Bible Strands
Psalms 45:14
In colorful garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions are brought before you.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the king concerning a royal wedding procession, immediately following the description of the princess in her private chamber. The speaker narrates the bride's arrival at the palace alongside her female companions.
The words — The Hebrew לִרְקָמוֹת (li/r.ka.mOt) literally means "to embroidered robes," specifying the bride's attire. The verb תּוּבַל (tu.Val) denotes that she is "brought" or led forward to the king.
The thread — The embroidered garments parallel the priestly vestments detailed in Exodus 28:39, while the presentation of a pure virgin to a husband prefigures the Pauline metaphor in 2 Corinthians 11:2. The communal anticipation surrounding the bride also mirrors the gathering described in Song of Solomon 8:13.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to observe a deliberate shift from private preparation to public royal presentation. Readers must note how the ceremonial entry establishes covenantal structure without projecting modern emotional narratives onto the scene.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.
Cross-references
- Song of Solomon 8:13 You who dwell in the gardens, my companions are listening for your voice. Let me hear it!
- 2 Corinthians 11:2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
- Exodus 28:39 You are to weave the tunic with fine linen, make the turban of fine linen, and fashion an embroidered sash.
- Song of Solomon 1:3 The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens adore you.
- Song of Solomon 2:7 O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.
- Song of Solomon 6:1 Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you.
- Song of Solomon 6:8 There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number,
- Song of Solomon 6:13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may gaze upon you. Why do you look at the Shulammite, as on the dance of Mahanaim?
- Judges 5:30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil—a girl or two for each warrior, a plunder of dyed garments for Sisera, the spoil of embroidered garments for the neck of the looter?’
- Song of Solomon 5:8 O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you, if you find my beloved, tell him I am sick with love.