Song of Solomon 5
Holman Christian Standard Bible
5 M I have come to my garden—my sister, my bride.
I gather[a] my myrrh with my spices.
I eat my honeycomb with my honey.
I drink my wine with my milk.
2 W I sleep, but my heart is awake.
A sound! My love is knocking!(B)
M Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my perfect one.
For my head is drenched with dew,
my hair with droplets of the night.
3 W I have taken off my clothing.(C)
How can I put it back on?
I have washed my feet.
How can I get them dirty?
4 My love thrust his hand through the opening,
and my feelings were stirred for him.
5 I rose to open for my love.
My hands dripped with myrrh,(D)
my fingers with flowing myrrh
on the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened to my love,
but my love had turned and gone away.
I was crushed[c] that he had left.[d]
I sought him, but did not find him.(E)
I called him, but he did not answer.
7 The guards who go about the city found me.(F)
They beat and wounded me;
they took my cloak[e] from me—
the guardians of the walls.(G)
8 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you:(H)
if you find my love,
tell him that I am lovesick.(I)
9 Y What makes the one you love better than another,
most beautiful of women?(J)
What makes him better than another,
that you would give us this charge?
10 W My love is fit and strong,[f](K)
notable among ten thousand.(L)
11 His head is purest gold.
His hair is wavy[g](M)
and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves(N)
beside streams of water,
washed in milk
and set like jewels.[h]
13 His cheeks(O) are like beds of spice,
towers of[i] perfume.
His lips are lilies,
dripping with flowing myrrh.(P)
14 His arms[j] are rods of gold
set[k] with topaz.[l](Q)
His body[m] is an ivory panel
covered with sapphires.(R)
15 His legs are alabaster pillars
set on pedestals of pure gold.
His presence is like Lebanon,(S)
as majestic as the cedars.(T)
16 His mouth is sweetness.
He is absolutely desirable.(U)
This is my love, and this is my friend,
young women of Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 5:1 Lit pluck
- Song of Solomon 5:1 Or Drink your fill, lovers
- Song of Solomon 5:6 Lit My soul went out
- Song of Solomon 5:6 Or spoken
- Song of Solomon 5:7 Or veil, or shawl
- Song of Solomon 5:10 Or is radiant and ruddy
- Song of Solomon 5:11 Or is [like] palm leaves; Hb obscure
- Song of Solomon 5:12 Lit milk sitting in fullness
- Song of Solomon 5:13 LXX, Vg read spice, yielding
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Lit hands
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Lit filled; Sg 5:2,12
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Probably yellow topaz
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Lit abdomen
Song of Solomon 5
New Living Translation
Young Man
5 I have entered my garden, my treasure,[a] my bride!
I gather myrrh with my spices
and eat honeycomb with my honey.
I drink wine with my milk.
Young Women of Jerusalem
Oh, lover and beloved, eat and drink!
Yes, drink deeply of your love!
Young Woman
2 I slept, but my heart was awake,
when I heard my lover knocking and calling:
“Open to me, my treasure, my darling,
my dove, my perfect one.
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.”
3 But I responded,
“I have taken off my robe.
Should I get dressed again?
I have washed my feet.
Should I get them soiled?”
4 My lover tried to unlatch the door,
and my heart thrilled within me.
5 I jumped up to open the door for my love,
and my hands dripped with perfume.
My fingers dripped with lovely myrrh
as I pulled back the bolt.
6 I opened to my lover,
but he was gone!
My heart sank.
I searched for him
but could not find him anywhere.
I called to him,
but there was no reply.
7 The night watchmen found me
as they made their rounds.
They beat and bruised me
and stripped off my veil,
those watchmen on the walls.
8 Make this promise, O women of Jerusalem—
If you find my lover,
tell him I am weak with love.
Young Women of Jerusalem
9 Why is your lover better than all others,
O woman of rare beauty?
What makes your lover so special
that we must promise this?
Young Woman
10 My lover is dark and dazzling,
better than ten thousand others!
11 His head is finest gold,
his wavy hair is black as a raven.
12 His eyes sparkle like doves
beside springs of water;
they are set like jewels
washed in milk.
13 His cheeks are like gardens of spices
giving off fragrance.
His lips are like lilies,
perfumed with myrrh.
14 His arms are like rounded bars of gold,
set with beryl.
His body is like bright ivory,
glowing with lapis lazuli.
15 His legs are like marble pillars
set in sockets of finest gold.
His posture is stately,
like the noble cedars of Lebanon.
16 His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is desirable in every way.
Such, O women of Jerusalem,
is my lover, my friend.
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.
