Song of Solomon 5:8-16
Expanded Bible
8 ·Promise me [I adjure you], ·women [L daughters] of Jerusalem [1:5],
if you find my lover,
·tell him [L what should you say to him? That] I am weak with love.
The Friends Answer the Woman
9 How is your lover better than other lovers,
most beautiful of women?
How is your lover better than other lovers?
Why do you want us to promise this?
The Woman Answers the Friends
10 My lover is ·healthy [radiant] and ·tan [ruddy],
·the best of [distinguished among] ten thousand men.
11 His head is like ·the finest [pure] gold;
his hair is wavy and black like a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves [1:15]
by ·springs [streams] of water.
They seem to be bathed in ·cream [milk; C referring to the white of the eye]
·and are set like jewels [or sitting by pools].
13 His cheeks are like beds of spices [C his beard is perfumed];
·they smell like mounds of perfume [L growing aromatics].
His lips are like lilies
flowing with myrrh [4:14].
14 His ·hands [or arms] are like gold ·hinges [or bars],
·filled with jewels [L set with Tarshish stones; C a location in Spain; perhaps a black jet stone or golden topaz].
His ·body [or member] is like ·shiny ivory [or an ivory tusk]
·covered with sapphires [ornamented with lapis].
15 His legs are like large marble ·posts [pillars],
standing on ·bases [pedestals] of fine gold.
·He is like a cedar of [L His appearance is like] Lebanon,
·like the finest of the trees [L choice like the cedars].
16 His mouth is sweet [C to kiss],
and ·I desire him very much [he is totally desirable].
Yes, ·daughters [women] of Jerusalem [1:5],
this is my lover
and my ·friend [darling].
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 Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
