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Song of Solomon 5:3

Old Testament Poetry/Wisdom ASV (1901)

What does Song of Solomon 5:3 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “I have put off my garment; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

I have put off my garment; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
Song of Solomon 5:3 — American Standard Version

Context — Song of Solomon 5

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1I am come into my garden, my sister, [my] bride: 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 was asleep, but my heart waked: 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, My locks with the drops of the night.
3I have put off my garment; 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 heart was moved for him.
5I rose up to open to my beloved; And my hands droppeth with myrrh, And my fingers with liquid myrrh, Upon the handles of the bolt.
6I opened to my beloved; But my beloved had withdrawn himself, [and] was gone. My soul had failed me when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
← Song of Solomon 5:2Song of Solomon 5:4 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“I have put off my coat, etc.] In order to lie down on her bed at night, and take her ease; meaning her conversation garments, which she had not been careful of to keep, but had betook herself to carnal ease and rest, and was off her watch and guard, (<160423>Nehemiah 4:23 <661615>Revelation 16:15); and being at ease, and free from trouble, affliction, and persecution, was unwilling to arise and go with her beloved, lest she should meet with the same trials and sufferings as before, for the sake of him and his Gospel; which may be greatly the sense of her next words; how shall I put it on? which suggests an apprehension of difficulty in doing it, it being easier to drop the performance of…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“She makes trivial excuses, as one in a dream. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“My coat - My day clothes, as persons use to do when they go to rest. How - It is inconvenient and troublesome to do it at this time. Washed my feet - Which the eastern people commonly did when they went to bed. Song of Solomon (Canticles) 5:4”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“have put: Pro 3:28, Pro 13:4, Pro 22:13; Mat 25:5, Mat 26:38-43; Luk 11:7; Rom 7:22, Rom 7:23 I have washed: As the Orientals only wear sandals, they are obliged to wash their feet previously to their lying down. Hence a Hindoo, if called from his bed, often makes his excuse that he shall daub his feet. Song of Solomon (Canticles) 5:4”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“3 I have put off my dress, How shall I put it on again? I have washed my feet, How shall I defile them again? She now lies unclothed in bed. כּתּנת is the χιτών worn next to the body, from כתן, linen (diff. from the Arab. ḳuṭun, cotton, whence French coton, calico = cotton-stuff). She had already washed her feet, from which it is supposed that she had throughout the day walked barefooted, - how (איככה, how? both times with the tone on the penult.; (Note: That it has the tone on the penult., like כּכה, e.g., Sol 5:9, is in conformity with the paragog. nature of .ה The tone, however, when the following word in close connection begins with ,א goes to the ult., Est 7:6. That this does not…”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification