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The Shulammite Bride’s Desire

The [a]Song of (A)Songs, which is Solomon’s.

[b]May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your (B)love is better than wine.
Your (C)oils have a pleasing fragrance,
Your (D)name is like [c]purified oil;
Therefore the [d](E)maidens love you.
Draw me after you and let us run together!
The (F)king has brought me into his chambers.”
[e]We will rejoice in you and be glad;
We will [f]extol your (G)love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you.”

[g]I am black but (H)lovely,
O (I)daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the (J)tents of (K)Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not look at me because I am [h]swarthy,
For the sun has burned 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.
Tell me, O you (N)whom my soul loves,
Where do you (O)shepherd your flock,
Where do you make it (P)lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who [i]veils herself
Beside the flocks of your (Q)companions?”

Solomon and His Bride Extol Each Other

[j]If you yourself do not know,
(R)Most beautiful among women,
Go forth on the trail of the flock
And pasture your young goats
By the dwellings of the shepherds.

“To a (S)mare of mine among the chariots of Pharaoh
I compare you, O (T)my darling.
10 Your (U)cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with strings of [k](V)beads.”

11 [l]We will make for you ornaments of gold
With beads of silver.”

12 [m]While the king was at his [n]banqueting table,
My [o](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.”

15 [p](AA)Behold, you are beautiful, my darling,
Behold, you are beautiful!
Your (AB)eyes are like doves.”

16 [q]Behold, you are handsome, (AC)my beloved,
Indeed, so pleasant!
Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!
17 The beams of our houses are (AD)cedars,
Our rafters, [r](AE)cypresses.

Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 1:1 Or Best of the Songs
  2. Song of Songs 1:2 BRIDE
  3. Song of Songs 1:3 Lit oil which is emptied (from one vessel to another)
  4. Song of Songs 1:3 Or virgins
  5. Song of Songs 1:4 CHORUS
  6. Song of Songs 1:4 Lit make remembrance of
  7. Song of Songs 1:5 BRIDE
  8. Song of Songs 1:6 Or black
  9. Song of Songs 1:7 Some versions wanders
  10. Song of Songs 1:8 BRIDEGROOM
  11. Song of Songs 1:10 Or shells
  12. Song of Songs 1:11 CHORUS
  13. Song of Songs 1:12 BRIDE
  14. Song of Songs 1:12 Or couch
  15. Song of Songs 1:12 Lit nard
  16. Song of Songs 1:15 BRIDEGROOM
  17. Song of Songs 1:16 BRIDE
  18. Song of Songs 1:17 Or junipers

This is Solomon’s song of songs, more wonderful than any other.

Young Woman[a]

Kiss me and kiss me again,
    for your love is sweeter than wine.
How pleasing is your fragrance;
    your name is like the spreading fragrance of scented oils.
    No wonder all the young women love you!
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.

I am dark but beautiful,
    O women of Jerusalem—
dark as the tents of Kedar,
    dark as the curtains of Solomon’s tents.
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.

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

If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman,
    follow the trail of my flock,
    and graze your young goats by the shepherds’ tents.
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.

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 The headings identifying the speakers are not in the original text, though the Hebrew usually gives clues by means of the gender of the person speaking.
  2. 1:7 Hebrew like a veiled woman.