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.
Song of Solomon 1
Common English Bible
1 The Song of Songs, which is for Solomon.
Mutual admiration
[Woman][a]
2 If only he would give me some of his kisses . . .
Oh, your loving is sweeter than wine!
3 Your fragrance is sweet;
your very name is perfume.
That’s why the young women love you.
4 Take me along with you; let’s run!
My king has brought me into his chambers, saying,
“Let’s exult and rejoice in you.
Let’s savor your loving more than wine.
No wonder they all love you!”
5 Dark am I, and lovely, daughters of Jerusalem—
like the black tents of the Kedar nomads,
like the curtains of Solomon’s palace.
6 Don’t stare at me because I’m darkened
by the sun’s gaze.
My own brothers were angry with me.
They made me a caretaker of the vineyards—
but I couldn’t care for my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, you whom I love with all my heart—
where do you pasture your flock,
where do you rest them at noon?—
so I don’t wander around with the flocks of your companions.
[Man]
8 If you don’t know your way,
most beautiful of women,
then follow the tracks of the herds
and graze your little goats
by the tents of the shepherds.
9 I picture you, my dearest,
as a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots!
10 Lovely are your cheeks, adorned with ear hoops;
your neck, with beads.
11 Let’s make hoops of gold beaded with silver for you!
[Woman]
12 With my king close by,
my perfume filled the air.
13 A sachet of myrrh is my love to me,
lying all night between my breasts.
14 A cluster of henna flowers is my love to me
in the desert gardens of En-gedi.
[Man]
15 Look at you—so beautiful, my dearest!
Look at you—so beautiful! Your eyes are doves!
[Woman]
16 Look at you—so beautiful, my love!
Yes, delightful! Yes, our bed is lush and green!
17 The ceilings of our chambers are cedars;
our rafters, cypresses.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Identification of speakers here and throughout the Song is hypothetical and in several cases uncertain.
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.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible