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Song of Songs 1-8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Song of Songs 1-8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.(A)
Colloquy of the Young Woman and Friends
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;(B)
3 your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is perfume poured out;
therefore the maidens love you.(C)
4 Draw me after you; let us make haste.
The king has brought me into his chambers.
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.(D)
5 I am black and beautiful,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.(E)
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I have not kept!(F)
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon,
for why should I be like one who is veiled
beside the flocks of your companions?(G)
8 If you do not know,
O fairest among women,
follow the tracks of the flock
and pasture your kids
beside the shepherds’ tents.(H)
Colloquy of the Young Man, Friends, and the Young Woman
9 I compare you, my love,
to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.(I)
10 Your cheeks are comely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.(J)
11 We will make you ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.
12 While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a bag of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of En-gedi.(K)
15 Ah, you are beautiful, my love;
ah, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.(L)
16 Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved,
truly lovely.
Our couch is green;
17 the beams of our house are cedar;
our rafters[a] are pine.(M)
2 I am a rose of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.(N)
2 As a lily among brambles,
so is my love among maidens.
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the wood,
so is my beloved among young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.(O)
4 He brought me to the banqueting house,
and his intention toward[b] me was love.(P)
5 Sustain me with raisins,
refresh me with apples,
for I am faint with love.(Q)
6 O that his left hand were under my head
and that his right hand embraced me!(R)
7 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the wild does:
do not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!(S)
Springtime Rhapsody
8 The voice of my beloved!
Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
bounding over the hills.(T)
9 My beloved is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
looking through the lattice.(U)
10 My beloved speaks and says to me:
“Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away,(V)
11 for now the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.(W)
13 The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away.(X)
14 O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the covert of the cliff,
let me see your face;
let me hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.(Y)
15 Catch us the foxes,
the little foxes,
that ruin the vineyards—
for our vineyards are in blossom.”(Z)
16 My beloved is mine, and I am his;
he pastures his flock among the lilies.(AA)
17 Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle
or a young stag on the cleft mountains.[c](AB)
Love’s Dream
3 Upon my bed at night
I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him but found him not;
I called him, but he gave no answer.[d](AC)
2 “I will rise now and go about the city,
in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my soul loves.”
I sought him but found him not.(AD)
3 The sentinels found me,
as they went about in the city.
“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”(AE)
4 Scarcely had I passed them,
when I found him whom my soul loves.
I held him and would not let him go
until I brought him into my mother’s house
and into the chamber of her that conceived me.(AF)
5 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the wild does:
do not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!(AG)
The Young Man and His Party Approach
6 Who is that coming up from the wilderness
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all the fragrant powders of the merchant?(AH)
7 Look, it is the litter of Solomon!
Around it are sixty mighty men
of the mighty men of Israel,
8 all equipped with swords
and expert in war,
each with his sword at his thigh
because of alarms by night.(AI)
9 King Solomon made himself a palanquin
from the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its back of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior was inlaid with stone.
Daughters[e] of Jerusalem,(AJ)
11 come out and look[f]
at King Solomon,
at the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
on the day of the gladness of his heart.
The Young Woman’s Beauty Extolled
4 How beautiful you are, my love,
how very beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
moving down the slopes of Gilead.(AK)
2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
and not one among them is bereaved.(AL)
3 Your lips are like a crimson thread,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.(AM)
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,
built in courses;
on it hang a thousand bucklers,
all of them shields of warriors.(AN)
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that feed among the lilies.(AO)
6 Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
I will hasten to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.(AP)
7 You are altogether beautiful, my love;
there is no flaw in you.(AQ)
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;
come with me from Lebanon.
Depart[g] from the peak of Amana,
from the peak of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
from the mountains of leopards.(AR)
9 You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride;
you have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.(AS)
10 How sweet is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine
and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!(AT)
11 Your lips distill nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
the scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon.(AU)
12 A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a garden[h] locked, a fountain sealed.(AV)
13 Your channel[i] is an orchard of pomegranates
with all choicest fruits,
henna with nard,(AW)
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
with all chief spices—(AX)
15 a garden fountain, a well of living water,
and flowing streams from Lebanon.(AY)
16 Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden
that its fragrance may be wafted abroad.
Let my beloved come to his garden
that he may eat its choicest fruits.(AZ)
5 I come to my garden, my sister, my bride;
I gather my myrrh with my spice;
I eat my honeycomb with my honey;
I drink my wine with my milk.
Eat, friends, drink,
and be drunk with love.(BA)
Another Dream
2 I was sleeping, but my heart was awake.
The sound of my beloved knocking!
“Open to me, my sister, my love,
my dove, my perfect one,
for my head is wet with dew,
my locks with the drops of the night.”(BB)
3 I had put off my garment;
how could I put it on again?
I had bathed my feet;
how could I soil them?(BC)
4 My beloved thrust his hand into the opening,
and my inmost being yearned for him.
5 I arose to open to my beloved,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh,
upon the handles of the bolt.(BD)
6 I opened to my beloved,
but my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My soul failed me when he spoke.
I sought him but did not find him;
I called him, but he gave no answer.(BE)
7 Making their rounds in the city
the sentinels found me;
they beat me; they wounded me;
they took away my mantle,
those sentinels of the walls.(BF)
8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
if you find my beloved,
tell him this:
I am faint with love.(BG)
Colloquy of Friends and the Young Woman
9 What is your beloved more than another beloved,
O fairest among women?
What is your beloved more than another beloved,
that you thus charge us?(BH)
10 My beloved is all radiant and ruddy,
distinguished among ten thousand.
11 His head is the finest gold;
his locks are wavy,
black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
beside springs of water,
bathed in milk,
fitly set.[j](BI)
13 His cheeks are like beds of spices,
yielding fragrance.
His lips are lilies,
dripping liquid myrrh.(BJ)
14 His arms are rounded gold,
set with jewels.
His body is an ivory panel,[k]
decorated with sapphires.
15 His legs are alabaster columns,
set upon bases of gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice as the cedars.
16 His speech is most sweet,
and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved, and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.(BK)
6 Where has your beloved gone,
O fairest among women?
Which way has your beloved turned
that we may seek him with you?(BL)
2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to pasture his flock in the gardens
and to gather lilies.(BM)
3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine;
he pastures his flock among the lilies.(BN)
The Young Woman’s Matchless Beauty
4 You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love,
comely as Jerusalem,
terrible as an army with banners.(BO)
5 Turn away your eyes from me,
for they overwhelm me!
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
moving down the slopes of Gilead.(BP)
6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
that have come up from the washing;
all of them bear twins,
and not one among them is bereaved.(BQ)
7 Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.(BR)
8 There are sixty queens and eighty concubines
and maidens without number.(BS)
9 My dove, my perfect one, is the only one,
the darling of her mother,
flawless to her who bore her.
The maidens saw her and called her happy;
the queens and concubines praised her.(BT)
10 “Who is this that looks forth like the dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
terrible as an army with banners?”(BU)
11 I went down to the nut orchard
to look at the blossoms of the valley,
to see whether the vines had budded,
whether the pomegranates were in bloom.(BV)
12 Before I was aware, my desire set me
in a chariot beside my prince.[l]
13 [m]Return, return, O Shulammite!
Return, return, that we may look upon you.
Expressions of Praise
7 How graceful are your feet in sandals,
O queenly maiden!
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
the work of a master hand.(BX)
2 Your navel is a rounded bowl;
may it never lack mixed wine.
Your belly is a heap of wheat,
encircled with lilies.
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.(BY)
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are pools in Heshbon,
by the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon,
overlooking Damascus.(BZ)
5 Your head crowns you like Carmel,
and your flowing locks are like purple;
a king is held captive in the tresses.(CA)
6 How fair and pleasant you are,
O loved one, delectable maiden
7 You are stately[p] as a palm tree,
and your breasts are like its clusters.
8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree
and lay hold of its branches.”
O may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
and the scent of your breath like apples,(CC)
9 and your kisses[q] like the best wine
that goes down[r] smoothly,
gliding over lips and teeth.[s]
10 I am my beloved’s,
and his desire is for me.(CD)
11 Come, my beloved,
let us go forth into the fields
and lodge in the villages;
12 let us go out early to the vineyards;
let us see whether the vines have budded,
whether the grape blossoms have opened
and the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.(CE)
13 The mandrakes give forth fragrance,
and over our doors are all choice fruits,
new as well as old,
which I have laid up for you, O my beloved.(CF)
8 O that you were like a brother to me,
who nursed at my mother’s breast!
If I met you outside, I would kiss you,
and no one would despise me.
2 I would lead you and bring you
into my mother’s house
and into the chamber of the one who bore me.[t]
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
from the juice of my pomegranates.(CG)
3 O that his left hand were under my head
and that his right hand embraced me!(CH)
4 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
do not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!(CI)
Homecoming
5 Who is that coming up from the wilderness,
leaning upon her beloved?
Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labor with you;
there she who bore you was in labor.(CJ)
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
passion fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a raging flame.(CK)
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If one offered for love
all the wealth of one’s house,
it[u] would be utterly scorned.
8 We have a little sister,
and she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister,
on the day when she is spoken for?(CL)
9 If she is a wall,
we will build upon her a battlement of silver,
but if she is a door,
we will enclose her with boards of cedar.
10 I was a wall,
and my breasts were like towers;
then I was in his eyes
as one who brings[v] peace.
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
he entrusted the vineyard to keepers;
each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.(CM)
12 My vineyard, my very own, is for myself;
you, O Solomon, may have the thousand
and the keepers of the fruit two hundred!
13 O you who dwell in the gardens,
my companions are listening for your voice;
let me hear it.(CN)
14 Make haste, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
upon the mountains of spices!(CO)
Footnotes
- 1.17 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 2.4 Heb banner above
- 2.17 Or on the mountains of Bether; meaning of Heb uncertain
- 3.1 Gk: Heb lacks this line
- 3.10 Cn Compare Gk: Heb with love from the daughters
- 3.11 Gk: Heb adds daughters of Zion
- 4.8 Or Look
- 4.12 Heb mss Gk Vg Syr: MT heap of stones
- 4.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 5.12 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 5.14 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 6.12 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 6.13 7.1 in Heb
- 6.13 Or dance of Mahanaim
- 7.6 Syr: Heb in delights
- 7.7 Heb This your stature is
- 7.9 Heb palate
- 7.9 Heb to my lover
- 7.9 Gk Syr Vg: Heb lips of sleepers
- 8.2 Gk Syr: Heb my mother; she (or you) will teach me
- 8.7 Or he
- 8.10 Or finds
Song of Songs 1-8
New International Version
Song of Songs 1-8
New International Version
1 Solomon’s Song of Songs.(A)
She[a]
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
for your love(B) is more delightful than wine.(C)
3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;(D)
your name(E) is like perfume poured out.
No wonder the young women(F) love you!
4 Take me away with you—let us hurry!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.(G)
Friends
She
How right they are to adore you!
5 Dark am I, yet lovely,(J)
daughters of Jerusalem,(K)
dark like the tents of Kedar,(L)
like the tent curtains of Solomon.[c]
6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
because I am darkened by the sun.
My mother’s sons were angry with me
and made me take care of the vineyards;(M)
my own vineyard I had to neglect.
7 Tell me, you whom I love,
where you graze your flock
and where you rest your sheep(N) at midday.
Why should I be like a veiled(O) woman
beside the flocks of your friends?
Friends
8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women,(P)
follow the tracks of the sheep
and graze your young goats
by the tents of the shepherds.
He
9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare
among Pharaoh’s chariot horses.(Q)
10 Your cheeks(R) are beautiful with earrings,
your neck with strings of jewels.(S)
11 We will make you earrings of gold,
studded with silver.
She
12 While the king was at his table,
my perfume spread its fragrance.(T)
13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh(U)
resting between my breasts.
14 My beloved(V) is to me a cluster of henna(W) blossoms
from the vineyards of En Gedi.(X)
He
She
16 How handsome you are, my beloved!(AA)
Oh, how charming!
And our bed is verdant.
He
17 The beams of our house are cedars;(AB)
our rafters are firs.
She[d]
He
2 Like a lily among thorns
is my darling among the young women.
She
3 Like an apple[f] tree among the trees of the forest
is my beloved(AF) among the young men.
I delight(AG) to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.(AH)
4 Let him lead me to the banquet hall,(AI)
and let his banner(AJ) over me be love.
5 Strengthen me with raisins,
refresh me with apples,(AK)
for I am faint with love.(AL)
6 His left arm is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.(AM)
7 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(AN)
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.(AO)
8 Listen! My beloved!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.(AP)
9 My beloved is like a gazelle(AQ) or a young stag.(AR)
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke and said to me,
“Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, come with me.
11 See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;(AS)
the blossoming(AT) vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.”
He
14 My dove(AU) in the clefts of the rock,
in the hiding places on the mountainside,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.(AV)
15 Catch for us the foxes,(AW)
the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,(AX)
our vineyards that are in bloom.(AY)
She
16 My beloved is mine and I am his;(AZ)
he browses among the lilies.(BA)
17 Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,(BB)
turn, my beloved,(BC)
and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag(BD)
on the rugged hills.[g](BE)
3 All night long on my bed
I looked(BF) for the one my heart loves;
I looked for him but did not find him.
2 I will get up now and go about the city,
through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
So I looked for him but did not find him.
3 The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.(BG)
“Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
4 Scarcely had I passed them
when I found the one my heart loves.
I held him and would not let him go
till I had brought him to my mother’s house,(BH)
to the room of the one who conceived me.(BI)
5 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(BJ)
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.(BK)
6 Who is this coming up from the wilderness(BL)
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh(BM) and incense
made from all the spices(BN) of the merchant?
7 Look! It is Solomon’s carriage,
escorted by sixty warriors,(BO)
the noblest of Israel,
8 all of them wearing the sword,
all experienced in battle,
each with his sword at his side,
prepared for the terrors of the night.(BP)
9 King Solomon made for himself the carriage;
he made it of wood from Lebanon.
10 Its posts he made of silver,
its base of gold.
Its seat was upholstered with purple,
its interior inlaid with love.
Daughters of Jerusalem, 11 come out,
and look, you daughters of Zion.(BQ)
Look[h] on King Solomon wearing a crown,
the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
the day his heart rejoiced.(BR)
He
4 How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil(BS) are doves.(BT)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from the hills of Gilead.(BU)
2 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin;
not one of them is alone.(BV)
3 Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;
your mouth(BW) is lovely.(BX)
Your temples behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.(BY)
4 Your neck is like the tower(BZ) of David,
built with courses of stone[i];
on it hang a thousand shields,(CA)
all of them shields of warriors.
5 Your breasts(CB) are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle(CC)
that browse among the lilies.(CD)
6 Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,(CE)
I will go to the mountain of myrrh(CF)
and to the hill of incense.
7 You are altogether beautiful,(CG) my darling;
there is no flaw(CH) in you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,(CI)
come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
from the top of Senir,(CJ) the summit of Hermon,(CK)
from the lions’ dens
and the mountain haunts of leopards.
9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;(CL)
you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.(CM)
10 How delightful(CN) is your love(CO), my sister, my bride!
How much more pleasing is your love than wine,(CP)
and the fragrance of your perfume(CQ)
more than any spice!
11 Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
milk and honey are under your tongue.(CR)
The fragrance of your garments
is like the fragrance of Lebanon.(CS)
12 You are a garden(CT) locked up, my sister, my bride;(CU)
you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.(CV)
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates(CW)
with choice fruits,
with henna(CX) and nard,
14 nard and saffron,
calamus and cinnamon,(CY)
with every kind of incense tree,
with myrrh(CZ) and aloes(DA)
and all the finest spices.(DB)
15 You are[j] a garden(DC) fountain,(DD)
a well of flowing water
streaming down from Lebanon.
She
16 Awake, north wind,
and come, south wind!
Blow on my garden,(DE)
that its fragrance(DF) may spread everywhere.
Let my beloved(DG) come into his garden
and taste its choice fruits.(DH)
He
5 I have come into my garden,(DI) my sister, my bride;(DJ)
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk.(DK)
Friends
Eat, friends, and drink;
drink your fill of love.
She
2 I slept but my heart was awake.
Listen! My beloved is knocking:
“Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove,(DL) my flawless(DM) one.(DN)
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe—
must I put it on again?
I have washed my feet—
must I soil them again?
4 My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening;
my heart began to pound for him.
5 I arose to open for my beloved,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,(DO)
my fingers with flowing myrrh,
on the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened for my beloved,(DP)
but my beloved had left; he was gone.(DQ)
My heart sank at his departure.[k]
I looked(DR) for him but did not find him.
I called him but he did not answer.
7 The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.(DS)
They beat me, they bruised me;
they took away my cloak,
those watchmen of the walls!
8 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(DT)—
if you find my beloved,(DU)
what will you tell him?
Tell him I am faint with love.(DV)
Friends
9 How is your beloved better than others,
most beautiful of women?(DW)
How is your beloved better than others,
that you so charge us?
She
10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,
outstanding among ten thousand.(DX)
11 His head is purest gold;
his hair is wavy
and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves(DY)
by the water streams,
washed in milk,(DZ)
mounted like jewels.
13 His cheeks(EA) are like beds of spice(EB)
yielding perfume.
His lips are like lilies(EC)
dripping with myrrh.(ED)
14 His arms are rods of gold
set with topaz.
His body is like polished ivory
decorated with lapis lazuli.(EE)
15 His legs are pillars of marble
set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,(EF)
choice as its cedars.
16 His mouth(EG) is sweetness itself;
he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,(EH) this is my friend,
daughters of Jerusalem.(EI)
Friends
6 Where has your beloved(EJ) gone,
most beautiful of women?(EK)
Which way did your beloved turn,
that we may look for him with you?
She
2 My beloved has gone(EL) down to his garden,(EM)
to the beds of spices,(EN)
to browse in the gardens
and to gather lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;(EO)
he browses among the lilies.(EP)
He
4 You are as beautiful as Tirzah,(EQ) my darling,
as lovely as Jerusalem,(ER)
as majestic as troops with banners.(ES)
5 Turn your eyes from me;
they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Gilead.(ET)
6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin,
not one of them is missing.(EU)
7 Your temples behind your veil(EV)
are like the halves of a pomegranate.(EW)
8 Sixty queens(EX) there may be,
and eighty concubines,(EY)
and virgins beyond number;
9 but my dove,(EZ) my perfect one,(FA) is unique,
the only daughter of her mother,
the favorite of the one who bore her.(FB)
The young women saw her and called her blessed;
the queens and concubines praised her.
Friends
10 Who is this that appears like the dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
majestic as the stars in procession?
He
11 I went down to the grove of nut trees
to look at the new growth in the valley,
to see if the vines had budded
or the pomegranates were in bloom.(FC)
12 Before I realized it,
my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.[l]
Friends
13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite;
come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!
He
7 [n]How beautiful your sandaled feet,
O prince’s(FE) daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
the work of an artist’s hands.
2 Your navel is a rounded goblet
that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
encircled by lilies.
3 Your breasts(FF) are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.(FG)
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon(FH)
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon(FI)
looking toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.(FJ)
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.
6 How beautiful(FK) you are and how pleasing,
my love, with your delights!(FL)
7 Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts(FM) like clusters of fruit.
8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree;
I will take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine,
the fragrance of your breath like apples,(FN)
9 and your mouth like the best wine.
She
May the wine go straight to my beloved,(FO)
flowing gently over lips and teeth.[o]
10 I belong to my beloved,
and his desire(FP) is for me.(FQ)
11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,
let us spend the night in the villages.[p]
12 Let us go early to the vineyards(FR)
to see if the vines have budded,(FS)
if their blossoms(FT) have opened,
and if the pomegranates(FU) are in bloom(FV)—
there I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes(FW) send out their fragrance,
and at our door is every delicacy,
both new and old,
that I have stored up for you, my beloved.(FX)
8 If only you were to me like a brother,
who was nursed at my mother’s breasts!
Then, if I found you outside,
I would kiss you,
and no one would despise me.
2 I would lead you
and bring you to my mother’s house(FY)—
she who has taught me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the nectar of my pomegranates.
3 His left arm is under my head
and his right arm embraces me.(FZ)
4 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.(GA)
Friends
5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness(GB)
leaning on her beloved?
She
Under the apple tree I roused you;
there your mother conceived(GC) you,
there she who was in labor gave you birth.
6 Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love(GD) is as strong as death,
its jealousy[q](GE) unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.[r]
7 Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of one’s house for love,
it[s] would be utterly scorned.(GF)
Friends
8 We have a little sister,
and her breasts are not yet grown.
What shall we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
we will build towers of silver on her.
If she is a door,
we will enclose her with panels of cedar.
She
10 I am a wall,
and my breasts are like towers.
Thus I have become in his eyes
like one bringing contentment.
11 Solomon had a vineyard(GG) in Baal Hamon;
he let out his vineyard to tenants.
Each was to bring for its fruit
a thousand shekels[t](GH) of silver.
12 But my own vineyard(GI) is mine to give;
the thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,
and two hundred[u] are for those who tend its fruit.
He
13 You who dwell in the gardens
with friends in attendance,
let me hear your voice!
She
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 1:2 The main male and female speakers (identified primarily on the basis of the gender of the relevant Hebrew forms) are indicated by the captions He and She respectively. The words of others are marked Friends. In some instances the divisions and their captions are debatable.
- Song of Songs 1:4 The Hebrew is masculine singular.
- Song of Songs 1:5 Or Salma
- Song of Songs 2:1 Or He
- Song of Songs 2:1 Probably a member of the crocus family
- Song of Songs 2:3 Or possibly apricot; here and elsewhere in Song of Songs
- Song of Songs 2:17 Or the hills of Bether
- Song of Songs 3:11 Or interior lovingly inlaid / by the daughters of Jerusalem. / 11 Come out, you daughters of Zion, / and look
- Song of Songs 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Song of Songs 4:15 Or I am (spoken by She)
- Song of Songs 5:6 Or heart had gone out to him when he spoke
- Song of Songs 6:12 Or among the chariots of Amminadab; or among the chariots of the people of the prince
- Song of Songs 6:13 In Hebrew texts this verse (6:13) is numbered 7:1.
- Song of Songs 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-13 is numbered 7:2-14.
- Song of Songs 7:9 Septuagint, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew lips of sleepers
- Song of Songs 7:11 Or the henna bushes
- Song of Songs 8:6 Or ardor
- Song of Songs 8:6 Or fire, / like the very flame of the Lord
- Song of Songs 8:7 Or he
- Song of Songs 8:11 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms; also in verse 12
- Song of Songs 8:12 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
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