The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.(A)

Woman

Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your caresses[a] are more delightful than wine.(B)
The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating;(C)
your name is perfume poured out.(D)
No wonder young women[b] adore you.
Take me with you(E)—let’s hurry.
Oh, that the king would bring[c] me to his chambers.

Young Women

We will rejoice and be glad in you;
we will celebrate your caresses more than wine.

Woman

It is only right that they adore you.

Daughters of Jerusalem,(F)
I am dark like the tents of Kedar,(G)
yet lovely(H) like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not stare at me because I am dark,
for the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;(I)
they made me take care of the vineyards.(J)
I have not taken care of my own vineyard.

Tell me, you whom I love:(K)
Where do you pasture your sheep?(L)
Where do you let them rest at noon?(M)
Why should I be like one who veils herself[d]
beside the flocks of your companions?(N)

Man

[e]If you do not know,
most beautiful of women,(O)
follow[f] the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
near the shepherds’ tents.

I compare you, my darling,(P)
to a[g] mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.(Q)
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with jewelry,(R)
your neck with its necklace.
11 We will make gold jewelry for you,
accented with silver.

Woman

12 While the king is on his couch,[h]
my perfume[i] releases its fragrance.(S)
13 The one I love is a sachet of myrrh to me,(T)
spending the night between my breasts.
14 The one I love is a cluster of henna blossoms to me,(U)
in the vineyards of En-gedi.(V)

Man

15 How beautiful you are, my darling.
How very beautiful!
Your eyes are doves.(W)

Woman

16 How handsome you are, my love.(X)
How delightful!
Our bed is verdant;
17 the beams of our house are cedars,
and our rafters are cypresses.[j]

Footnotes

  1. 1:2 Or acts of love
  2. 1:3 Or wonder virgins
  3. 1:4 Or The king has brought
  4. 1:7 Or who wanders
  5. 1:8 Some understand the young women to be the speakers in this verse.
  6. 1:8 Lit go out for yourself into
  7. 1:9 Lit my
  8. 1:12 Or is at his table
  9. 1:12 Lit nard
  10. 1:17 Or firs, or pines

Love

This is Solomon's most beautiful song.

The young woman:

Please kiss me with your lips!
    Your love makes me happier than wine does.
You have put perfume on your body.
    It has a lovely smell.
The sound of your name causes pleasure everywhere,
    like sweet perfume.
All the young women love you!
Take me away with you. Come quickly.
    I want the king to take me into his rooms.[a]

The woman's friends:[b]

We are very happy!
    You make us happy.
We praise your love,
    because it is better than wine.

The young woman:

I agree! The young women are right to praise you like that.

Young women of Jerusalem, my skin is dark but I am beautiful.[c]
    My skin is dark, like the tents of Kedar.
    It is beautiful, like the curtains of King Solomon's tent.
The sun has caused my skin to become dark.
    Please do not look at me as if I am strange.
My brothers were angry with me.
    They caused me to work outside in the sun.
I took care of the vineyards,
    and I could not take care of my own vineyard, my body.

I love you, my dear one.[d]
Tell me where you take your sheep to eat grass.
    Where will you take them to rest at midday?
I do not want to look for you everywhere
    among the sheep of your friends.
They might not understand what I am doing.

The man and the woman praise each other

The young man:

You are the most beautiful woman of all.
If you do not know where to find me,
    follow the marks from the feet of my sheep.
Take your young goats to eat grass
    among the tents of the shepherds.
My dear friend, you are very beautiful.
    You seem to me like a beautiful horse that pulls one of Pharaoh's chariots.
10 Your face is beautiful with jewels.
    A necklace makes your neck beautiful too.
11 We will use gold to make ear rings for you,
    and we will add pieces of silver.

The young woman:[e]

12 While the king was eating a meal,
    the sweet smell of my perfume was in the air.
13 My lover is like a bag of myrrh
    that lies between my breasts.
14 He is like a group of henna flowers
    that grow in the vineyards at En Gedi.[f]

The young man:

15 My dear friend, I see that you are very beautiful!
Yes, you are beautiful
and your eyes are like doves.

The young woman:

16 My lover, I see that you are very handsome!
    Yes, you are lovely!
This field of fresh, green grass is our comfortable bed.
17 The cedar trees above us are the beams of our bedroom.[g]
    The pine trees cover us like a roof.

Footnotes

  1. 1:4 The man may be a king. Or, for the woman, he may be like a king, because she gives him honour.
  2. 1:4 The woman is with some friends. The women friends are speaking about the man, not about the woman.
  3. 1:5 The writer calls her friends the ‘Daughters of Jerusalem’. Jerusalem was the capital city where Solomon was king.
  4. 1:7 The woman now speaks to the man that she loves.
  5. 1:12 The woman talks to her friends about her time with the man.
  6. 1:14 Henna is a plant that has a lovely smell. En Gedi is the name of a pool of water in a desert.
  7. 1:17 Beams are big pieces of wood that the roof is fixed to.