Kidung Agung 3:5

The Adjuration Refrain

The Beloved to the Maidens:

3:5 ¹ I admonish you, O maidens of Jerusalem,

by the gazelles and by the young does of the open fields:

“Do not awake or arouse love until it pleases!”

Amsal 5:19

5:19 a loving doe, ²  a graceful deer;

may her breasts satisfy you at all times,

may you be captivated ³  by her love always.

[3:5]  ¹ tn See the notes on these lines at 2:7.

[5:19]  ² tn The construct expression “a doe of loves” is an attributive genitive, describing the doe with the word “loves.” The plural noun may be an abstract plural of intensification (but this noun only occurs in the plural). The same construction follows with a “deer of grace” – a graceful deer.

[5:19]  sn The imagery for intimate love in marriage is now employed to stress the beauty of sexual fulfillment as it was intended. The doe and deer, both implied comparisons, exhibit the grace and love of the wife.

[5:19]  ³ sn The verb שָׁגָה (shagah) means “to swerve; to meander; to reel” as in drunkenness; it signifies a staggering gait expressing the ecstatic joy of a captivated lover. It may also mean “to be always intoxicated with her love” (cf. NRSV).