do for our sister On the day when she is spoken for?

Nearby Context

Song of Solomon 8:6 Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of Yah.

Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it; If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly despised.”

Song of Solomon 8:8 “We have a little sister, And she has no breasts; What shall we do for our sister On the day when she is spoken for?

Song of Solomon 8:9 If she is a wall, We will build on her a battlement of silver; But if she is a door, We will barricade her with planks of cedar.”

Song of Solomon 8:10 “I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers; Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "little", "sister", "breasts", "shall", and "spoken". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "little" and "sister", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "Many waters cannot quench love Nor will..." into verse 9's "If she is a wall We will...", so "little" and "sister" 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 "little" and "sister" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.