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
International Children’s Bible
The Man Speaks
5 I have entered my garden, my sister, my bride.
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey.
I have drunk my wine and my milk.
The Friends Speak
Eat, friends, and drink.
Yes, drink deeply, lovers.
The Woman Dreams
2 I sleep, but my heart is awake.
I hear my lover knocking.
“Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my perfect one.
My head is wet with dew.
And my hair is wet with the dampness of the night.”
3 I have taken off my garment.
I don’t want to put it on again!
I have washed my feet.
I don’t want to get them dirty again!
4 My lover put his hand through the door opening.
I felt excited inside.
5 I got up to open the door for my lover.
Myrrh was dripping from my hands.
Myrrh was flowing from my fingers,
onto the handles of the lock.
6 I opened the door for my lover.
But my lover had left. He was gone.
When he had spoken, he had taken my breath away.
I looked for him, but I could not find him.
I called for him, but he did not answer me.
7 The watchmen found me
as they patrolled the city.
They hit me; they hurt me.
The guards on the wall took away my coat.
8 I tell you, women of Jerusalem,
if you find my lover,
tell him I am weak with love.
The Friends Answer the Woman
9 Is your lover better than other lovers,
you, the most beautiful of women?
Is your lover better than other lovers?
Is that why you talk like this?
The Woman Answers the Friends
10 My lover is clean and tanned.
He’s the best of 10,000 men.
11 His head is like the finest gold.
His hair is wavy and black like a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
by springs of water.
They seem to be bathed in cream.
They are set like jewels.
13 His cheeks are like garden beds of spices.
They smell like mounds of perfume.
His lips are like lilies
flowing with myrrh.
14 His hands are like gold hinges,
filled with jewels.
His body is like smooth ivory
covered with sapphires.
15 His legs are like large marble posts,
standing on bases of fine gold.
He is tall like a cedar of Lebanon—
like the best cedar trees.
16 His mouth is sweet to kiss.
I desire him very much.
Yes, daughters of Jerusalem,
this is my lover.
This is my friend.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
