Song of Solomon 5:8-16
Lexham English Bible
Adjuration Refrain
8 I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,[a]
if you find my beloved, what will you tell him?
Tell him that I am lovesick![b]
Maiden’s Praise of Her Beloved
9 How is your beloved better than another lover,[c]
O most beautiful among women?
How is your beloved better than another lover, [d]
that you adjure us thus?
10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,[e]
distinguished among[f] ten thousand.
11 His head is gold, refined gold;
his locks are wavy, black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves beside springs[g] of water,
bathed in milk, set like mounted jewels.[h][i]
13 His cheeks are like beds of spice, a tower of fragrances;
his lips are lilies dripping liquid myrrh.
14 His arms are rods[j][k] of gold engraved with[l] jewels;
his belly[m] is polished ivory covered with sapphires.[n]
15 His legs are columns of alabaster,[o] set on bases of gold;
his appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.[p]
16 His mouth[q] is sweet,
and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved;
this is my friend, O young women of Jerusalem.[r]
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 5:8 Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
- Song of Solomon 5:8 Literally “sick with love”
- Song of Solomon 5:9 Literally “What is your beloved more than another beloved …?”
- Song of Solomon 5:9 Literally “What is your beloved more than another beloved …?”
- Song of Solomon 5:10 Literally “red”
- Song of Solomon 5:10 Literally “more than”
- Song of Solomon 5:12 Or “streams”
- Song of Solomon 5:12 Literally “dwelling in a setting”
- Song of Solomon 5:12 Or “seated at a suitable mounting”
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Literally “cylinders”
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Or “rings”
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Literally “filled with”
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Or “body”
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Or “works of ivory set with sapphire”
- Song of Solomon 5:15 Or “marble”
- Song of Solomon 5:15 Literally “the cedars”
- Song of Solomon 5:16 Or “his palate”
- Song of Solomon 5:16 Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
Song of Solomon 5:8-16
Common English Bible
8 I place you under oath, daughters of Jerusalem:
If you find my love, what should you tell him?
That I’m weak with love!
[Daughters of Jerusalem]
9 How is your lover different from any other lover,
you who are the most beautiful of women?
How is your lover different from any other lover,
that you make us swear a solemn pledge?
In praise of him
[Woman]
10 My lover is radiant and ruddy;
he stands out among ten thousand!
11 His head is finest gold;
his wavy hair, black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
by channels of water.
They are bathing in milk,
sitting by brimming pools.
13 His cheeks are like fragrant plantings,
towers of spices.
His lips are lilies
dripping liquid myrrh.
14 His arms are gold cylinders
studded with jewels.
His belly is smooth ivory
encrusted with sapphires.
15 His thighs are pillars of whitest stone
set on pedestals of gold.
His appearance—like Lebanon,
stately, like the cedars.
16 His mouth is everything sweet,
every bit of him desirable.
This is my love, this my dearest,
daughters of Jerusalem!
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