7:10

I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me: The sentence I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me is a variation of the similar statements in 2:16a and 6:3a–b. All of these statements express the mutual romantic love that the man and woman have for each other, but the statement here in 7:10 focuses on the man’s desire for the woman.

In the phrase I belong to my beloved, the woman did not imply that the man owns her as he owned property. It implies that she committed herself to him to love him. The phrase his desire is for me implies that he desired her romantic love because he also loved her in that committed way.

Some other ways to translate this verse are:

I belong to my lover, and he desires me. (Good News Translation)
-or-
I am my beloved’s, his longing is all for me. (Revised English Bible)
-or-
I belong to my lover, and he desires only me. (New Century Version)

In some languages it may be more natural for the woman to say this directly to the man. For example:

My darling, I am yours, (Contemporary English Version)

and you desire me.

his desire is for me: In the Hebrew text, this clause is more literally, “for me is his desire.” It emphasizes that his beloved is the only woman for whom the man feels romantic love. He does not desire any other woman in that way. Some other ways to translate this emphasis are:

I am the one whom he desires.
-or-
I am the only woman that he wants/loves.

desire: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as desire occurs only three times in the OT. The other times are in Genesis 3:16 and 4:7. In Genesis 4:7 the LORD said that sin desired to dominate Cain. In Genesis 3:16 the LORD told the woman that her desire would be for her husband. She would strongly desire him.

Here in the Song the woman said that the man’s desire was for her. The Hebrew word indicates a strong, urgent longing. She was the one on whom he set his romantic love and desires.

Use a natural way in your language to express this type of romantic love and longing. In some languages there is an idiom or figure of speech to translate this meaning.

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