Song of Solomon 1
New King James Version
Solomon’s Love for a Shulamite Girl
1 The (A)song of songs, which is Solomon’s.
The Banquet
The [a]Shulamite
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
(B)For [b]your love is better than wine.
3 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.
4 (C)Draw me away!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
The Shulamite
The king (E)has brought me into his chambers.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
We will be glad and rejoice in [d]you.
We will remember your love more than wine.
The Shulamite
Rightly do they love you.
5 I am dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not look upon me, because I am dark,
Because the sun has [e]tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own (F)vineyard I have not kept.
(To Her Beloved)
7 Tell me, O you whom I love,
Where you feed your flock,
Where you make it rest at noon.
For why should I be as one who [f]veils herself
By the flocks of your companions?
The Beloved
8 If you do not know, (G)O fairest among women,
[g]Follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your little goats
Beside the shepherds’ tents.
9 I have compared you, (H)my love,
(I)To my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 (J)Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with chains of gold.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
11 We will make [h]you ornaments of gold
With studs of silver.
The Shulamite
12 While the king is at his table,
My [i]spikenard sends forth its fragrance.
13 A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me,
That lies all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms
In the vineyards of En Gedi.
The Beloved
The Shulamite
16 Behold, you are (L)handsome, my beloved!
Yes, pleasant!
Also our [k]bed is green.
17 The beams of our houses are cedar,
And our rafters of fir.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:2 A young woman from the town of Shulam or Shunem, Song 6:13. The speaker and audience are identified according to the number, gender, and person of the Hebrew words. Occasionally the identity is not certain.
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Masc. sing.: the Beloved
- Song of Solomon 1:4 Masc. sing.: the Beloved
- Song of Solomon 1:4 Fem. sing.: the Shulamite
- Song of Solomon 1:6 Lit. looked upon me
- Song of Solomon 1:7 LXX, Syr., Vg. wanders
- Song of Solomon 1:8 Lit. Go out
- Song of Solomon 1:11 Fem. sing.: the Shulamite
- Song of Solomon 1:12 perfume
- Song of Solomon 1:15 my companion, friend
- Song of Solomon 1:16 couch
Song of Solomon 1
Living Bible
1 This song of songs, more wonderful than any other, was composed by King Solomon:
The Girl:[a] 2 “Kiss me again and again, for your love is sweeter than wine. 3 How fragrant your cologne, and how great your name! No wonder all the young girls love you! 4 Take me with you; come, let’s run!”
The Girl: “The king has brought me into his palace. How happy we will be! Your love is better than wine. No wonder all the young girls love you!”
The Girl: 5 “I am dark but beautiful, O girls of Jerusalem, tanned as the dark tents of Kedar.”
King Solomon: “But lovely as the silken tents of Solomon!”
The Girl: 6 “Don’t look down on me, you city girls,[b] just because my complexion is so dark—the sun has tanned me. My brothers were angry with me and sent me out into the sun to tend the vineyards, but see what it has done to me!”
The Girl: 7 “Tell me, O one I love, where are you leading your flock today? Where will you be at noon? For I will come and join you there instead of wandering like a vagabond among the flocks of your companions.”
King Solomon: 8 “If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman in all the world, follow the trail of my flock to the shepherds’ tents, and there feed your sheep and their lambs. 9 What a lovely filly you are,[c] my love! 10 How lovely your cheeks are, with your hair[d] falling down upon them! How stately your neck with that long string of jewels. 11 We shall make you gold earrings and silver beads.”
The Girl: 12 “The king lies on his bed, enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume. 13 My beloved one is a sachet of myrrh lying between my breasts.”
King Solomon: 14 “My beloved is a bouquet of flowers in the gardens of Engedi. 15 How beautiful you are, my love, how beautiful! Your eyes are soft as doves’. 16 What a lovely, pleasant thing you are, lying here upon the grass, 17 shaded by the cedar trees and firs.”
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:1 The Girl. The headings identifying the speakers are conjectures and are not in the original text.
- Song of Solomon 1:6 you city girls, implied in v. 5. sent me out into the sun, implied. but see what it has done to me, literally, “but my own vineyards are neglected.”
- Song of Solomon 1:9 What a lovely filly you are, literally, “I compare you to my mare harnessed to Pharaoh’s chariot.”
- Song of Solomon 1:10 with your hair, literally, “with your ornaments.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.