Song of Solomon 1-3
Contemporary English Version
Love Is Better than Wine
1 (A) This is Solomon's
most beautiful song.
She Speaks:
2 Kiss me tenderly!
Your love is better than wine,
3 and you smell so sweet.
All the young women adore you;
the very mention of your name
is like spreading perfume.
* 4 Hurry, my king! Let's hurry.
Take me to your home.
The Young Women Speak:
We are happy for you!
And we praise your love
even more than wine.
She Speaks:
Young women of Jerusalem,
it is only right
that you should adore him.
5 My skin is dark and beautiful,
like a tent in the desert
or like Solomon's curtains.
6 Don't stare at me
just because the sun
has darkened my skin.
My brothers were angry with me;
they made me work in the vineyard,
and so I neglected
my complexion.
7 My darling, I love you!
Where do you feed your sheep
and let them rest at noon?
Don't let the other shepherds
think badly of me.
I'm not one of those women
who shamelessly follow
after shepherds.[a]
He Speaks:
8 My dearest, if you don't know,
just follow the path
of the sheep.
Then feed your young goats
near the shepherds' tents.
9 You move as gracefully
as the pony that leads
the chariot of the king.
10 Earrings add to your beauty,
and you wear a necklace
of precious stones.
11 Let's make you some jewelry
of gold, woven with silver.
She Speaks:
12 My king, while you
were on your couch,
my aroma was a magic charm.[b]
13 My darling, you are perfume
between my breasts;
14 you are flower blossoms
from the gardens of En-Gedi.[c]
He Speaks:
15 My darling, you are lovely,
so very lovely—
your eyes are those of a dove.
She Speaks:
16 My love, you are handsome,
truly handsome—
the fresh green grass
will be our wedding bed
17 in the shade of cedar
and cypress trees.
Love Makes Everything Beautiful
She Speaks:
2 I am merely a rose[d]
from the land of Sharon,
a lily from the valley.
He Speaks:
2 My darling, when compared
with other young women,
you are a lily among thorns.
She Speaks:
3 And you, my love,
are an apple tree
among trees of the forest.
Your shade brought me pleasure;
your fruit was sweet.
4 You led me to your banquet room
and showered me with love.
5 Refresh and strengthen me
with raisins and apples.
I am hungry for love!
6 Put your left hand under my head
and embrace me
with your right arm.
7 Young women of Jerusalem,
promise me by the power
of deer and gazelles[e]
never to awaken love
before it is ready.
Winter Is Past
She Speaks:
8 I hear the voice
of the one I love,
as he comes leaping
over mountains and hills
9 like a deer or a gazelle.
Now he stands outside our wall,
looking through the window
10 and speaking to me.
He Speaks:
My darling, I love you!
Let's go away together.
11 Winter is past,
the rain has stopped;
12 flowers cover the earth,
it's time to sing.[f]
The cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
13 Fig trees are bearing fruit,
while blossoms on grapevines
fill the air with perfume.
My darling, I love you!
Let's go away together.
14 You are my dove
hiding among the rocks
on the side of a cliff.
Let me see how lovely you are!
Let me hear the sound
of your melodious voice.
15 Our vineyards are in blossom;
we must catch the little foxes
that destroy the vineyards.[g]
She Speaks:
16 My darling, I am yours,
and you are mine,
as you feed your sheep
among the lilies.
17 Pretend to be a young deer
dancing on mountain slopes[h]
until daylight comes
and shadows fade away.
Beautiful Dreams
She Speaks:
3 While in bed at night,
I reached for the one I love
with heart and soul.
I looked for him,
but he wasn't there.
2 So I searched through the town
for the one I love.
I looked on every street,
but he wasn't there.
3 I even asked the guards
patrolling the town,
“Have you seen the one
I love so much?”
4 Right after that, I found him.
I held him and would not let go
until I had taken him
to the home of my mother.
5 Young women of Jerusalem,
promise me by the power
of deer and gazelles,[i]
never to awaken love
before it is ready.
The Groom and the Wedding Party
Their Friends Speak:
6 What do we see approaching
from the desert
like a cloud of smoke?
With it comes the sweet smell
of spices, including myrrh
and frankincense.
7 It is King Solomon
carried on a throne,
surrounded by sixty
of Israel's best soldiers.
8 Each of them wears a sword.
They are experts at fighting,
even in the dark.
9 The throne is made of trees
from Lebanon.
10 Its posts are silver,
the back is gold,
and the seat is covered
with purple cloth.
You women of Jerusalem
have taken great care
to furnish the inside.[j]
11 Now come and see the crown
given to Solomon by his mother
on his happy wedding day.
Footnotes
- 1.7 Don't let … after shepherds: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 1.12 magic charm: The Hebrew text has “spikenard” (or “nard”), a sweet-smelling ointment made from a plant that comes from India. The ointment was sometimes used as a love charm.
- 1.14 En-Gedi: An oasis west of the Dead Sea.
- 2.1 rose: The traditional translation. The exact variety of the flower is not known, though it may have been a crocus.
- 2.7 deer and gazelles: Deer and gazelles were sacred animals in some religions of Old Testament times, and they were thought to have special powers.
- 2.12 sing: Or “trim the vines.”
- 2.15 vineyards: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 15.
- 2.17 mountain slopes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 3.5 deer and gazelles: See the note at 2.7.
- 3.10 inside: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
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