Song of Songs 5:8-16
Christian Standard Bible
Young Women
9 What makes the one you love better than another,
most beautiful of women?(C)
What makes him better than another,
that you would give us this charge?
Woman
11 His head is purest gold.
His hair is wavy[b](F)
and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves(G)
beside flowing streams,
washed in milk
and set like jewels.[c]
13 His cheeks(H) are like beds of spice,
mounds of[d] perfume.
His lips are lilies,
dripping with flowing myrrh.(I)
14 His arms[e] are rods of gold
set[f] with beryl.(J)
His body[g] is an ivory panel
covered with lapis lazuli.(K)
15 His legs are alabaster pillars
set on pedestals of pure gold.
His presence is like Lebanon,(L)
as majestic as the cedars.(M)
16 His mouth is sweetness.
He is absolutely desirable.(N)
This is my love, and this is my friend,
young women of Jerusalem.
Song of Solomon 5:8-16
New American Standard Bible
8 (A)Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
As to what you will tell him:
For (B)I am lovesick.”
The Chorus
9 “[a]What kind of beloved is your beloved,
O (C)most beautiful among women?
[b]What kind of beloved is your beloved,
That you make us swear in this way?”
Admiration by the Bride
The Bride
10 “My beloved is dazzling and [c](D)reddish,
(E)Outstanding among ten thousand.
11 His head is like gold, pure gold;
His (F)locks are like clusters of dates
And black as a raven.
12 His (G)eyes are like doves
Beside streams of water,
Bathed in milk,
And perched in their (H)setting.
13 His cheeks are like a (I)bed of balsam,
[d]Banks of herbal spices;
His lips are (J)lilies
(K)Dripping with drops of myrrh.
14 His hands are rods of gold
Set with (L)topaz;
His abdomen is panels of ivory
Covered with [e](M)sapphires.
15 His thighs are pillars of alabaster
Set on pedestals of pure gold;
His appearance is like (N)Lebanon,
Choice as the (O)cedars.
16 His [f](P)mouth is full of sweetness.
And he is wholly (Q)desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
You daughters of Jerusalem.”
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 5:9 Or What is your beloved more than another beloved
- Song of Solomon 5:9 Or What is your beloved more than another beloved
- Song of Solomon 5:10 I.e., of reddish hair or skin
- Song of Solomon 5:13 Lit Towers
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Lit lapis lazuli
- Song of Solomon 5:16 Lit palate
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
