שְׂמֹאלוֹ֙ תַּ֣חַת רֹאשִׁ֔י וִֽימִינ֖וֹ תְּחַבְּקֵֽנִי
His left hand would be under my head. His right hand would embrace me.
World English Bible · Public Domain
Song of Solomon 8:3
Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex) Song of Solomon 8:3 appears in the Hebrew Old Testament. The text above is from the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Each word links to its Strong’s number, a concise gloss, and parsing drawn from the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible morphology. Click any word for its full Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB) entry.
English Translation
His left hand would be under my head. His right hand would embrace me.
Download a study sheet
One document with this verse’s original text, its word-by-word gloss line, the meaning frame, cross-references with their text, attributed commentary, and full source and license credits — printable, and it pastes into notes with its structure intact.
This verse Autodidact and up
A passage Seminary Student
Up to 50 verses in one chapter. A passage sheet keeps up to 6 commentary sources and 12 cross-references per verse, in the order this page ranks them, and says so on the sheet whenever that leaves anything out. Ask for a single verse and you get the Autodidact verse sheet above.
Everything on this page stays free to read, with no account — the sheet is a download of what is already on screen, not access to it.
Want to remove ads?
Support Godless Engineer
Compare translations 3
The same verse in 3 English versions, stacked beneath the original-language interlinear above. Click any original word for its lexicon entry.
Each is an independent rendering of the whole verse — the interlinear is not word-aligned to these translations.
Highlighted words mark where these versions differ — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment.
-
World English Bible Public Domain
His left hand would be under my head. His right hand would embrace me.
-
King James Version Public Domain
His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.
-
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
His left hand under my head and his right hand embraces me.
unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult).
Show all 18 translations
Every available English version of this verse, each an independent rendering of the whole verse.
-
World English Bible Public Domain
His left hand would be under my head. His right hand would embrace me.
-
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
His left hand is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.
-
Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
His left hand is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.
-
King James Version Public Domain
His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.
-
American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
His left hand `should be' under my head, And his right hand should embrace me.
-
Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.
-
Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
His left hand shalbe vnder mine head, and his right hand shall embrace me.
-
Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
His left hand under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.
-
Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
His left hand `is' under my head, And his right doth embrace me.
-
Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
His left hand [is] under my head, || And his right embraces me.
-
Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
His left hand is under my head and his right hand embraces me. The woman speaking to the other women
-
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
His left hand under my head and his right hand embraces me.
-
Darby Bible Public Domain
His left hand would be under my head, And his right hand embrace me.
-
World Messianic Bible Public Domain
His left hand would be under my head. His right hand would embrace me.
-
Webster's Bible Public Domain
His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.
-
Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
He supports my head with his left hand, and holds me close with his right.
-
Bible in Basic English Public Domain
His left hand would be under my head, and his right hand about me.
-
JPS Tanakh (1917) Public Domain
His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.
Literal Standard Version (2020), Covenant Press — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). Unlocked Literal Bible (unfoldingWord) — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult). Free Bible Version, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org).
Word by word
More ways to search: Search by grammar → Find every occurrence → Compare this word →
Practice this passage: Drill this verse → Learn its vocabulary →
תְּחַבְּקֵֽנִי
châbaq
H2263
“to embrace · me”
Verb, Piel, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular + Suffix, Personal, 1st Person, Common, Singular
- Appears 13× in the Hebrew Bible
- First appears at Genesis 29:13
- Part of Speech
- Verb
- Stem
- Piel
- Form
- Imperfect
- Person
- 3rd Person
- Gender
- Feminine
- Number
- Singular
Full BDB Definition
to embrace, clasp
- (Qal)
- to embrace
- to fold one's hands in idleness (figuratively)
- (Piel) to embrace
- שְׂמֹאלוֹ֙ sᵉmôʼwl H8040 “left · his” Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
- תַּ֣חַת tachath H8478 “under” Preposition
- רֹאשִׁ֔י rôʼsh H7218 “head · my” Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 1st Person, Common, Singular
- וִֽימִינ֖וֹ yâmîyn H3225 “and · right hand · his” Conjunction + Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
- תְּחַבְּקֵֽנִי châbaq H2263 “to embrace · me” Verb, Piel, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular + Suffix, Personal, 1st Person, Common, Singular
About this verse
These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →
- 5
- words
- 5
- distinct lemmas
- Wisdom
- section
Notable vocabulary
The rarest word here is תְּחַבְּקֵֽנִי to embrace H2263 — appearing just 13 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.
Shared distinctive vocabulary
תְּחַבְּקֵֽנִי to embrace H2263 occurs in 12 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:
Grammatical profile
- 1 verb
- 3 nouns
- 1 preposition
Verb forms
- תְּחַבְּקֵֽנִי Piel · Imperfect
Hebrew & Septuagint length
In English translation the verse runs 14 words from the Hebrew and 15 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.
A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.
Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.
Cross-references
4Topical passages linked to Song of Solomon 8:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.
- Song of Solomon 2:6 His left hand is under my head. His right hand embraces me.
- Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is [your] dwelling-place, Underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, Said, Destroy.
- Isaiah 62:4–5 You shall no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall your land any more be termed Desolate: but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for Yahweh delights in you, and your land shall be married.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.
Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).
Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint
The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.
These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.
εὐώνυμος αὐτός ὑπό ὁ κεφαλή ἐγώ καί ὁ δεξιός αὐτός περιλαμβάνω ἐγώ
His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.
LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain
Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →
Lesson kit
Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.
Song of Solomon, in the Wisdom, opens this verse with 5 words (5 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is châbaq (“to embrace”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.
Discussion questions
- What does “to embrace” (châbaq) contribute to the verse as a whole?
- Genesis 29:13 shares the word «to embrace» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
- The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
- The verb «תְּחַבְּקֵֽנִי» is Piel Imperfect. How does its form color the action?
- Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Geneva Bible (1599) read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?
Things to notice
- These translations choose different wording for 4 words in this verse.
- 5 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 5 words in this verse.
Commentary
Notes on Song of Solomon 8:3 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.
Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →
Trapp's Complete Commentary
John Trapp
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.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Geneva Bible translators
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne
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.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
Daniel D. Whedon
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.