Song of Solomon 8:8 (KJV)

Passage

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?

Nearby Context

Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it 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 palace 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 towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "little", "sister", "hath", "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 neither can..." into verse 9's "If she be 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.