Old Testament · Poetry

Song of Solomon 5

The Closed Door

I opened for my beloved, but he had turned and gone. The lovers miss each other — and the ache of absence fuels the search.

King James Version BSB KJV

1I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

2I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.

3I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?

4My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.

5I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.

6I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

7The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.

8I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.

9What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?

10My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.

11His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.

12His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.

13His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

14His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.

15His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

16His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

Understand This

Song of Solomon 5, explained

What Song of Solomon 5 is saying

The beloved recounts a painful moment: her lover came knocking at night, but she hesitated, and when she opened the door, he was gone. She searches the city and is beaten by the watchmen. The daughters of Jerusalem ask why her beloved is special, and she responds with her own wasf praising him from head to foot.

The background behind it

The watchmen's violence may reflect real dangers for women in ancient cities at night, or it may function symbolically as the hostility the world shows toward vulnerable love. The beloved's wasf mirrors and balances the lover's praise in chapter 4.

Themes running underneath

Love involves risk, loss, and vulnerability. The beloved's hesitation and its consequences explore the fragility of romantic moments—opportunities missed cannot always be recovered. Her willingness to endure suffering in her search demonstrates love's costly devotion.

Why it still matters

The missed moment speaks to every relationship where hesitation or comfort delayed an important response. Love sometimes requires immediate, uncomfortable action rather than waiting for a more convenient moment.

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Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.