Song of Solomon 1
New American Standard Bible
The Young Shulammite Bride and Jerusalem’s Daughters
1 The [a]Song of (A)Songs, which is Solomon’s.
[b]The Bride
2 “May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your (B)love is [c]sweeter than wine.
3 Your (C)oils have a pleasing fragrance,
Your (D)name is like [d]purified oil;
Therefore the [e](E)young women love you.
4 Draw me after you and let’s run together!
The (F)king has brought me into his chambers.”
The Chorus
“We will rejoice in you and be joyful;
We will praise your (G)love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you.”
The Bride
5 “I am black and (H)beautiful,
You (I)daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the (J)tents of (K)Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not stare at me because I am [f]dark,
For the sun has tanned me.
My (L)mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me (M)caretaker of the vineyards,
But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, you (N)whom my soul loves,
Where do you (O)pasture your flock,
Where do you have it (P)lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who [g]veils herself
Beside the flocks of your (Q)companions?”
Solomon, the Lover, Speaks
8 “If you yourself do not know,
(R)Most beautiful among women,
Go out on the trail of the flock,
And pasture your young goats
By the tents of the shepherds.
9 “[h]To me, (S)my darling, you are like
My (T)mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.
10 Your (U)cheeks are delightful with jewelry,
Your neck with strings of (V)beads.”
The Chorus
11 “We will make for you jewelry of gold
With beads of silver.”
The Bride
12 “While the king was at his table,
My [i](W)perfume gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a pouch of (X)myrrh
Which lies all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of (Y)henna blossoms
In the vineyards of (Z)Engedi.”
The Groom
15 “[j](AA)How beautiful you are, my darling,
[k]How beautiful you are!
Your (AB)eyes are like doves.”
The Bride
16 “[l]How handsome you are, (AC)my beloved,
And so delightful!
Indeed, our bed is luxuriant!
17 The beams of our house are (AD)cedars,
Our rafters, (AE)junipers.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:1 Or Best of the Songs
- Song of Solomon 1:2 The speaker identifications are not from the Hebrew text nor the Septuagint, but reflect an ancient tradition which appears in some manuscripts.
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Lit more pleasant
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Lit oil poured from one vessel to another
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Or virgins
- Song of Solomon 1:6 Or swarthy, blackish
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Some ancient versions wanders
- Song of Solomon 1:9 Lit I have compared you to
- Song of Solomon 1:12 Lit nard
- Song of Solomon 1:15 Lit Behold
- Song of Solomon 1:15 Lit Behold
- Song of Solomon 1:16 Lit Behold
Song of Solomon 1
Lexham English Bible
Title
Maiden’s Soliloquy
2 May[c] you kiss me[d] passionately with your lips,[e]
for your love is better than wine.[f]
3 As fragrance, your perfumes[g] are delightful;[h]
your name is poured out perfume;[i]
therefore young women love you.
4 Draw me after you, let us run!
May the king bring me into his chambers![j]
Let us be joyful and let us rejoice in you;
let us extol your love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you!
Maiden’s Self-Description
5 I am black but beautiful,[k] O maidens of Jerusalem,[l]
like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not gaze at me because I am black, [m]
because the sun has stared at me.
The sons of my mother were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own “vineyard”[n] I did not keep.
Dialogue between Shepherdess and Shepherd
7 Tell me, you whom my heart[o] loves,
where do you pasture your flock,
where do your sheep lie down at the noon?
For why should I be like[p] one who is veiled[q]
beside the flocks of your companions?
8 If you do not know, O fairest among women,
follow the tracks[r] of the flock,
and pasture your little lambs[s] beside the tents of the shepherds.
Man’s Poetic Praise of His Beloved
9 To a mare[t] among the chariots[u] of Pharaoh,
I compare you, my beloved.
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
11 We will make ornaments of gold for you
with studs[v] of silver.
Maiden’s Poetic Praise of Her Beloved
12 While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a pouch[w] of myrrh,
he spends the night[x] between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of blossoms of henna
in the vineyards of En Gedi.
Mutual Admiration
15 Look! You are beautiful, my beloved.
Look! You are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.
16 Look! You are beautiful, my beloved,
truly pleasant.
Truly our couch is verdant;[y]
17 the beams of our house are cedar;
our rafter is cypress.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:1 This construction conveys a superlative connotation, e.g., “The most exquisite song”
- Song of Solomon 1:1 Or “by Solomon” or “about/concerning Solomon”
- Song of Solomon 1:2 In the maiden’s soliloquy, she thinks about her beloved in her thoughts (“May he kiss me!”), then poetically speaks to him as if he were in her presence (“for your love is better than wine”). To avoid confusion, the translation uses the second-person form throughout vv. 2–4
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Literally “May he kiss me”
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Literally “with the kisses of his mouth”
- Song of Solomon 1:2 The shift from the third person “he … his” to the second person “you … your” in vv. 2–4 should not be interpreted as suggesting two different referents, that is, one male whom the maiden is addressing as “you,” and another to whom she refers as “he.” Rather, this shift is a poetic device (called “grammatical differentiation”) that is not uncommon in Hebrew poetry (e.g., Gen 49:4; Deut 32:15; Psa 23:2–5; Isa 1:29; 42:20; 54:1; Jer 22:24; Amos 4:1; Mic 7:19; Lam 3:1; Song 4:2; 6:6). This shift is characteristic of a soliloquy, a dramatic or literary form in which a character reveals her thoughts without addressing a listener who is actually present (e.g., 2 Sam 19:4). In this case, the maiden’s private thoughts about her beloved (v. 2a) shift to an imaginary address to her beloved (vv. 2b–4a)
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Literally “your oil lotions”
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Literally “good”
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Literally “oil lotion”
- Song of Solomon 1:4 Or “The king has brought me into his chambers”
- Song of Solomon 1:5 Or “black and beautiful”
- Song of Solomon 1:5 Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
- Song of Solomon 1:6 This is figurative for the maiden’s physical appearance; her skin was darkly tanned
- Song of Solomon 1:6 Literally “my vineyard that for me”
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Literally “soul”
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Literally “For to what will I be like”
- Song of Solomon 1:7 The reading of the MT (“like one who is veiled”) is supported by the LXX. However, several ancient versions (Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate, Symmachus) reflect an alternate Hebrew textual tradition in which two letters are transposed, resulting in the reading “like one who wanders about.” This makes good sense contextually, since the maiden does not know where her beloved would be at noon
- Song of Solomon 1:8 Literally “in the tracks”
- Song of Solomon 1:8 Or “your kids”
- Song of Solomon 1:9 Or “my mare”
- Song of Solomon 1:9 Or “chariot horses”
- Song of Solomon 1:11 Or “droplets”
- Song of Solomon 1:13 Literally “the bag”
- Song of Solomon 1:13 Or “he lays”
- Song of Solomon 1:16 Literally “green”
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