Mazmur 45:9-17

45:9 Princesses ¹  are among your honored guests, ² 

your bride ³  stands at your right hand, wearing jewelry made with gold from Ophir. ⁴ 

45:10 Listen, O princess! ⁵ 

Observe and pay attention! ⁶ 

Forget your homeland ⁷  and your family! ⁸ 

45:11 Then ⁹  the king will be attracted by ¹⁰  your beauty.

After all, he is your master! Submit ¹¹  to him! ¹² 

45:12 Rich people from Tyre ¹³ 

will seek your favor by bringing a gift. ¹⁴ 

45:13 The princess ¹⁵  looks absolutely magnificent, ¹⁶ 

decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold. ¹⁷ 

45:14 In embroidered robes she is escorted to the king.

Her attendants, the maidens of honor who follow her,

are led before you. ¹⁸ 

45:15 They are bubbling with joy as they walk in procession

and enter the royal palace. ¹⁹ 

45:16 Your ²⁰  sons will carry ²¹  on the dynasty of your ancestors; ²² 

you will make them princes throughout the land.

45:17 I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years, ²³ 

then the nations will praise you ²⁴  forever.

Kidung Agung 3:11

3:11 Come out, O maidens of Zion,

and gaze upon King Solomon!

He is wearing the crown with which his mother crowned him

on his wedding day,

on the most joyous day of his life! ²⁵ 

Kidung Agung 4:8-12

The Wedding Night: Beautiful as Lebanon

4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,

come with me from Lebanon.

Descend from the crest of Amana,

from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon,

from the lions’ dens

and the mountain haunts of the leopards.

4:9 You have stolen my heart, ²⁶  my sister, ²⁷  my bride!

You have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, ²⁸ 

with one jewel of your necklace.

4:10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!

How much better is your love than wine;

the fragrance of your perfume is better than any spice!

4:11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride,

honey and milk are under your tongue.

The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

The Wedding Night: The Delightful Garden

The Lover to His Beloved:

4:12 You are a locked garden, ²⁹  my sister, my bride;

you are an enclosed spring, a sealed-up fountain.

Yesaya 54:5

54:5 For your husband is the one who made you –

the Lord who commands armies is his name.

He is your protector, ³⁰  the Holy One of Israel. ³¹ 

He is called “God of the entire earth.”

Yesaya 62:4-5

62:4 You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”

and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”

Indeed, ³²  you will be called “My Delight is in Her,” ³³ 

and your land “Married.” ³⁴ 

For the Lord will take delight in you,

and your land will be married to him. ³⁵ 

62:5 As a young man marries a young woman,

so your sons ³⁶  will marry you.

As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,

so your God will rejoice over you.

Yeremia 2:2

2:2 “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem: ³⁷  ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have fond memories of you, ³⁸  how devoted you were to me in your early years. ³⁹  I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted.

Yehezkiel 16:8

16:8 “‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing ⁴⁰  that you had reached the age for love. ⁴¹  I spread my cloak ⁴²  over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you, declares the sovereign Lord, and you became mine.

Hosea 2:19

2:19 I will commit myself to you ⁴³  forever;

I will commit myself to you in ⁴⁴  righteousness and justice,

in steadfast love and tender compassion.

Matius 22:2

22:2 “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.

Matius 22:2

22:2 “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.

Kolose 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁴⁵  brothers and sisters ⁴⁶  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁴⁷  from God our Father! ⁴⁸ 

Efesus 5:25-27

5:25 Husbands, love your ⁴⁹  wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 5:26 to sanctify her by cleansing her ⁵⁰  with the washing of the water by the word, 5:27 so that he ⁵¹  may present the church to himself as glorious – not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. ⁵² 

Wahyu 19:7-9

19:7 Let us rejoice ⁵³  and exult

and give him glory,

because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come,

and his bride has made herself ready.

19:8 She was permitted to be dressed in bright, clean, fine linen” ⁵⁴  (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints). ⁵⁵ 

19:9 Then ⁵⁶  the angel ⁵⁷  said to me, “Write the following: Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet at the wedding celebration of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Wahyu 21:9

The New Jerusalem Descends

21:9 Then ⁵⁸  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and spoke to me, ⁵⁹  saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb!”

[45:9]  ¹ tn Heb “daughters of kings.”

[45:9]  ² tn Heb “valuable ones.” The form is feminine plural.

[45:9]  ³ tn This rare Hebrew noun apparently refers to the king’s bride, who will soon be queen (see Neh 2:6). The Aramaic cognate is used of royal wives in Dan 5:2-3, 23.

[45:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “a consort stands at your right hand, gold of Ophir.”

[45:9]  sn Gold from Ophir is also mentioned in Isa 13:12 and Job 28:16. The precise location of Ophir is uncertain; Arabia, India, East Africa, and South Africa have all been suggested as options.

[45:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “daughter.” The Hebrew noun בת (“daughter”) can sometimes refer to a young woman in a general sense (see H. Haag, TDOT 2:334).

[45:10]  sn Listen, O princess. The poet now addresses the bride.

[45:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “see and turn your ear.” The verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “see”) is used here of mental observation.

[45:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “your people.” This reference to the “people” of the princess suggests she was a foreigner. Perhaps the marriage was arranged as part of a political alliance between Israel (or Judah) and a neighboring state. The translation “your homeland” reflects such a situation.

[45:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the house of your father.”

[45:11]  ⁹ tn After the preceding imperatives, the jussive verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive is best understood as introducing a purpose (“so that the king might desire your beauty”) or result clause (see the present translation and cf. also NASB). The point seems to be this: The bride might tend to be homesick, which in turn might cause her to mourn and diminish her attractiveness. She needs to overcome this temptation to unhappiness and enter into the marriage with joy. Then the king will be drawn to her natural beauty.

[45:11]  ¹⁰ tn Or “desire.”

[45:11]  ¹¹ tn Or “bow down.”

[45:11]  ¹² sn Submit to him. The poet here makes the point that the young bride is obligated to bring pleasure to her new husband. Though a foreign concept to modern western culture, this was accepted as the cultural norm in the psalmist’s day.

[45:12]  ¹³ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[45:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and a daughter of Tyre with a gift, your face they will appease, the rich of people.” The phrase “daughter of Tyre” occurs only here in the OT. It could be understood as addressed to the bride, indicating she was a Phoenician (cf. NEB). However, often in the OT the word “daughter,” when collocated with the name of a city or country, is used to personify the referent (see, for example, “Daughter Zion” in Ps 9:14, and “Daughter Babylon” in Ps 137:8). If that is the case here, then “Daughter Tyre” identifies the city-state of Tyre as the place from which the rich people come (cf. NRSV). The idiom “appease the face” refers to seeking one’s favor (see Exod 32:11; 1 Sam 13:12; 1 Kgs 13:6; 2 Kgs 13:4; 2 Chr 33:12; Job 11:19; Ps 119:58; Prov 19:6; Jer 26:19; Dan 9:13; Zech 7:2; 8:21-22; Mal 1:9).

[45:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[the] daughter of a king.”

[45:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “[is] completely glorious.”

[45:13]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “within, from settings of gold, her clothing.” The Hebrew term פְּנִימָה (pÿnimah, “within”), if retained, would go with the preceding line and perhaps refer to the bride being “within” the palace or her bridal chamber (cf. NIV, NRSV). Since the next two lines refer to her attire (see also v. 9b), it is preferable to emend the form to פְּנִינִיהָּ (“her pearls”) or to פְּנִינִים (“pearls”). The mem (מ) prefixed to “settings” is probably dittographic.

[45:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “virgins after her, her companions, are led to you.” Some emend לָךְ (lakh, “to you”) to לָהּ (lah, “to her,” i.e., the princess), because the princess is now being spoken of in the third person (vv. 13-14a), rather than being addressed directly (as in vv. 10-12). However, the ambiguous suffixed form לָךְ need not be taken as second feminine singular. The suffix can be understood as a pausal second masculine singular form, addressed to the king. The translation assumes this to be the case; note that the king is addressed once more in vv. 16-17, where the second person pronouns are masculine.

[45:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they are led with joy and happiness, they enter the house of the king.”

[45:16]  ²⁰ tn The pronoun is second masculine singular, indicating the king is being addressed from this point to the end of the psalm.

[45:16]  ²¹ tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as jussive and the statement interpreted as a prayer, “May your sons carry on the dynasty of your ancestors!” The next line could then be taken as a relative clause, “[your sons] whom you will make princes throughout the land.”

[45:16]  ²² tn Heb “in place of your fathers will be your sons.”

[45:17]  ²³ tn Heb “I will cause your name to be remembered in every generation and generation.” The cohortative verbal form expresses the poet’s resolve. The king’s “name” stands here for his reputation and character, which the poet praised in vv. 2-7.

[45:17]  ²⁴ sn The nations will praise you. As God’s vice-regent on earth, the king is deserving of such honor and praise.

[3:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the day of the joy of his heart.” In the genitive construct phrase וּבְיוֹם שִׂמְחַת (uvÿyom simkhat, “the day of joy”) the noun שִׂמְחָה (simkhah, “joy”) functions as a descriptive genitive of attribute (attributive genitive), that is, the genitive identifies the outstanding quality of the construct noun: “the joyous day” or “the day characterized by joy.” In the second genitive construct phrase שִׂמְחַת לִבּוֹ (simkhat livvo, “joy of his heart”) the noun לִבּוֹ (“his heart”) is a subjective genitive: “his heart rejoices.” The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) is a synecdoche of part for the whole (= Solomon himself), that is, “the day Solomon greatly rejoiced” or “the day of Solomon’s great joy.”

[4:9]  ²⁶ tn The Piel denominative verb לבב is derived from the noun לֵבָב (levav, “heart”), and occurs only here. Its meaning is debated: (1) metonymical sense: “you have encouraged me,” that is, given me heart (BDB 525 s.v. לֵב; AV, RSV); (2) intensive sense: “you have made my heart beat faster” (KBL 471 s.v. I לבב); and (3) privative sense: “you have ravished my heart” or “you have stolen my heart” (HALOT 515 s.v. I לבב; GKC 141-42 §52.h) (NIV). While the Niphal stem has a metonymical nuance (cause for effect): to get heart, that is, to get understanding (Job 11:12), the Piel stem may have a privative nuance: to take away heart, that is, to take away the senses. Her beauty was so overwhelming that it robbed him of his senses (e.g., Hos 4:11). This is paralleled by a modern Palestinian love song: “She stood opposite me and deprived me of reason (literally, “took my heart”), your dark eyes slew me while I was singing, your eyebrows drove shame from me…the darkness of your eyes have slain me; O one clad in purple clothes, it is worthwhile falling in love with you, for your eyes are black and sparkle, and have slain me indeed.” Less likely is the proposal of Waldeman who relates this to Akkadian lababu (“to rage, be aroused to fury”), suggesting that Song 4:9 means “to become passionately aroused” or “to be aroused sexually.” See S. H. Stephan, “Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs,” JPOS 2 (1922): 13; R. Gordis, Song of Songs and Lamentations, 85-86; N. M. Waldman, “A Note on Canticles 4:9,” JBL 89 (1970): 215-17; H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 40-58.

[4:9]  ²⁷ sn It is clear from Song 8:1 that the young man and his bride were not physical brother and sister, yet he addresses his bride as אֲחֹתִי (’akhoti, “my sister”) several times (4:9, 10, 12; 5:1). This probably reflects any one of several ancient Near Eastern customs: (1) The appellatives “my sister” and “my brother” were both commonly used in ancient Near Eastern love literature as figurative descriptions of two lovers. For instance, in a Ugaritic poem when Anat tried to seduce Aqhat, she says, “Hear, O hero Aqhat, you are my brother and I your sister” (Aqhat 18 i. 24). In the OT Apocrypha husband and wife are referred to several times as “brother” and “sister” (Add Esth 15:9; Tob 5:20; 7:16). This “sister-wife” motif might be behind Paul’s perplexing statement about a “sister-wife” (1 Cor 9:5). (2) In several Mesopotamian societies husbands actually could legally adopt their wives for a variety of reasons. For instance, in Hurrian society husbands in the upper classes sometimes adopted their wives as “sisters” in order to form the strongest of all possible marriage bonds; a man could divorce his wife but he could not divorce his “sister” because she was “family.” At Nuzi a husband could adopt his wife to give her a higher status in society. See M. Held, “A Faithful Lover in Old Babylonian Dialogue,” JCS 15 (1961): 1-26 and S. N. Kramer, The Sacred Marriage Rite, 103-5; T. Jacobsen, “The Sister’s Message,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 199-212; E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 15- 28; G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 111.

[4:9]  ²⁸ tn Alternately, “eye-stone [of your necklace].” The term עִינַיִךְ (’inayikh, “your eyes”) probably refers to her physical eyes (e.g., 4:1). However, in Sumero-Akkadian literature the term “eye” sometimes refers to the eye-stone of a necklace. Agate-stones were cut so that white stripes appeared around the black or brown core to look like the pupil on the eye. M. H. Pope (Song of Songs [AB], 482-83) suggests that the parallelism between the A and B lines suggests the following: “with one of your eye-stones” and “with one jewel of your necklace.” See W. G. Lambert, “An Eye Stone of Esarhaddon’s Queen and Other Similar Gems,” RA 63 (1969): 65-71.

[4:12]  ²⁹ sn The twin themes of the enclosed garden and sealed spring are highlighted by the wordplay (paronomasia) between the Hebrew expressions גַּן נָעוּל (gan na’ul, “a garden locked up”) and גַּל נָעוּל (gal na’ul, “an enclosed spring”).

[54:5]  ³⁰ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[54:5]  ³¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[62:4]  ³² tn Or “for”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “but.”

[62:4]  ³³ tn Hebrew חֶפְצִי־בָהּ (kheftsi-vah), traditionally transliterated “Hephzibah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

[62:4]  ³⁴ tn Hebrew בְּעוּלָה (bÿ’ulah), traditionally transliterated “Beulah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

[62:4]  ³⁵ tn That is, the land will be restored to the Lord’s favor and once again enjoy his blessing and protection. To indicate the land’s relationship to the Lord, the words “to him” have been supplied at the end of the clause.

[62:5]  ³⁶ tc The Hebrew text has “your sons,” but this produces an odd metaphor and is somewhat incongruous with the parallelism. In the context (v. 4b, see also 54:5-7) the Lord is the one who “marries” Zion. Therefore several prefer to emend “your sons” to בֹּנָיִךְ (bonayikh, “your builder”; e.g., NRSV). In Ps 147:2 the Lord is called the “builder of Jerusalem.” However, this emendation is not the best option for at least four reasons. First, although the Lord is never called the “builder” of Jerusalem in Isaiah, the idea of Zion’s children possessing the land does occur (Isa 49:20; 54:3; cf. also 14:1; 60:21). Secondly, all the ancient versions support the MT reading. Thirdly, although the verb בָּעַל (ba’al) can mean “to marry,” its basic idea is “to possess.” Consequently, the verb stresses a relationship more than a state. All the ancient versions render this verb “to dwell in” or “to dwell with.” The point is not just that the land will be reinhabited, but that it will be in a relationship of “belonging” to the Israelites. Hence a relational verb like בָּעַל is used (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:581). Finally, “sons” is a well-known metaphor for “inhabitants” (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 208).

[2:2]  ³⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “I remember to/for you.”

[2:2]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the loyal love of your youth.”

[2:2]  sn The Hebrew word translated “how devoted you were” (חֶסֶד, khesed) refers metaphorically to the devotion of a new bride to her husband. In typical Hebraic fashion, contemporary Israel is identified with early Israel after she first entered into covenant with (= married) the Lord. The reference to her earlier devotion is not absolute but relative. Compared to her unfaithfulness in worshiping other gods after she got into the land, the murmuring and complaining in the wilderness are ignored.

[16:8]  ⁴⁰ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a participle.

[16:8]  ⁴¹ tn See similar use of this term in Ezek 23:17; Prov 7:16; Song of Songs 4:10; 7:13.

[16:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “wing” or “skirt.” The gesture symbolized acquiring a woman in early Arabia (similarly, see Deut 22:30; Ruth 3:9).

[2:19]  ⁴³ tn Heb “I will betroth you to me” (so NIV) here and in the following lines. Cf. NRSV “I will take you for my wife forever.”

[2:19]  ⁴⁴ tn The preposition בְּ (bet), which is repeated throughout 2:19-20 [21-22], denotes price paid (BDB 90 s.v. בְּ III.3; e.g., Ezek 3:14). The text contains an allusion to the payment of bridal gifts. The Lord will impute the moral character to Israel that will be necessary for a successful covenant relationship (contra 4:1).

[1:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁴⁸ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[5:25]  ⁴⁹ tn The Greek article has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[5:26]  ⁵⁰ tn The direct object “her” is implied, but not found in the Greek text. It has been supplied in the English translation to clarify the sense of the passage.

[5:27]  ⁵¹ tn The use of the pronoun αὐτός (autos) is intensive and focuses attention on Christ as the one who has made the church glorious.

[5:27]  ⁵² tn Grk “but in order that it may be holy and blameless.”

[19:7]  ⁵³ tn This verb and the next two verbs are hortatory subjunctives (giving exhortations).

[19:8]  ⁵⁴ tn On the term translated “fine linen,” BDAG 185 s.v. βύσσινος states, “made of fine linen, subst. τὸ β. fine linen, linen garment…Rv 18:12…16; 19:8, 14.”

[19:8]  ⁵⁵ sn This phrase is treated as a parenthetical explanation by the author.

[19:9]  ⁵⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:9]  ⁵⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[21:9]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.” See also v. 15.