Song of Solomon 3:8
They all handle the sword, and are expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh, because of fear in the night.
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Other translations
They all handle the sword, and are expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh, because of fear in the night.
All are skilled with the sword, experienced in warfare. Each has his sword at his side prepared for the terror of the night.
They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
They all handle the sword, [and] are expert in war: Every man hath his sword upon his thigh, Because of fear in the night.
All of them armed with swords, trained in war; every man has his sword at his side, because of fear in the night.
All of them holding sword, taught of battle, Each his sword by his thigh, for fear at night.
They all hold the sword, Experts in war; Each hath his sword upon his thigh Because of alarm in the nights.
Original Hebrew
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Study notes
Whole chapterOn Song of Solomon 3:6–11
In the three-character dramatic interpretation, Solomon's humility and generosity are evident when he attends a wedding of a woman who chose a common shepherd's love over his. With Solomon there, this ordinary wedding becomes a grand ceremony.
If the Song is an anthology, this poem seems to describe Solomon's wedding procession. People are amazed by the luxury of his carriage and the power of his entourage. This reflects the importance of marriage, similar to how expensive and beautiful wedding dresses and tuxedos do in modern weddings.
On this section Song of Solomon 1:1–8:14
The woman is the first one to speak in Song of Songs. Both she and the man she loves are shepherds. For hundreds of years, this job was very common among the people of Israel.
The woman and the man are both adults. This is true even though the woman’s brothers treat her like she is still young. The woman and the man both have very strong desires for each other. For the woman, everything about the man is delightful. For the man, the woman is so beautiful and so delightful. They are completely committed to each other.
Three times the woman talks about how she and the man belong to one another. This shows that they don’t love anyone else the way they love each other. It also shows that neither of them owns or controls the other. They both choose to do things to please the other. They each invite the other to come away with them. They desire to be together. They look for ways to find each other and spend time together.
Most of the woman’s and the man’s poems are about the sexual hopes they have. They hope to enjoy each other’s body fully. The poems are about what they imagine doing together. They imagine these things freely and they explain these things very carefully. But they can’t yet fully take action on their sexual desires.
Three times the woman talks about not waking up love. This means that they must wait to do what they imagine doing with each other. It’s very hard for them to wait.
The woman and the man compare each other’s bodies to many different things. These include things in creation like animals, gardens, mountains, flowers, fruit and spices. They include things in cities like towers, pillars, armies, gates, ivory, gold and silk.
The woman compares love to many things. It can’t be stopped by anything in creation or by death. It can’t be controlled by money. These words are a picture of how strong love is.
Tyndale Open Study Notes (adapted by Mission Mutual) and Biblica Study Notes, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Cross-references
10Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. Library: sources.