Song of Solomon 1
Expanded Bible
1 Solomon’s Song of Songs [C the best of songs and a song composed of many songs].
The Woman Speaks to the Man She Loves
2 Kiss me with the kisses of your mouth,
because your love is better than wine [C makes one light-headed].
3 The ·smell [scent] of your ·perfume [cologne; L oil] is ·pleasant [wonderful],
and your ·name [reputation] is pleasant like ·expensive [or poured out] ·perfume [cologne; L oil].
That’s why the young women love you.
4 ·Take me with [L Draw me after] you; let’s run together.
The king takes me into his ·rooms [bedroom; inner chamber].
Friends Speak to the Man
We will rejoice and be happy with you;
we praise your love more than wine [v. 2].
With good reason, the young women love you.
The Woman Speaks
5 I’m dark ·but [or and] ·lovely [beautiful; C she was out in the sun because her brothers forced her to work the fields; v. 6],
·women [L daughters] of Jerusalem [C her friends whom she is instructing about love],
dark like the tents of Kedar [C desert nomads; Gen. 25:13; Jer. 49:28–29],
like the curtains of ·Solomon [or Salma; C south Arabian desert nomads].
6 Don’t look at how ·dark [swarthy] I am,
·at how dark the sun has made me [L because the sun scorched me].
My ·brothers [L mother’s sons] were angry with me
and made me ·tend [or guard] the vineyards,
so I haven’t ·tended [or guarded] my own ·vineyard [C referring to her body]!
7 Tell me, you whom I love,
where do you ·feed your sheep [graze]?
Where do you let them ·rest [lie down] at noon?
Why should I look for you near your friend’s sheep,
like a woman who wears a veil [C like a prostitute going tent to tent; Gen. 38:14–15]?
The Man Speaks to the Woman
8 You are the most beautiful of women.
Surely you know to follow the tracks of the sheep
and feed your young goats
near the shepherds’ tents.
9 My darling, you are like a mare
among the ·king’s [L Pharaoh’s] stallions [C driving them crazy with desire].
10 Your cheeks are beautiful ·with ornaments [L between earrings],
and your neck with ·jewels [a necklace].
11 We will make for you gold earrings
with silver ·hooks [studs].
The Woman Speaks
12 The smell of my ·perfume [nard] spreads out
to the king on his couch.
13 My lover is like a ·bag [sachet] of myrrh
that ·lies all night [lodges] between my breasts [C intimately].
14 My lover is like a ·bunch [cluster] of ·flowers [L henna blossoms; C pleasant smelling and used to dye hair red]
from the vineyards at En Gedi [C a romantic location with a waterfall near the Dead Sea].
The Man Speaks
15 My darling, you are beautiful!
Oh, you are beautiful,
and your eyes are like doves [C perhaps fluttering or a reference to softness and beauty].
The Woman Answers the Man
16 You are so handsome, my lover,
and so ·pleasant [or lovely]!
Our bed is ·the grass [green].
17 Cedar trees form ·our roof [L the boards of our house];
our ·ceiling [rafters] is made of juniper wood [C they find intimacy outdoors].
Song of Solomon 1
New American Standard Bible
The Young Shulammite Bride and Jerusalem’s Daughters
1 The [a]Song of (A)Songs, which is Solomon’s.
[b]The Bride
2 “May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your (B)love is [c]sweeter than wine.
3 Your (C)oils have a pleasing fragrance,
Your (D)name is like [d]purified oil;
Therefore the [e](E)young women love you.
4 Draw me after you and let’s run together!
The (F)king has brought me into his chambers.”
The Chorus
“We will rejoice in you and be joyful;
We will praise your (G)love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you.”
The Bride
5 “I am black and (H)beautiful,
You (I)daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the (J)tents of (K)Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not stare at me because I am [f]dark,
For the sun has tanned me.
My (L)mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me (M)caretaker of the vineyards,
But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, you (N)whom my soul loves,
Where do you (O)pasture your flock,
Where do you have it (P)lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who [g]veils herself
Beside the flocks of your (Q)companions?”
Solomon, the Lover, Speaks
8 “If you yourself do not know,
(R)Most beautiful among women,
Go out on the trail of the flock,
And pasture your young goats
By the tents of the shepherds.
9 “[h]To me, (S)my darling, you are like
My (T)mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.
10 Your (U)cheeks are delightful with jewelry,
Your neck with strings of (V)beads.”
The Chorus
11 “We will make for you jewelry of gold
With beads of silver.”
The Bride
12 “While the king was at his table,
My [i](W)perfume gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a pouch of (X)myrrh
Which lies all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of (Y)henna blossoms
In the vineyards of (Z)Engedi.”
The Groom
15 “[j](AA)How beautiful you are, my darling,
[k]How beautiful you are!
Your (AB)eyes are like doves.”
The Bride
16 “[l]How handsome you are, (AC)my beloved,
And so delightful!
Indeed, our bed is luxuriant!
17 The beams of our house are (AD)cedars,
Our rafters, (AE)junipers.
Notas al pie
- Song of Solomon 1:1 Or Best of the Songs
- Song of Solomon 1:2 The speaker identifications are not from the Hebrew text nor the Septuagint, but reflect an ancient tradition which appears in some manuscripts.
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Lit more pleasant
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Lit oil poured from one vessel to another
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Or virgins
- Song of Solomon 1:6 Or swarthy, blackish
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Some ancient versions wanders
- Song of Solomon 1:9 Lit I have compared you to
- Song of Solomon 1:12 Lit nard
- Song of Solomon 1:15 Lit Behold
- Song of Solomon 1:15 Lit Behold
- Song of Solomon 1:16 Lit Behold
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
