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
New Living Translation
1 This is Solomon’s song of songs, more wonderful than any other.
Young Woman[a]
2 Kiss me and kiss me again,
for your love is sweeter than wine.
3 How pleasing is your fragrance;
your name is like the spreading fragrance of scented oils.
No wonder all the young women love you!
4 Take me with you; come, let’s run!
The king has brought me into his bedroom.
Young Women of Jerusalem
How happy we are for you, O king.
We praise your love even more than wine.
Young Woman
How right they are to adore you.
5 I am dark but beautiful,
O women of Jerusalem—
dark as the tents of Kedar,
dark as the curtains of Solomon’s tents.
6 Don’t stare at me because I am dark—
the sun has darkened my skin.
My brothers were angry with me;
they forced me to care for their vineyards,
so I couldn’t care for myself—my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, my love, where are you leading your flock today?
Where will you rest your sheep at noon?
For why should I wander like a prostitute[b]
among your friends and their flocks?
Young Man
8 If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman,
follow the trail of my flock,
and graze your young goats by the shepherds’ tents.
9 You are as exciting, my darling,
as a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions.
10 How lovely are your cheeks;
your earrings set them afire!
How lovely is your neck,
enhanced by a string of jewels.
11 We will make for you earrings of gold
and beads of silver.
Young Woman
12 The king is lying on his couch,
enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume.
13 My lover is like a sachet of myrrh
lying between my breasts.
14 He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms
from the vineyards of En-gedi.
Young Man
15 How beautiful you are, my darling,
how beautiful!
Your eyes are like doves.
Young Woman
16 You are so handsome, my love,
pleasing beyond words!
The soft grass is our bed;
17 fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house,
and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
