He put his hand through the keyhole

My beloved put his hand through the keyhole.
My heart throbbed for him.

– Song of Solomon 5:4

My. Beloved. Put. His. Hand. Through. The. KEYHOLE. That had me like “ 😃 Ooooooooh, thank you Jesus! Please, won’t you please send me my dear Mrs. soon, so I could love her sacrificially… and um, put my hand through the keyhole, among other things?”

Despite reading the Song before, I never caught this until I began posting the book here two weeks ago, as the words “through the keyhole” seem specific to the God’s Word version and a few others. I mostly use the ESV, which states “My beloved put his hand to the latch.”

The NIV is a little more explicit:
“My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening.”

And the KJV:
“My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.”

Douay-Rheims Bible:
“My beloved put his hand through the key hole, and my bowels were moved at his touch.”

No matter how one looks at it, the point is clear: God is no prude, unlike many professing Christians. Boy am I glad He doesn’t shy away from being graphic, yet He does so in a way that’ll go over the heads of most kids.

Here’s the verse in context (Douay-Rheims Bible):
“3 I have put off my garment, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?

4 My beloved put his hand through the key hole, and my bowels were moved at his touch.

5 I arose up to open to my beloved: my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers were full of the choicest myrrh.”

Married Christian men, be nice to your wives – expecting nothing in return, of course. Side effects of such wife-focused grace include putting your hand – and other things – through the keyhole tonight.