1Solomon’s Song of Songs. She[1]2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth – for your love is more delightful than wine.3Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the young women love you!4Take me away with you – let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers. Friends We rejoice and delight in you[2]; we will praise your love more than wine. She How right they are to adore you!5Dark am I, yet lovely, daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent curtains of Solomon.[3]6Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun. My mother’s sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I had to neglect.7Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends? Friends8If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your young goats by the tents of the shepherds. He9I liken you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariot horses.10Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.11We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver. She12While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.13My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts.14My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi. He15How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves. She16How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant. He17The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs.
Song of Solomon 1
English Standard Version
1The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. (1Ki 4:32)
The Bride Confesses Her Love
2She[1]: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine; (So 4:10)3your anointing oils are fragrant; your name is oil poured out; therefore virgins love you. (Ec 7:1; Lu 7:46; Joh 12:3)4Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers. Others: We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine; rightly do they love you. (Ps 9:2; Ps 45:14; Ps 45:15; Ps 119:32; So 1:2; So 2:4; Ho 11:4; Joh 6:44; Joh 12:32; Joh 14:2; Eph 2:6; Php 3:12)5She: I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. (Ps 120:5; So 2:7; So 2:14; So 3:5; So 3:10; So 4:3; So 5:8; So 5:16; So 6:4; So 8:4; Isa 60:7; Lu 23:28)6Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept! (Job 27:18; Ps 69:8; Pr 27:18; So 8:11; 1Co 9:27)7Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions? (Ps 23:1; So 2:16; So 3:1; So 6:3; So 8:13; Isa 13:20; Jer 33:12; Eze 34:14)
Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other
8He: If you do not know, O most beautiful among women, follow in the tracks of the flock, and pasture your young goats beside the shepherds’ tents. (So 5:9; So 6:1)9I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots. (2Ch 1:16; So 1:15)10Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels. (So 5:13; Eze 16:11)11Others: We will make for you[2] ornaments of gold, studded with silver.12She: While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance. (So 1:4; So 4:13; Mr 14:3; Joh 12:3)13My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh that lies between my breasts. (Ps 45:8; Joh 19:39)14My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of Engedi. (1Sa 23:29; So 4:13)15He: Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves. (So 1:9; So 2:2; So 2:10; So 2:13; So 4:1; So 4:7; So 5:2; So 5:12; So 6:4; Eze 16:13)16She: Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful. Our couch is green; (2Sa 1:23; 2Sa 1:26; So 2:3)17the beams of our house are cedar; our rafters are pine. (Isa 37:24; Isa 60:13; Eze 31:8)