His hands are like rings of gold set with beryl. His body is like ivory work overlaid with sapphires.
Parallel Translations
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His hands are like rings of gold set with beryl. His body is like ivory work overlaid with sapphires.
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His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.
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His hands are as rods of gold set with beryl; his body is as polished ivory overlaid with sapphires.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Song of Solomon 5:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 24:10 They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was like a paved work of sapphire stone, like the skies for clearness.
- Isaiah 54:11 “You afflicted, tossed with storms, and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in beautiful colors, and lay your foundations with sapphires.
- Exodus 15:6 Your right hand, Yahweh, is glorious in power. Your right hand, Yahweh, dashes the enemy in pieces.
- Exodus 28:20 and the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be enclosed in gold in their settings.
- Exodus 39:13 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold settings.
- Psalms 99:4 The King’s strength also loves justice. You establish equity. You execute justice and righteousness in Jacob.
- Song of Solomon 7:2 Your body is like a round goblet, no mixed wine is wanting. Your waist is like a heap of wheat, set about with lilies.
- Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.
- Isaiah 52:13 Behold, my servant will deal wisely. He will be exalted and lifted up, and will be very high.
- Ezekiel 1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like a beryl. The four of them had one likeness. Their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel within a wheel.
- Ezekiel 1:26-28 Above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone. On the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man on it above. I saw as it were glowing metal, as the appearance of fire within it all around, from the appearance of his waist and upward; and from the appearance of his waist and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. As the appearance of the rainbow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of Yahweh’s glory. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke.
- Psalms 44:4-7 You are my King, God. Command victories for Jacob! Through you, will we push down our adversaries. Through your name, we will tread down those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. But you have saved us from our adversaries, and have shamed those who hate us.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Hebrew, Tarshish.
Hebrew, Tarshish.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Son 5:14 His hands [are as] gold rings set…
Son 5:14 His hands [are as] gold rings set with the beryl: his belly [is as] bright ivory overlaid [with] sapphires.
Ver. 14. His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl.] Or, Chrysolite; Heb., Tarshish, whence our word turkeis, as it may seem, a precious stone, of colour blue like the sky, or, as others say, green like the sea. Asher was graven upon this stone, who dwelt near the sea. {Exo 28:20} Some write, that in former times this stone was most usually set in such rings as lovers did use to give one to another, or in marriage rings; because of the power that was thought to be in it to procure and continue love and liking one of them towards another. Whatsoever stone it is, whether a beryl, chrysolite, carbuncle, hyacinth, onyx (for all these ways it is rendered), the Church’s meaning is, that all the works of Christ, whether in the state of humiliation or of exaltation - for redemption we have by his abasement, application of it by his advancement - are most rare, dear, precious, and glorious, as numbers of rings filled with all manner of costly stones; they are acceptable and hononrable before God and man. And like as great men are known by their rings and rich jewels, so is Christ by his saints, the work of his hands. {Isa 64:8}
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His belly is as bright ivory, overlaid with sapphires.] Heb., His bowels, in the dual - meaning his breast and belly, and there the heart and lights, those seats of the will and affections; here, the liver, stomach, entrails, which serve for nutrition and generation. By all this we may well understand Christ’s inward affections outwardly manifested. These are true and sincere, as bright and white "ivory"; they are also hearty and heavenly, as "sapphires"; various also and manifold, sicut sapphiri caeruleae sunt, his bowels yearn towards his afflicted people, his heart is turned within him, his "repentings are kindled together"; {Hos 11:8} so the poet,
“ Ingemuit miserans graviter, dextramque tetendit. ” - Virg.
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 His hands; the instruments of action and of distribution,…
His hands; the instruments of action and of distribution, which may design the actions of Christ, and particularly his distributing gifts and graces to his members.
As gold rings set with the beryl; beautiful and precious, and richly adorned, as it were with gold rings set with precious stones.
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His belly; which seems to be here used, either,
1. Metonymically for the bowels, which are contained in the belly. Or rather,
2. Synecdochically, for the whole body, reaching from the neck, to the bottom of the belly, which is distinguished from the face and the joints, which are described in the other clauses. For he speaks here of those parts which are visible to the eye. And thus here is a complete description of Christ’s beauty in all parts, from his head to his feet.
As bright ivory overlaid with sapphires; of a pure and bright white colour, intermixed with blue veins; for some sapphires are of a bright blue colour.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Beryl - Beautiful, and precious, and richly adorned, as…
Beryl - Beautiful, and precious, and richly adorned, as it were with gold rings set with precious stones. Belly - Which seems to be here used, for the whole body, reaching from the neck to the bottom of the belly. Saphires - Of a pure and bright white colour, intermixt with blue veins; for some saphires are of a bright blue colour.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 14. His hands - gold rings set with…
Verse 14. His hands - gold rings set with the beryl] This really seems to refer to gold rings set with precious stones on the fingers, and perhaps to circlets or bracelets about the wrists. Some suppose it to refer to the roundness and exquisite symmetry of the hand and fingers. תרשיש tarshish, which we translate beryl, a gem of a sea-green tint, had better be translated chrysolite, which is of a gold colour.
His belly - bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.] This must refer to some garment set with precious stones which went round his waist, and was peculiarly remarkable. If we take it literally, the sense is plain enough. His belly was beautifully white, and the blue veins appearing under the skin resembled the sapphire stone. But one can hardly think that this was intended.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Son 5:14-16. His hands as gold rings set with…
Son 5:14-16. His hands as gold rings set with beryl — Beautiful and precious, and richly adorned, as it were, with gold rings set with precious stones; his belly as bright ivory — Which seems to be here used for the whole body, reaching from the neck to the bottom of the belly; overlaid with sapphires — Of a pure and bright white colour, intermixed with blue veins; for some sapphires are of a bright blue colour. His legs as pillars of marble — White, and straight, and well shaped, and strong; set upon sockets of fine gold — His feet are compared to gold, for their singular brightness, for which they are compared to fine brass, Rev 1:15; his countenance — Hebrew, his aspect or appearance, his form or person; is as Lebanon, &c. — In respect of its cedars, tall, and upright, and stately. He is altogether lovely — Not to run out into more particulars. This is my beloved, O ye daughters, &c. — And therefore you have no cause to wonder if I am transported with love to so excellent a personage.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain His hands ... - Are golden rings or cylinders.…
His hands ... - Are golden rings or cylinders. The fingers of the bent or closed hand are compared to a massive ring or set of rings; or, if outstretched or straightened, to a row of golden rods or cylinders.
The beryl - The “tarshish” (compare Exo 28:20), probably the chrysolite of the ancients (so called from its gold color), the modern topaz.
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His belly ... - His body (the Hebrew term applies to the whole body, from the shoulders to the thighs) is a piece of ivory workmanship overlaid with sapphires. The sapphire of the ancients seems to have been the lapis lazuli.
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 Hyacinths. Or purple veins. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "hands are…
Hyacinths. Or purple veins. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "hands are as gold rings set with the beryl." Hebrew, "full of Tharsis," (Haydock) or precious stones, (Menochius) from that country, (Exodus xxviii.) with which his rings were ornamented. (Calmet) --- Sapphires. His belt or garment is thus ornamented. (Sanchez) --- The works of Christ proceeded from his infinite charity for mankind, whose salvation he greatly desired, (Mark vii. 37., and 1 Corinthians xv. 22., and 1 Timothy ii. 4.) so that none can perish but by their own fault. (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).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 14. His hands, etc. — The rings… better as…
14. His hands, etc. — The rings… better as an adjective, smoothly rounded. The arms and fingers taper, preserving their fulness to the nails, which are like enamel of beryl, or chrysolite, (Hebrew, the stone of Tarshish,) now called topaz, of a clear brown yellow and of glassy lustre.
His belly — This word may refer to the entire surface of the body, and the word body would more truly translate it. The sapphire of the ancients was both our true sapphire — a sky-blue stone, nearly as valuable as the diamond — and the lapis lazuli, a blue with yellow specks. Probably the former is here meant, and as it overlays the body, it refers to the tunic. The hue of the sapphire is admirable to relieve and vary the general picture; nor is there anything indelicate in allusion to such parts of the person as, being usually covered, keep their whiteness.
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 14. gold rings] Rather, cylinders of gold. In Est_1:6,…
14. gold rings] Rather, cylinders of gold. In Est_1:6, which is the only place in the O.T. besides this where the word occurs in a similar sense, it probably means ‘rods’ or ‘cylinders.’ Here it refers to the delicately rounded fingers forming the hand.
set] Cp. Exo_28:17.
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the beryl] Better, chrysolite, i.e. topaz (R.V. marg.). His finger-nails are compared to transparent pink chrysolite.
his belly] R.V. rightly, his body. This is a piece of ivory work. Budde suggests a sheet of ivory.
overlaid with sapphires] R.V. margin, encrusted. What is meant is that his body was as beautiful as a piece of ivory work studded with sapphires. This is the only part of this description which might appear unmaidenly, but understood as above, it is quite compatible with the situation as supposed.
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 (14) His hands . . .—Galil, translated ring, is…
(14) His hands . . .—Galil, translated ring, is more probably a cylinder (from galal, to roll), referring to the rounded arm, ending in a well-shaped hand with beautiful nails.
Beryl.—Heb. tarshish; LXX. θαρσις. Possibly “stones of Tarshish,” and if so, either chrysolite or topaz, both said to have been first found in Tartessus, an ancient city of Spain, between the two mouths of the Bœtis (Guadalquiver). Mentioned as one of the precious stones in the breastplate of the High Priest (Exo_28:20; Exo_39:13). The LXX. adopt the various renderings χρυσολίθο =ς, ἄνθραξ, λίθος ἄνθρακος, or, as here, keep the original word.
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Bright ivory.—Literally, a work of ivory, i.e., a chef-d’œuvre in ivory.
Sapphires.—It is doubtful whether the sapphire of Scripture is the stone so called now, or the lapis-lazuli. The former best suits Exo_28:18 and Job_28:6, because lapis-lazuli is too soft for engraving. The comparison in the text either alludes to the blue veins showing through the white skin or to the colour of some portion of dress.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
The young woman continues to describe the man.
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His arms are rounded gold set with jewels
"His arms are cylinders of gold that have jewels all over them." The woman uses this image to say that his arms are beautiful and precious. The first readers would have understood this as a metaphor for the male body part (See: Song of Songs 5:3), but this would be difficult to bring out in translation. (See: Metaphor)
his abdomen is ivory covered with sapphires
"his belly is smooth ivory that has sapphires all over it." The woman uses this image to say that his belly is beautiful and precious. (See: Metaphor)
ivory
the white tusk or tooth of an animal that is similar to bone. People use ivory to make smooth and shiny pieces of art.
sapphires
valuable stones that are either 1) blue or 2) clear and either blue or golden
translationWords
gold
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 5:14 The man’s body is portrayed as beautiful and…
5:14 The man’s body is portrayed as beautiful and precious. • Beryl is an olive-green gem. • Lapis lazuli is a blue gem.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.