Bible Strands
Song of Solomon 3:8
All are skilled with the sword, experienced in warfare. Each has his sword at his side prepared for the terror of the night.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes the sixty mighty men escorting Solomon’s carriage as it moves through the procession.
The words — חֶרֶב (che.rev) translates to sword, and מְלֻמְּדֵי (me.lu.me.dei) means trained or skilled.
The thread — The text introduces the sixty escorts in Song of Solomon 3:7, details their armed readiness in Song of Solomon 3:8, and describes the carriage’s construction in Song of Solomon 3:9. The motif of a warrior’s side sword appears in Psalms 45:3, and the phrase terror of the night occurs in Psalms 91:5.
Why it lands — The verse states that every escort carries a ready sword to guard against nighttime danger. It requires the reader to register the explicit military detail before moving to the next verse’s architectural description.
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
They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
Cross-references
- Psalms 45:3 Strap your sword at your side, O mighty warrior; appear in your majesty and splendor.
- Nehemiah 4:21 So we continued the work, while half of the men held spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out.
- Psalms 91:5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
- Psalms 149:5 Let the saints exult in glory; let them shout for joy upon their beds.
- Isaiah 27:3 I, the LORD, am its keeper; I water it continually. I guard it night and day so no one can disturb it;
- Ephesians 6:16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6 So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.