Song of Solomon 8:7 · Bible study
Song of Solomon 8:7 Commentary: Love Unquenchable, Beyond Price
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Many waters cannot quench love, indestructible and priceless. This study examines the meaning for human and divine love in Song 8:7.
Research Summary
- Meaning: True love is indestructible and cannot be purchased with any amount of wealth.
- Key words: “Many waters” (מַיִם רַבִּים, mayim rabbim), overwhelming adversities; “quench” (כָּבָה, kavah), to extinguish like fire; “floods drown” (שָׁטַף, shaṭaph), to sweep away; “scorned” (בּוּז, buz), held in contempt.
- Main debate: Whether the love is purely human romantic love or an allegory for divine love (God’s love for Israel or Christ’s love for the Church).
- Theological theme: Love shares the quality of God’s own nature: strong, unquenchable, priceless, and not subject to market value.
- Best use: Weddings, teachings on marriage, lessons on the nature of genuine love, and discussions about materialism and relationships.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Many waters can’t quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love, he would be utterly scorned.
KJV King James Version 1769
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Many waters cannot quench love, Neither can floods drown it: If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, He would utterly be contemned.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Many waters are not able to quench the love, And floods do not wash it away. If one give all the wealth of his house for love, Treading down--they tread upon it.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Many waters cannot quench love, Neither do the floods drown it: Even if a man gave all the substance of his house for love, It would utterly be contemned.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown it: if a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Las muchas aguas no podrán apagar el amor, ni lo ahogarán los ríos. Si diese el hombre toda la hacienda de su casa por este amor, de cierto lo menospreciaran.
Muitas águas não poderiam apagar este amor, nem os rios afogá-lo; ainda que alguém desse todos os bens de sua casa por este amor, certamente o desprezariam.
Les grandes eaux ne peuvent éteindre l’amour,
daß auch viele Wasser nicht mögen die Liebe auslöschen noch die Ströme sie ertränken. Wenn einer alles Gut in seinem Hause um die Liebe geben wollte, so gölte es alles nichts.
Vele wateren zouden deze liefde niet kunnen uitblussen; ja, de rivieren zouden ze niet verdrinken; al gaf iemand al het goed van zijn huis voor deze liefde, men zou hem te enenmale verachten.
Le grandi acque non potrebbero spegnere l’amore, e de’ fiumi non potrebbero sommergerlo. Se uno desse tutti i beni di casa sua in cambio dell’amore, sarebbe del tutto disprezzato.
Wody wielkie nie mogłyby zagasić tej miłości, ani rzeki zatopić; choćby kto wszystkę majętność domu swego dał za takową miłość, byłby pewnie wzgardzony.
Большие воды не могут потушить любви, и реки не зальют ее. Если бы кто давал все богатство дома своего за любовь, то он был бы отвергнут с презреньем.
愛情，眾 水 不 能 息滅，大水 也不能 淹沒。若 有人 拿 家中 所有的 財寶 要換愛情，就全 被藐視。
Much water may not put out love, or the deep waters overcome it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would be judged a price not great enough.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Song of Solomon 8:7
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that Song of Solomon 8:7 makes a bold, climactic statement about love’s indestructible power and its inability to be purchased. Barnes calls this verse and the preceding one the “key-note of the poem,” the Old Testament counterpart to 1 Corinthians 13. The Cambridge Bible agrees that verses 6, 7 “undoubtedly contain the deepest thing said of love in the book.” Both Gill and Wesley read the love here as the church’s love for Christ, which neither persecution, affliction, nor temptation can destroy. Adam Clarke interprets it more directly as human romantic love: “Many waters, neither common nor uncommon adversities… can destroy love when it is pure.” On the second half of the verse, all commentators see the point: no amount of wealth can buy true love. Clarke says “no money can purchase it, no property can procure it.” This shared conviction, that love is both unconquerable and priceless, forms the core of the passage.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal human love: The Song’s surface narrative celebrates a romantic relationship; the verse naturally describes love between a man and woman.
- Allegorical divine love: Verse 6 calls love ‘a very flame of Yah’ and the broader biblical tradition reads the Song as depicting God’s covenant love for Israel or Christ’s love for the Church.
- Both human and divine: Many commentators hold that the verse operates on two levels: it honors human marital love and also points to the nature of God’s unquenchable love.
What is clear: The verse unambiguously teaches that genuine love is indestructible by any external force and cannot be purchased with any amount of material wealth.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Scope of love: human vs. divine | The verse describes love as indestructible and priceless, applicable to both human relationships and divine love. | Some interpreters (e.g., Clarke, Wesley) emphasize human romantic love from the literal Song, while others (e.g., Gill, Barnes) read it as an allegory of Christ’s love for the Church or God’s love for Israel. Both readings have ancient support. |
| Love's origin and nature | Love is a powerful, even divine, force that cannot be overcome by any external opposition. | Whether the love is inherently divine (a “flame of Yah” from v.6) or a natural human affection that reflects God’s design. The connection to God’s love is explicit in the allegorical tradition but debated in literal readings. |
| The meaning of wealth in the second half | No amount of material wealth can purchase genuine love; attempting to do so is foolish and contemptible. | Some see this as a critique of arranged marriages where bride-price was emphasized. Others read it as a spiritual truth that love (especially God’s grace) cannot be earned. |
| Relationship to 1 Corinthians 13 | Many commentators note a thematic parallel between Song 8:6, 7 and Paul’s hymn to love. | Whether the Song directly influenced Paul or both draw on a common tradition of teaching about love’s supremacy. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Song of Solomon 8:7 sits at the climax of a poem that celebrates love between a man and a woman, often interpreted as Solomon and a Shulammite bride. The wider context shows a relationship that has overcome obstacles and now reaches a moment of permanent commitment. Verse 6 asks to be “set as a seal” on the beloved’s heart and arm, an image drawn from ancient signet rings that were worn as permanent, personal markers. The verse we study builds on that request, declaring love’s strength against all opposition.
In the ancient Near East, marriage was often a matter of contract and price. A bride-price (mohar) was paid by the groom’s family to the bride’s. The Song pushes against reducing love to a financial transaction. The second half of verse 7 directly confronts this mindset: if a man offered everything he owned for love, his offer would be treated with contempt. The Cambridge Bible notes that this critique would have been sharp in a culture where “marriage was a mere matter of contract, and the price given for the bride a subject of pride.”
The poetic imagery of “many waters” and “floods” draws on a common biblical metaphor for overwhelming danger or chaos (Psalm 69:2, Isaiah 43:2). Love is compared to fire in verse 6, so water as its natural opponent makes sense. The Hebrew verb shaṭaph (to overflow, sweep away) reinforces the idea of a destructive force that cannot overcome genuine love. Whether read as human romance or divine affection, the verse declares that love withstands every external assault.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentaries and lexical sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The parallel structure of waters and floods, quench and drown, is consistent in all major editions. The second half’s use of the infinitive absolute boz (“certainly to despise”) followed by yavuzu (“people will despise”) is a standard Hebrew construction for emphasis, and no variant readings affect the meaning.
Reception History
Song of Solomon 8:7 has been treasured across Jewish and Christian traditions, often read as a pinnacle of love’s depiction. The Targum (ancient Aramaic paraphrase) interprets the verse as God’s promise never to abandon Israel, the “waters” are exile and suffering, and God’s love remains. Early Christian writers, following Origen and Jerome, read the Song allegorically as Christ’s love for the Church or the soul’s love for God. In this reading, the verse celebrates the invincibility of divine charity. Later Protestant commentators like Matthew Henry applied the verse to both human marriage and the believer’s relationship with Christ. The verse appears frequently in wedding liturgies and hymns, celebrated for its affirmation that true love withstands every trial and cannot be bought or sold.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Love is indestructible. “Many waters can’t quench love, neither can floods drown it.” Love withstands hardship, persecution, and time. Like fire that cannot be put out, genuine love endures.
- Love cannot be bought. “If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love, he would be utterly scorned.” No amount of money or possessions can create or purchase love. It is a gift given freely or not at all.
- Love demands proper reverence. The verse implies we must not trivialize love by treating it as a commodity or attempting to control it. Love is a powerful force that commands respect.
Five-point outline
- Context: The bride has asked to be sealed on her beloved’s heart (v.6). She then declares why such permanent union is fitting.
- Love’s strength: Water and floods symbolize the greatest threats, yet love cannot be overwhelmed.
- Love’s origin: Verse 6 calls love “a flame of Yah”, divinely sourced. This love partakes of God’s own nature.
- Love’s refusal to be bought: The second half of verse 7 exposes the folly of trying to purchase love with wealth.
- Love’s final triumph: The verse concludes the poem’s argument that true love is both invincible and invaluable.
Illustration hooks
- Wedding vows: Couples promise to love “for richer or poorer.” This verse reminds us that poverty may test love, but wealth cannot secure it.
- The child’s gift: A young child offers a crumpled drawing to a parent. The child has nothing else to give, but the love behind the gift is beyond measure. Similarly, love cannot be bought; it is given.
- Hospital waiting room: A spouse sits for hours beside a sick partner. No one pays them to stay. The love that keeps them there is stronger than any flood of hardship.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How do I know if my love is genuine and not just emotional infatuation? The verse suggests genuine love can withstand trials and is not motivated by gain.
- Is it wrong to try to win someone’s affection with gifts or favors? The verse warns that love cannot be purchased. Gifts should express love, not try to create it.
- Does this verse apply to God’s love for us, or only to human relationships? The church has often read it both ways, but the main point is love’s power and value, whether human or divine.
Leading a Discussion
This verse caps a long poem celebrating love. As you discuss, consider both the human relationship in the Song and the centuries-old tradition of reading it as an allegory of God’s love for His people. What does the verse teach about love’s nature and about our culture’s assumptions regarding love and money?
Discussion questions
- What do the images of “many waters” and “floods” suggest about the kinds of challenges love can face?
- Love is compared to fire in verse 6 and then set against water here. How does this contrast strengthen the claim that love cannot be quenched?
- The second half of the verse condemns trying to buy love. In what ways do people today still try to purchase or earn love?
- Why does the verse say such a man would be “utterly scorned” or “despised”? What does that reaction reveal about love’s dignity?
- If love cannot be bought, how is it received? What does this imply about the nature of love as a gift?
- How does this verse challenge or affirm your understanding of God’s love? Can God’s love be “drowned” by our failures?
- In what practical ways can we demonstrate that we value love over material wealth in our daily choices?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Proverbs 6:31 | but if he is found, he shall restore seven times. He shall give all the wealth of his house. |
| Proverbs 6:35 | He won’t regard any ransom, neither will he rest content, though you give many gifts. |
| Isaiah 43:2 | When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you. |
| Matthew 7:24 | “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. |
| Matthew 7:25 | The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock. |
| Romans 8:28 | We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. |
| Romans 8:39 | nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
| Romans 13:8 | Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that true love cannot be bought with money or property. It arises naturally and cannot exist if it does not begin on its own.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes sees love as a powerful force that can defeat death and jealousy. He also views it as a divine fire sharing God’s essence that overcomes water symbolizing opposition.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges sees this verse as the core truth of the whole book showing love is so strong it cannot be destroyed by any force. It also shows that giving everything for such love would bring only shame.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Bible notes emphasize love's invincible nature: it cannot be quenched by any water or drowned by any flood. They also point out that love cannot be bought; a man offering all his wealth for it would be despised.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasizes that the church's love for Christ is absolutely unquenchable and cannot be overcome. No persecution, affliction, temptation, sin, or even the terrors of divine wrath can extinguish it. This love also cannot be bought or traded for any worldly wealth; believers will not part with it for anything.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson Fausset Brown notes that nothing except Jesus Christ Himself can satisfy God’s love for the saint. Satan offers the world as a substitute but in vain.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch sees the request to be set as a signet-ring on heart and arm as a plea for indissoluble union, not just a metaphor. The comparison of love to death and jealousy to Sheol highlights their shared irresistible power and inflexible hold, not that love surpasses them.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry sees these words as spoken by the city’s women praising the bridegroom’s beloved for trusting him fully. He also believes the Jewish church and individual believers rose from a difficult state by relying on Christ’s grace.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley observes that the "many waters" symbolize both terrors and afflictions as well as temptations and allurements, none of which can quench his love for Christ. He then pleads simply for Christ himself, counting all other persons and things as nothing in comparison.