Song of Solomon 5:8-16
English Standard Version
8 I (A)adjure you, O (B)daughters of Jerusalem,
if you find my beloved,
that you tell him
(C)I am sick with love.
Others
9 What is your beloved more than another beloved,
O (D)most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved more than another beloved,
that you thus (E)adjure us?
The Bride Praises Her Beloved
She
10 My beloved is radiant and (F)ruddy,
(G)distinguished among ten thousand.
11 His head is the finest gold;
(H)his locks are wavy,
black as a raven.
12 His (I)eyes are like doves
beside streams of water,
bathed in milk,
sitting beside a full pool.[a]
13 His (J)cheeks are like (K)beds of spices,
mounds of sweet-smelling herbs.
His lips are (L)lilies,
dripping (M)liquid myrrh.
14 His arms are rods of gold,
set with (N)jewels.
His body is polished ivory,[b]
bedecked with (O)sapphires.[c]
15 His legs are alabaster columns,
set on bases of gold.
His appearance is like (P)Lebanon,
choice as the cedars.
16 His (Q)mouth[d] is most sweet,
and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O (R)daughters of Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 5:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- Song of Solomon 5:14 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Hebrew lapis lazuli
- Song of Solomon 5:16 Hebrew palate
Song of Solomon 5:8-16
New Living Translation
8 Make this promise, O women of Jerusalem—
If you find my lover,
tell him I am weak with love.
Young Women of Jerusalem
9 Why is your lover better than all others,
O woman of rare beauty?
What makes your lover so special
that we must promise this?
Young Woman
10 My lover is dark and dazzling,
better than ten thousand others!
11 His head is finest gold,
his wavy hair is black as a raven.
12 His eyes sparkle like doves
beside springs of water;
they are set like jewels
washed in milk.
13 His cheeks are like gardens of spices
giving off fragrance.
His lips are like lilies,
perfumed with myrrh.
14 His arms are like rounded bars of gold,
set with beryl.
His body is like bright ivory,
glowing with lapis lazuli.
15 His legs are like marble pillars
set in sockets of finest gold.
His posture is stately,
like the noble cedars of Lebanon.
16 His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is desirable in every way.
Such, O women of Jerusalem,
is my lover, my friend.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
