I compare you, my darling,(A)
to a[a] mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.(B)
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with jewelry,(C)
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,[b]
my perfume[c] releases its fragrance.(D)
13 The one I love is a sachet of myrrh to me,(E)
spending the night between my breasts.
14 The one I love is a cluster of henna blossoms to me,(F)
in the vineyards of En-gedi.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 1:9 Lit my
  2. 1:12 Or is at his table
  3. 1:12 Lit nard

Man’s Poetic Praise of His Beloved

To a mare[a] among the chariots[b] of Pharaoh,
    I compare you, my beloved.
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments,
    your neck with strings of jewels.
11 We will make ornaments of gold for you
    with studs[c] of silver.

Maiden’s Poetic Praise of Her Beloved

12 While the king was on his couch,
    my nard gave its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a pouch[d] of myrrh,
    he spends the night[e] between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of blossoms of henna
    in the vineyards of En Gedi.

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Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 1:9 Or “my mare”
  2. Song of Solomon 1:9 Or “chariot horses”
  3. Song of Solomon 1:11 Or “droplets”
  4. Song of Solomon 1:13 Literally “the bag”
  5. Song of Solomon 1:13 Or “he lays”