Wedding reading
Song of Solomon 8:6–7
King James Bible
“Song of Solomon 8:6–7” (King James Bible) is a scripture reading read at a wedding ceremony. It takes about 35 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.
Where it comes from
These verses come near the close of the Song of Solomon, the Hebrew Bible’s book of love poetry.
What it says
The speaker asks to be worn like a seal on the heart and the arm, a mark of belonging. Then come the strongest claims about love anywhere in the Bible: it is as strong as death, its jealousy as cruel as the grave, its flames cannot be put out by floods, and anyone who tried to buy it with everything they owned would be laughed at. It is short, fierce and unsentimental.
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.
Who it suits
Couples who want something with more force than the usual readings, and ceremonies with a ring exchange, since the seal image leads straight into rings. It suits Jewish and Christian weddings alike. The word jealousy can startle a room; most couples are fine with it once it is read in context, but it is worth checking.
Where it goes in the ceremony
Place it right before the ring exchange so the officiant can pick up the seal image, or as the last reading before the vows. A single reader, often a parent or grandparent, because it is short and carries weight.
Reading it aloud
The text on this page is 68 words. At a ceremony pace of about 130 words a minute, which is slower than conversation, that comes to about 30 seconds of reading.
- Three images arrive quickly: seal, death and grave, fire and flood. Give each one space; at thirty seconds the reading can afford a slower pace than feels natural.
- The last sentence about buying love turns almost wry. Let a little lightness into it rather than reading it with the same weight as the death line.
- Look up on “many waters cannot quench love”. It is the line people remember.
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 35 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 35 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.
Other readings that suit the same service
- Song of Solomon 2:10–1340 secondsThe springtime invitation from the same book
- Ruth 1:16–17a30 secondsAnother short Hebrew Bible promise that reaches as far as death
- Sonnet 116a minute and a halfShakespeare on love that does not alter when tested
- 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a45 secondsKing James Bible
- 1 Corinthians 13:1–13two minutesKing James Bible
- Genesis 2:18–24a minute and a halfKing James Bible