Song of Solomon 2-6
New King James Version
A Country Girl in a Palace
2 I am the rose of Sharon,
And the lily of the valleys.
The Beloved
2 Like a lily among thorns,
So is my love among the daughters.
The Shulamite
3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
So is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down in his shade with great delight,
And (A)his fruit was sweet to my taste.
The Shulamite to the Daughters of Jerusalem
4 He brought me to the [a]banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love.
5 Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.
6 (B)His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
7 (C)I [b]charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
The Beloved’s Request
The Shulamite
8 The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes
Leaping upon the mountains,
Skipping upon the hills.
9 (D)My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he stands behind our wall;
He is looking through the windows,
Gazing through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke, and said to me:
“Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
11 For lo, 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.
13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!
14 “O my (E)dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your [c]face,
(F)Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”
Her Brothers
15 Catch us (G)the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.
The Shulamite
16 (H)My beloved is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.
(To Her Beloved)
17 (I)Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved,
And be (J)like a gazelle
Or a young stag
Upon the mountains of [d]Bether.
A Troubled Night
The Shulamite
3 By (K)night on my bed I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but I did not find him.
2 “I will rise now,” I said,
“And go about the city;
In the streets and in the squares
I will seek the one I love.”
I sought him, but I did not find him.
3 (L)The watchmen who go about the city found me;
I said,
“Have you seen the one I love?”
4 Scarcely had I passed by them,
When I found the one I love.
I held him and would not let him go,
Until I had brought him to the (M)house of my mother,
And into the [e]chamber of her who conceived me.
5 (N)I [f]charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
The Coming of Solomon
The Shulamite
6 (O)Who is this coming out of the wilderness
Like pillars of smoke,
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all the merchant’s fragrant powders?
7 Behold, it is Solomon’s couch,
With sixty valiant men around it,
Of the valiant of Israel.
8 They all hold swords,
Being expert in war.
Every man has his sword on his thigh
Because of fear in the night.
9 Of the wood of Lebanon
Solomon the King
Made himself a [g]palanquin:
10 He made its pillars of silver,
Its support of gold,
Its seat of purple,
Its interior paved with love
By the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
And see King Solomon with the crown
With which his mother crowned him
On the day of his wedding,
The day of the gladness of his heart.
The Bridegroom Praises the Bride
The Beloved
4 Behold, (P)you are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes behind your veil.
Your hair is like a (Q)flock of goats,
Going down from Mount Gilead.
2 (R)Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep
Which have come up from the washing,
Every one of which bears twins,
And none is [h]barren among them.
3 Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,
And your mouth is lovely.
(S)Your temples behind your veil
Are like a piece of pomegranate.
4 (T)Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built (U)for an armory,
On which hang a thousand [i]bucklers,
All shields of mighty men.
5 (V)Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Which feed among the lilies.
6 (W)Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.
7 (X)You are all fair, my love,
And there is no spot in you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,
With me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Senir (Y)and Hermon,
From the lions’ dens,
From the mountains of the leopards.
9 You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.
10 How fair is your love,
My sister, my spouse!
(Z)How much better than wine is your love,
And the [j]scent of your perfumes
Than all spices!
11 Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb;
(AA)Honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is (AB)like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 A garden [k]enclosed
Is my sister, my spouse,
A spring shut up,
A fountain sealed.
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
With pleasant fruits,
Fragrant henna with spikenard,
14 Spikenard and saffron,
Calamus and cinnamon,
With all trees of frankincense,
Myrrh and aloes,
With all the chief spices—
15 A fountain of gardens,
A well of (AC)living waters,
And streams from Lebanon.
The Shulamite
16 Awake, O north wind,
And come, O south!
Blow upon my garden,
That its spices may flow out.
(AD)Let my beloved come to his garden
And eat its pleasant (AE)fruits.
The Bride Praises the Bridegroom
The Beloved
5 I (AF)have come to my garden, my (AG)sister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
(AH)I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.
(To His Friends)
Eat, O (AI)friends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!
The Shulamite’s Troubled Evening
The Shulamite
2 I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
(AJ)He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, [l]my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My [m]locks with the drops of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe;
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I [n]defile them?
4 My beloved put his hand
By the [o]latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for him.
5 I arose to open for my beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.
6 I opened for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My [p]heart leaped up when he spoke.
(AK)I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
7 (AL)The watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.
8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
That you tell him I am lovesick!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
9 What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
(AM)O fairest among women?
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
That you so [q]charge us?
The Shulamite
10 My beloved is white and ruddy,
[r]Chief among ten thousand.
11 His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.
12 (AN)His eyes are like doves
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And [s]fitly set.
13 His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.
14 His hands are rods of gold
Set with beryl.
His body is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
15 His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold.
His countenance is like Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
16 His mouth is most sweet,
Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem!
I Am My Beloved’s
The Daughters of Jerusalem
6 Where has your beloved gone,
(AO)O fairest among women?
Where has your beloved turned aside,
That we may seek him with you?
The Shulamite
2 My beloved has gone to his (AP)garden,
To the beds of spices,
To feed his flock in the gardens,
And to gather lilies.
3 (AQ)I am my beloved’s,
And my beloved is mine.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.
Praise of the Shulamite’s Beauty
The Beloved
4 O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
Lovely as Jerusalem,
Awesome as an army with banners!
5 Turn your eyes away from me,
For they have [t]overcome me.
Your hair is (AR)like a flock of goats
Going down from Gilead.
6 (AS)Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
Which have come up from the washing;
Every one bears twins,
And none is [u]barren among them.
7 (AT)Like a piece of pomegranate
Are your temples behind your veil.
8 There are sixty queens
And eighty concubines,
And (AU)virgins without number.
9 My dove, my (AV)perfect one,
Is the only one,
The only one of her mother,
The favorite of the one who bore her.
The daughters saw her
And called her blessed,
The queens and the concubines,
And they praised her.
10 Who is she who looks forth as the morning,
Fair as the moon,
Clear as the sun,
(AW)Awesome as an army with banners?
The Shulamite
11 I went down to the garden of nuts
To see the verdure of the valley,
(AX)To see whether the vine had budded
And the pomegranates had bloomed.
12 Before I was even aware,
My soul had made me
As the chariots of [v]my noble people.
The Beloved and His Friends
13 Return, return, O Shulamite;
Return, return, that we may look upon you!
The Shulamite
What would you see in the Shulamite—
As it were, the dance of [w]the two camps?
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 2:4 Lit. house of wine
- Song of Solomon 2:7 adjure
- Song of Solomon 2:14 Lit. appearance
- Song of Solomon 2:17 Lit. Separation
- Song of Solomon 3:4 room
- Song of Solomon 3:5 adjure
- Song of Solomon 3:9 A portable enclosed chair
- Song of Solomon 4:2 bereaved
- Song of Solomon 4:4 Small shields
- Song of Solomon 4:10 fragrance
- Song of Solomon 4:12 locked or barred
- Song of Solomon 5:2 my companion, friend
- Song of Solomon 5:2 curls or hair
- Song of Solomon 5:3 dirty
- Song of Solomon 5:4 opening
- Song of Solomon 5:6 Lit. soul
- Song of Solomon 5:9 adjure
- Song of Solomon 5:10 Distinguished
- Song of Solomon 5:12 sitting in a setting
- Song of Solomon 6:5 overwhelmed
- Song of Solomon 6:6 bereaved
- Song of Solomon 6:12 Heb. Ammi Nadib
- Song of Solomon 6:13 Heb. Mahanaim
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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