Wedding reading
Song of Solomon 8:6–7
King James Bible
“Song of Solomon 8:6–7” by King James Bible is a scripture reading read at a wedding ceremony. It takes about 30 seconds read aloud, usually by a guest reader. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. 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.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
What it is about
Fierce rather than sweet. "Many waters cannot quench love."
Read at a wedding ceremony. Themes: fierce love · permanence · love stronger than death · a seal upon the heart.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Song of Solomon 8:6–7” take to read aloud?
“Song of Solomon 8:6–7” takes about 30 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Song of Solomon 8:6–7”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “Song of Solomon 8:6–7” runs about 30 seconds, which is a manageable amount to hand to a friend or family member. Give them a printed copy of their own, in a size they can read without their glasses, and tell them where to stand and how you will introduce them.
Can “Song of Solomon 8:6–7” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.