Song of Solomon 8:7 (YLT)

Passage

Many waters are not able to quench the love, And floods do not wash it away. If one give all the wealth of his house for love, Treading down--they tread upon it.

Nearby Context

Song of Solomon 8:5 Who <FI>is<Fi> this coming from the wilderness, Hasting herself for her beloved? Under the citron-tree I have waked thee, There did thy mother pledge thee, There she gave a pledge <FI>that<Fi> bare thee.

Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal on thy heart, as a seal on thine arm, For strong as death is love, Sharp as Sheol is jealousy, Its burnings <FI>are<Fi> burnings of fire, a flame of Jah!

Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters are not able to quench the love, And floods do not wash it away. If one give all the wealth of his house for love, Treading down--they tread upon it.

Song of Solomon 8:8 We have a little sister, and breasts she hath not, What do we do for our sister, In the day that it is told of her?

Song of Solomon 8:9 If she is a wall, we build by her a palace of silver. And if she is a door, We fashion by her board-work of cedar.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "waters", "able", "quench", "love", "floods", "wash", "away", and "give". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "waters" and "able", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Set me as a seal on thy..." into verse 8's "We have a little sister and breasts...", so "waters" and "able" 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 "waters" and "able" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.