Song of Solomon 1
Good News Translation
1 (A)The most beautiful of songs, by Solomon.[a]
The First Song
The Woman
2 Your lips cover me with kisses;
your love is better than wine.
3 There is a fragrance about you;
the sound of your name recalls it.
No woman could keep from loving you.
4 Take me with you, and we'll run away;
be my king and take me to your room.
We will be happy together,
drink deep, and lose ourselves in love.
No wonder all women love you!
5 Women of Jerusalem, I am dark but[b] beautiful,
dark as the desert tents of Kedar,
but beautiful as the draperies in Solomon's palace.
6 Don't look down on me because of my color,
because the sun has tanned me.
My brothers were angry with me
and made me work in the vineyard.
I had no time to care for myself.
7 Tell me, my love,
Where will you lead your flock to graze?
Where will they rest from the noonday sun?
Why should I need to look for you
among the flocks of the other shepherds?[c]
The Man
8 Don't you know the place, loveliest of women?
Go and follow the flock;
find pasture for your goats
near the tents of the shepherds.
9 You, my love, excite men
as a mare excites the stallions of Pharaoh's chariots.
10 Your hair is beautiful upon your cheeks
and falls along your neck like jewels.
11 But we will make for you a chain of gold
with ornaments of silver.
The Woman
12 My king was lying on his couch,
and my perfume filled the air with fragrance.
13 My lover has the scent of myrrh
as he lies upon my breasts.
14 My lover is like the wild flowers
that bloom in the vineyards at Engedi.
The Man
15 How beautiful you are, my love;
how your eyes shine with love!
The Woman
16 How handsome you are, my dearest;
how you delight me!
The green grass will be our bed;
17 the cedars will be the beams of our house,
and the cypress trees the ceiling.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:1 by Solomon; or dedicated to Solomon, or about Solomon.
- Song of Solomon 1:5 but; or and.
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Probable text Why should I … shepherds; Hebrew unclear.
Song of Solomon 1
English Standard Version
1 The Song of (A)Songs, which is Solomon's.
The Bride Confesses Her Love
She[a]
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your (B)love is better than wine;
3 your (C)anointing oils are fragrant;
your (D)name is oil poured out;
therefore virgins love you.
4 (E)Draw me after you; (F)let us run.
(G)The king has brought me into his chambers.
Others
We will (H)exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol (I)your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.
She
5 I am very dark, but (J)lovely,
O (K)daughters of Jerusalem,
like (L)the tents of (M)Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has looked upon me.
My (N)mother's sons were angry with me;
they made me (O)keeper of (P)the vineyards,
but (Q)my own vineyard I have not kept!
7 Tell me, you (R)whom my soul loves,
where you (S)pasture your flock,
where you make it (T)lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who veils herself
beside the flocks of your (U)companions?
Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other
He
8 If you do not know,
O (V)most beautiful among women,
follow in the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
beside the shepherds' tents.
9 I compare you, (W)my love,
to (X)a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.
10 (Y)Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
Others
11 We will make for you[b] ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.
She
12 While (Z)the king was on his couch,
my (AA)nard gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a sachet of (AB)myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of (AC)henna blossoms
in the vineyards of (AD)Engedi.
He
15 (AE)Behold, (AF)you are beautiful, (AG)my love;
behold, you are beautiful;
your (AH)eyes are doves.
She
16 Behold, you are beautiful, (AI)my beloved, truly (AJ)delightful.
Our couch is green;
17 the beams of our house are (AK)cedar;
our rafters are (AL)pine.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words
- Song of Solomon 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
