Song of Solomon 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
2 W[b] Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your[c] love is[d] more delightful than wine.(B)
3 The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating;(C)
your name is perfume poured out.(D)
No wonder young women[e] adore you.
4 Take me with you(E)—let us hurry.
Oh, that the king would bring[f] me to his chambers.
Y We will rejoice and be glad for you;
we will praise your love more than wine.
W It is only right that they adore you.
5 Daughters of Jerusalem,(F)
I am dark like the tents of Kedar,(G)
yet lovely(H) like the curtains of Solomon.
6 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 a keeper of the vineyards.(J)
I have not kept my own vineyard.[g]
7 Tell me, you, the one 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[h][i]
beside the flocks of your companions?(N)
8 M[j] If you do not know,
most beautiful of women,(O)
follow[k] the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
near the shepherds’ tents.
9 I compare you, my darling,(P)
to a[l] mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.[m](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.
12 W While the king is on his couch,[n]
my perfume[o] releases its fragrance.(S)
13 My love is a sachet of myrrh to me,(T)
spending the night between my breasts.
14 My love is a cluster of henna blossoms to me,(U)
in the vineyards of En-gedi.[p](V)
15 M How beautiful you are, my darling.
How very beautiful!
Your eyes are doves.(W)
16 W How handsome you are, my love.(X)
How delightful!
Our bed is lush with foliage;
17 the beams of our house are cedars,
and our rafters are cypresses.[q]
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:1 Or The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s
- Song of Solomon 1:2 The W, M, Y, N, and B indicate the editors’ opinions of the changes of speakers: W = Woman, M = Man, Y = Young women of Jerusalem, N = Narrator, B = Brothers. If a letter is in parenthesis (W), there is a question about the identity of the speaker.
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Unexpected change of grammatical persons, here from he and his to your, is a Hb poetic device.
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Or your caresses are, or your lovemaking is
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Or wonder virgins
- Song of Solomon 1:4 Or The king has brought
- Song of Solomon 1:6 Lit my vineyard, which is mine
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Or who wanders
- Song of Solomon 1:7 To express shame or grief, or to conceal identity as a prostitute would; Gn 38:14-15
- Song of Solomon 1:8 Some understand the young women to be the speakers in this verse.
- Song of Solomon 1:8 Lit go out for yourself into
- Song of Solomon 1:9 Lit my
- Song of Solomon 1:9 Pharaoh’s chariot horses were stallions.
- Song of Solomon 1:12 Or is at his table
- Song of Solomon 1:12 Lit nard
- Song of Solomon 1:14 = Wellspring of the Young Goat
- Song of Solomon 1:17 Or firs, or pines
Song of Solomon 1
International Standard Version
Title
1 The Most Beautiful Song by Solomon.
The Loved One
2 Let him kiss me over and over again![a]
Your love is better than wine.
3 The fragrance of your perfumed oil is wonderful.
Your name is perfume poured out.
Therefore the young women love you.
4 Take me with[b] you! Let’s run away!
Let the king bring me into his private chambers.
The Young Women
The daughters[c] of Jerusalem[d] will rejoice and be happy for you.
We will value your love more than wine.
They love you appropriately.
The Loved One
5 The daughters[e] of Jerusalem, I’m dark and lovely
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Don’t stare at me because I’m dark;
the sun has tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me.
They made me the caretaker of the vineyards,
but I didn’t take care of my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, you whom I love,
where do you graze your flock?
Where do you make your flock lie down[f] at noon?
Why should I be considered a veiled woman[g]
beside the flocks of your companions?
The Lover
8 If you don’t know, most beautiful of women,
go out after the flock and graze your young goats beside the shepherd’s tents.
9 My darling, I compare you to a[h] mare
among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
The Young Women
11 We will make ornaments of gold for you,
accented with silver.
The Loved One
12 While the king was sitting at his table,
my perfume sent forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh[i]
that lies between my breasts all night.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna[j] blossoms
in the vineyards of En-gedi.
The Lover
15 Look at you! You are beautiful, my darling.
Look at you! You are so beautiful.
Your eyes are doves.
The Loved One
16 Look at you! You are handsome, my beloved, truly lovely.
How lush is our couch.
17 The beams of our house are cedar,[k]
our rafters are pine.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Lit. me with the kisses of his mouth
- Song of Solomon 1:4 Lit. Draw me after
- Song of Solomon 1:4 Or The young women
- Song of Solomon 1:4 The Heb. lacks daughters of Jerusalem (cf. v. 5)
- Song of Solomon 1:5 Or The young women
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Lit. where do you make to lie down
- Song of Solomon 1:7 I.e. a prostitute
- Song of Solomon 1:9 Lit. my
- Song of Solomon 1:13 I.e. a fragrant spice used as a perfume
- Song of Solomon 1:14 I.e. an aromatic shrub used cosmetically
- Song of Solomon 1:17 I.e. a genus of coniferous evergreen in the family Pinaceae; and so throughout the book
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