Song of Songs 5
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Man
5 I have come to my garden – my sister, my bride.
I gather[a] my myrrh with my spices.
I eat my honeycomb with my honey.
I drink my wine with my milk.
Narrator
Woman
2 I was sleeping, but my heart was awake.
A sound! My love was knocking!(B)
Man
Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my perfect one.
For my head is drenched with dew,
my hair with droplets of the night.
Woman
3 I have taken off my clothing.(C)
How can I put it back on?
I have washed my feet.
How can I get them dirty?
4 My love thrust his hand through the opening,
and my feelings were stirred for him.
5 I rose to open for my love.
My hands dripped with myrrh,(D)
my fingers with flowing myrrh
on the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened to my love,
but my love had turned and gone away.
My heart sank[c] because he had left.[d]
I sought him, but did not find him.(E)
I called him, but he did not answer.
7 The guards who go about the city found me.(F)
They beat and wounded me;
they took my cloak[e] from me –
the guardians of the walls.(G)
8 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you,(H)
if you find my love,
tell him that I am lovesick.(I)
Young Women
9 What makes the one you love better than another,
most beautiful of women?(J)
What makes him better than another,
that you would give us this charge?
Woman
10 My love is fit and strong,[f](K)
notable among ten thousand.(L)
11 His head is purest gold.
His hair is wavy[g](M)
and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves(N)
beside flowing streams,
washed in milk
and set like jewels.[h]
13 His cheeks(O) are like beds of spice,
mounds of[i] perfume.
His lips are lilies,
dripping with flowing myrrh.(P)
14 His arms[j] are rods of gold
set[k] with beryl.(Q)
His body[l] is an ivory panel
covered with lapis lazuli.(R)
15 His legs are alabaster pillars
set on pedestals of pure gold.
His presence is like Lebanon,(S)
as majestic as the cedars.(T)
16 His mouth is sweetness.
He is absolutely desirable.(U)
This is my love, and this is my friend,
young women of Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 5:1 Lit pluck
- 5:1 Or Drink your fill, lovers
- 5:6 Lit My soul went out
- 5:6 Or spoken
- 5:7 Or veil, or shawl
- 5:10 Or is radiant and ruddy
- 5:11 Or is like palm leaves; Hb obscure
- 5:12 Lit milk sitting in fullness
- 5:13 LXX, Vg read spice, yielding
- 5:14 Lit hands
- 5:14 Lit filled; Sg 5:2,12
- 5:14 Lit abdomen
Song of Solomon 5
The Message
The Man
5 I went to my garden, dear friend, best lover!
breathed the sweet fragrance.
I ate the fruit and honey,
I drank the nectar and wine.
Celebrate with me, friends!
Raise your glasses—“To life! To love!”
The Woman
2 I was sound asleep, but in my dreams I was wide awake.
Oh, listen! It’s the sound of my lover knocking, calling!
The Man
“Let me in, dear companion, dearest friend,
my dove, consummate lover!
I’m soaked with the dampness of the night,
drenched with dew, shivering and cold.”
The Woman
3 “But I’m in my nightgown—do you expect me to get dressed?
I’m bathed and in bed—do you want me to get dirty?”
4-7 But my lover wouldn’t take no for an answer,
and the longer he knocked, the more excited I became.
I got up to open the door to my lover,
sweetly ready to receive him,
Desiring and expectant
as I turned the door handle.
But when I opened the door he was gone.
My loved one had tired of waiting and left.
And I died inside—oh, I felt so bad!
I ran out looking for him
But he was nowhere to be found.
I called into the darkness—but no answer.
The night watchmen found me
as they patrolled the streets of the city.
They slapped and beat and bruised me,
ripping off my clothes,
These watchmen,
who were supposed to be guarding the city.
8 I beg you, sisters in Jerusalem—
if you find my lover,
Please tell him I want him,
that I’m heartsick with love for him.
The Chorus
9 What’s so great about your lover, fair lady?
What’s so special about him that you beg for our help?
The Woman
10-16 My dear lover glows with health—
red-blooded, radiant!
He’s one in a million.
There’s no one quite like him!
My golden one, pure and untarnished,
with raven black curls tumbling across his shoulders.
His eyes are like doves, soft and bright,
but deep-set, brimming with meaning, like wells of water.
His face is rugged, his beard smells like sage,
His voice, his words, warm and reassuring.
Fine muscles ripple beneath his skin,
quiet and beautiful.
His torso is the work of a sculptor,
hard and smooth as ivory.
He stands tall, like a cedar,
strong and deep-rooted,
A rugged mountain of a man,
aromatic with wood and stone.
His words are kisses, his kisses words.
Everything about him delights me, thrills me
through and through!
That’s my lover, that’s my man,
dear Jerusalem sisters.
Song of Solomon 5
Holman Christian Standard Bible
5 M I have come to my garden—my sister, my bride.
I gather[a] my myrrh with my spices.
I eat my honeycomb with my honey.
I drink my wine with my milk.
2 W I sleep, but my heart is awake.
A sound! My love is knocking!(B)
M Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my perfect one.
For my head is drenched with dew,
my hair with droplets of the night.
3 W I have taken off my clothing.(C)
How can I put it back on?
I have washed my feet.
How can I get them dirty?
4 My love thrust his hand through the opening,
and my feelings were stirred for him.
5 I rose to open for my love.
My hands dripped with myrrh,(D)
my fingers with flowing myrrh
on the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened to my love,
but my love had turned and gone away.
I was crushed[c] that he had left.[d]
I sought him, but did not find him.(E)
I called him, but he did not answer.
7 The guards who go about the city found me.(F)
They beat and wounded me;
they took my cloak[e] from me—
the guardians of the walls.(G)
8 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you:(H)
if you find my love,
tell him that I am lovesick.(I)
9 Y What makes the one you love better than another,
most beautiful of women?(J)
What makes him better than another,
that you would give us this charge?
10 W My love is fit and strong,[f](K)
notable among ten thousand.(L)
11 His head is purest gold.
His hair is wavy[g](M)
and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves(N)
beside streams of water,
washed in milk
and set like jewels.[h]
13 His cheeks(O) are like beds of spice,
towers of[i] perfume.
His lips are lilies,
dripping with flowing myrrh.(P)
14 His arms[j] are rods of gold
set[k] with topaz.[l](Q)
His body[m] is an ivory panel
covered with sapphires.(R)
15 His legs are alabaster pillars
set on pedestals of pure gold.
His presence is like Lebanon,(S)
as majestic as the cedars.(T)
16 His mouth is sweetness.
He is absolutely desirable.(U)
This is my love, and this is my friend,
young women of Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 5:1 Lit pluck
- Song of Solomon 5:1 Or Drink your fill, lovers
- Song of Solomon 5:6 Lit My soul went out
- Song of Solomon 5:6 Or spoken
- Song of Solomon 5:7 Or veil, or shawl
- Song of Solomon 5:10 Or is radiant and ruddy
- Song of Solomon 5:11 Or is [like] palm leaves; Hb obscure
- Song of Solomon 5:12 Lit milk sitting in fullness
- Song of Solomon 5:13 LXX, Vg read spice, yielding
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Lit hands
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Lit filled; Sg 5:2,12
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Probably yellow topaz
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Lit abdomen
Song of Solomon 5
King James Version
5 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.
3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.
5 I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.
6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
7 The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.
8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
9 What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?
10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
11 His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.
13 His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
14 His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.
15 His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
16 His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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