I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
Parallel Translations
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I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
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I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
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I have decked my couch with coverlets, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Proverbs 7:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 19:9 Moreover those who work in combed flax, and those who weave white cloth, will be confounded.
- Ezekiel 27:7 Your sail was of fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt, that it might be to you for a banner. Blue and purple from the islands of Elishah was your awning.
- 1 Kings 10:28 The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt. The king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price.
- Proverbs 31:22 She makes for herself carpets of tapestry. Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
- Song of Solomon 3:7-10 Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage! Sixty mighty men are around it, of the mighty men of Israel. They all handle the sword, and are expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh, because of fear in the night. King Solomon made himself a carriage of the wood of Lebanon. He made its pillars of silver, its bottom of gold, its seat of purple, the middle of it being paved with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem.
- Revelation 2:22 Behold, I will throw her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great oppression, unless they repent of her works.
- Song of Solomon 1:16 Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, yes, pleasant; and our couch is verdant.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Or, carved work.
Or, carved work.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 7:16 I have decked my bed with coverings…
Pro 7:16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved [works], with fine linen of Egypt.
Ver. 16. I have decked my bed.] Lest haply by being abroad so late he should question where to have a bed, she assures him of a dainty one, with curious curtains.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain She designs to inflame his lust by the mention…
She designs to inflame his lust by the mention of the bed, and by its ornaments and perfumes.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain I have perfumed my bed,.... As she had made…
I have perfumed my bed,.... As she had made it entertaining to the senses of seeing and feeling, it being showy and gaudy, soft and easy; so to the sense of smelling; and all to provoke lust, and draw into her embraces; by censing it with incense, as Donesh in Jarchi; or by sprinkling (s) a liquor, made of the following spices, on the head, posts, and sides of the bed, to remove all ill scents, and make it more acceptable; so the Targum, Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, and all the Oriental versions, render it, "I sprinkled my bed": or, it may be, by suffumigation, which women are said to use with their garments and bed clothes (t). Even this the harlot did,
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon; all odorous, and of a sweet smell: Horace (u) speaks of the anointed beds of such persons; and of the above spices ointments were made, with which the harlot's bed might be perfumed. Cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, are reckoned among the wares of Babylon, or the church of Rome, Rev 18:13.
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(s) Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 13. c. 1. (t) Clemens Alex. Paedagog. l. 2. c. 8. p. 177. (u) "Uctis cubilibus pellicum", Epod. Ode. 5. v. 69, 70.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. I have decked my bed] ערשי arsi,…
Verse 16. I have decked my bed] ערשי arsi, "my couch or sofa;" distinguished from משכבי mishcabi, "my bed," Pr 7:17, the place to sleep on, as the other was the place to recline on at meals. The tapestry, מרבדים marbaddim, mentioned here seems to refer to the covering of the sofa; exquisitely woven and figured cloth. חטבות אטון chatuboth etun, the Targum translates painted carpets, such as were manufactured in Egypt; some kind of embroidered or embossed stuff is apparently meant.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The words point to the art and commerce which…
The words point to the art and commerce which flourished under Solomon.
Carved works - Most commentators take the original as meaning “striped coverlets of linen of Egypt.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Cords. For greater ease, instead of boards, (Menochius) or…
Cords. For greater ease, instead of boards, (Menochius) or the curtains are hung with precious cords from Egypt. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain my bed--or, "couch," adorned in the costliest manner.
my bed--or, "couch," adorned in the costliest manner.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. I have decked my bed — Stuart renders,…
16. I have decked my bed — Stuart renders, “With coverlets have I strewed my couch; with tapestry of Egyptian thread.” Zockler, “Tapestry have I spread upon my couch; variegated coverlets of Egyptian linen.” Miller, “Striped with the yarn of Egypt.”
Tapestry — Some kind of embroidered cloth, parti-coloured or figured. Egypt was famous for its fine linen, thread, and yarns. The meaning is, that she had ornamented her couch or sofa with the very best and most costly of coverings.
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Carved works — Most commentators take these words to mean striped or embroidered coverlets. It is probable that the couch here means the sofa or mattress on which they reclined at meals.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. deckt … with. coverings] Lit. covered … with…
16. deckt … with. coverings] Lit. covered … with coverings, or cushioned … with cushions, the words being two forms of the same Heb. root, which does not occur elsewhere.
bed] or, couch: a different and more poetic word than that in Pro_7:17. It is used for a couch of moss and flowers, “also our couch is green,” Son_1:16.
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with carved works &c.] Rather, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt, R.V.
If the rendering of A.V., “And king Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt and linen yarn” (1Ki_10:28), could stand, we should have an interesting historical light thrown upon this verse. It is now, however, generally thought that the Hebrew word (lit. string) does not mean yarn, but a string, or drove of horses. “And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; and the king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price,” R.V. (See note there in this Series.) The historical notice, however, is still relevant, as showing the commercial relations of Palestine with Egypt in the time of Solomon.
linen] or, yarn, R.V. The Heb. word occurs only here, and is thought by Lange and others to be akin to the Greek word ὀθόνη, fine linen in classical Greek, but in later Greek used more widely, Act_10:11; Act_11:5. The LXX. render, ἀμφιτάποις (with cloths hairy or shaggy on both sides) ἔστρωκα τοῖς ἀπʼ Αἰγύπτου.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) Carved works.—Rather, with coloured or striped coverlets. For…
(16) Carved works.—Rather, with coloured or striped coverlets. For another notice of the extravagance of the women of Jerusalem, see Isaiah 3, and for a description of the trade of Tyre, the great supplier of foreign luxuries, see Ezek. xxvii Myrrh is said to be a natural product of Arabia, aloes and cinnamon of the east coast of Africa and Ceylon.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain She describes the preparation she has made for his…
She describes the preparation she has made for his entertainment. Coverings of tapestry; marbaddim, "cushions," "pillows." The expression occurs again in Pro_31:22. It is derived from dbd "to spread," and means cushions spread out ready for use. The Septuagint has keiriaiv ; Vulgate, funibus, "cords." These versions seem to regard the word as denoting a kind of delicate sacking on which the coverlets were laid. Carved works, with fine linen of Egypt; literally, striped, or variegated, coverings, Egyptian linen. The words are in apposition, but the latter point to the material used, which is Wfae, etun (apax legomenon ), "linen yarn or thread," hence equivalent to "coverlets of Egyptian thread." This was of extreme fineness, costly, and much prized. By "carved works" (Hebrew, twObfuj, chatuboth) the Authorized Version must refer to bed poles or bed boards elaborately carved and polished; but the word is better taken of coverlets striped in different colours, which give the idea of richness and luxury. Vulgate, trapetibus pictis ex Aegypto, "embroidered rugs of Egyptian work;" Septuagint, amfitapoiv toiv ap Aiguptou , "shaggy cloth of Egypt." The mention of these articles denotes the foreign commerce of the Hebrews, and their appreciation of artistic work. (comp. Isa_19:9 Eze_27:7) The Prophet Amos (Amo_6:4) denounces those that "lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry.
Pro_7:16
I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry.
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A luxurious bed
I have exhausted the toil of myself and bought the toil of others to increase the luxury of my rest. Come and see the courtly elegance with which my bed is decked. Long and weary days have I laboured at the counting-house, at the workshop, or at the desk. And now my bed is decked. Come and look. Place yourself at my chamber window and tell me what you see now and what you will see next year.
1. I see thee lying on this bed which thou hast decked, fretful, restless, and miserable. Thou hast found out too late that enjoyment is more painful than expectation.
2. I see thee dying on the same bed. May God grant thee mercy! but if He does it is in spite of the luxury with which thou art surrounded.
3. I see thee lying in another bed. It is narrow, and though well quilted and smoothed, yet it has no room for the weary body to turn, or for the feverish head to lift itself. I have decked my bed with peace. And though its coverings are but scanty, and though sorrow and desolation have taken their seats by its side, yet peace remains. And there is one like unto the Son of Man whose gracious face ever shines on me from before this, my poor resting-place, so that though deserted and wretched, His love gives me a comfort this world can neither give nor take away.
Come and see. I have come, oh, saint of God! and I see three sights.
1. Destitution and pain are indeed about thee as thou liest on that rude couch; but peace and love reign there, and who shall prevail against the Lords elect?
2. I see thee in thy dying hour. Deserted and miserable thou mayest be, but angelic forms are hovering over thee, and I hear a voice speaking as man can never speak, saying, Come, thou beloved of My Father!
3. I see thee in thy narrow bed, but I see something else behind. For I see that great city, the holy Jerusalem, having the glory of God. And I hear a voice there saying, Who is this who is arrayed in white robes? and whence came he? And I say unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And the voice says, He is one of them that came out of great tribulation, etc. (Christian Treasury.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 sprinkled my bed with
sprinkled my bed with
"scattered on my bed"
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aloes
A type of wood from a tree that smells good.
cinnamon
This is a spice made from the bark of a tree that smells and tastes good.
let us drink our fill of love
Here the pleasures of romantic love are spoken of as if they were something good to drink. AT: "let us make love to each other as much as we want" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
Egypt
myrrh
had relations with
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 7:16-17 Her emphasis on her bed and exotic perfumes…
7:16-17 Her emphasis on her bed and exotic perfumes (myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon) is explicitly sexual (cp. Song 4:13-14).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.