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

Woman

Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your caresses[a] are more delightful than wine.(B)
The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating;(C)
your name is perfume poured out.(D)
No wonder young women[b] adore you.
Take me with you(E)—let’s hurry.
Oh, that the king would bring[c] me to his chambers.

Young Women

We will rejoice and be glad in you;
we will celebrate your caresses more than wine.

Woman

It is only right that they adore you.

Daughters of Jerusalem,(F)
I am dark like the tents of Kedar,(G)
yet lovely(H) like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not stare at me because I am dark,
for the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;(I)
they made me take care of the vineyards.(J)
I have not taken care of my own vineyard.

Tell me, you whom I love:(K)
Where do you pasture your sheep?(L)
Where do you let them rest at noon?(M)
Why should I be like one who veils herself[d]
beside the flocks of your companions?(N)

Man

[e]If you do not know,
most beautiful of women,(O)
follow[f] the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
near the shepherds’ tents.

I compare you, my darling,(P)
to a[g] mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.(Q)
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with jewelry,(R)
your neck with its necklace.
11 We will make gold jewelry for you,
accented with silver.

Woman

12 While the king is on his couch,[h]
my perfume[i] releases its fragrance.(S)
13 The one I love is a sachet of myrrh to me,(T)
spending the night between my breasts.
14 The one I love is a cluster of henna blossoms to me,(U)
in the vineyards of En-gedi.(V)

Man

15 How beautiful you are, my darling.
How very beautiful!
Your eyes are doves.(W)

Woman

16 How handsome you are, my love.(X)
How delightful!
Our bed is verdant;
17 the beams of our house are cedars,
and our rafters are cypresses.[j]

Footnotes

  1. 1:2 Or acts of love
  2. 1:3 Or wonder virgins
  3. 1:4 Or The king has brought
  4. 1:7 Or who wanders
  5. 1:8 Some understand the young women to be the speakers in this verse.
  6. 1:8 Lit go out for yourself into
  7. 1:9 Lit my
  8. 1:12 Or is at his table
  9. 1:12 Lit nard
  10. 1:17 Or firs, or pines

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.