Song-of-solomon 4:12
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
American King James Version (AKJV)
A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
American Standard Version (ASV)
A garden shut up is my sister, my bride; A spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
A garden walled-in is my sister, my bride; a garden shut up, a spring of water stopped.
Webster's Revision
A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
World English Bible
A locked up garden is my sister, my bride; a locked up spring, a sealed fountain.
English Revised Version (ERV)
A garden shut up is my sister, my bride; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
Clarke's Song-of-solomon 4:12 Bible Commentary
A garden enclosed - a spring shut up, a fountain sealed - Different expressions to point out the fidelity of the bride, or of the Jewish queen. See the outlines. She is unsullied, a chaste, pure virgin. None has ever entered into this garden; none has yet tasted of this spring; the seal of this fountain has never been broken. Among the Athenians, the interior part of the house, called the women's apartment, was not only locked but sealed; so Aristophan., Thesmoph. ver. 422: -
Ειτα δια τουτον ταις γυναικωνιτισιν
Σφραγιδας εμβαλλουσιν ηδη και μοχλους.
And on this account, to the women's apartment
They place seals as well as bolts.
And seal, as applicable to chaste conduct, is a phrase well known to the Greeks. Aeschylus, in the Agamemnon, praises a woman, σημαντη ριον ουδεν διαφψειρασαν, who had not violated her seal of conjugal faith. But Nonnus, lib. ii., uses the form of speech exactly as Solomon does with reference to a pure virgin; he says, Αψαυστον ἑης σφρηγιδα κορειης; "She had preserved the seal of her virginity untouched." All this is plain; but how many will make metaphors out of metaphors!
Barnes's Song-of-solomon 4:12 Bible Commentary
The loveliness and purity of the bride are now set forth under the image of a paradise or garden fast barred against intruders, filled with rarest plants of excellent fragrance, and watered by abundant streams. Compare Proverbs 5:15-20.
Songs 4:12
A fountain sealed - i. e., A well-spring covered with a stone Genesis 29:3, and sealed with "the king's own signet" (Daniel 6:17; compare Matthew 27:66).
Wesley's Song-of-solomon 4:12 Bible Commentary
4:12 A garden - For order and beauty, for pleasant walks, and flowers, and fruits. Inclosed - Defended by the care of my providence: and reserved for my proper use. Shut up - To preserve it from all pollution, and to reserve it for the use of its owner, for which reason, springs were shut up in those countries where water was scarce and precious.