Song of Solomon 8:4 (WEB)

Passage

I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up, nor awaken love, until it so desires.

Nearby Context

Song of Solomon 8:2 I would lead you, bringing you into my mother’s house, who would instruct me. I would have you drink spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate.

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

Song of Solomon 8:4 I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up, nor awaken love, until it so desires.

Song of Solomon 8:5 Who is this who comes up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? Under the apple tree I aroused you. There your mother conceived you. There she was in labor and bore you.

Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; for love is strong as death. Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a very flame of Yahweh.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "adjure", "daughters", "jerusalem", "stir", "awaken", "love", "until", and "desires". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "adjure" 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 who comes up from...", so "adjure" 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 "adjure" and "daughters" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.