Solomon’s Finest Song.[a](A)

W[b] Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your[c] love is[d] more delightful than wine.(B)
The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating;(C)
your name is perfume poured out.(D)
No wonder young women[e] adore you.
Take me with you(E)—let us hurry.
Oh, that the king would bring[f] me to his chambers.

Y We will rejoice and be glad for you;
we will praise your love more than wine.

W It is only right that they adore you.

Daughters of Jerusalem,(F)
I am dark like the tents of Kedar,(G)
yet lovely(H) like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not stare at me because I am dark,
for the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;(I)
they made me a keeper of the vineyards.(J)
I have not kept my own vineyard.[g]

Tell me, you, the one I love:(K)
Where do you pasture your sheep?(L)
Where do you let them rest at noon?(M)
Why should I be like one who veils herself[h][i]
beside the flocks of your companions?(N)

M[j] If you do not know,
most beautiful of women,(O)
follow[k] the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
near the shepherds’ tents.

I compare you, my darling,(P)
to a[l] mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.[m](Q)
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with jewelry,(R)
your neck with its necklace.
11 We will make gold jewelry for you,
accented with silver.

12 W While the king is on his couch,[n]
my perfume[o] releases its fragrance.(S)
13 My love is a sachet of myrrh to me,(T)
spending the night between my breasts.
14 My love is a cluster of henna blossoms to me,(U)
in the vineyards of En-gedi.[p](V)

15 M How beautiful you are, my darling.
How very beautiful!
Your eyes are doves.(W)

16 W How handsome you are, my love.(X)
How delightful!
Our bed is lush with foliage;
17 the beams of our house are cedars,
and our rafters are cypresses.[q]
I am a rose[r][s] of Sharon,
a lily[t] of the valleys.(Y)

M Like a lily among thorns,
so is my darling among the young women.

W Like an apricot[u] tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my love among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
He brought me to the banquet hall,[v](Z)
and he looked on me with love.[w](AA)
Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apricots,[x]
for I am lovesick.(AB)
His left hand is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.[y](AC)
Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field:
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.[z](AD)

Listen! My love is approaching.
Look! Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,(AE)
bounding over the hills.
My love is like a gazelle
or a young stag.(AF)
Look, he is standing behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My love calls to me:

M Arise,(AG) my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
11 For now the winter is past;
the rain has ended and gone away.
12 The blossoms appear in the countryside.
The time of singing[aa] has come,
and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land.(AH)
13 The fig tree ripens its figs;(AI)
the blossoming vines give off their fragrance.(AJ)
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.

14 My dove,(AK) in the clefts of the rock,(AL)
in the crevices of the cliff,
let me see your face,[ab]
let me hear your voice;(AM)
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.(AN)

15 (W) Catch the foxes for us(AO)
the little foxes that ruin the vineyards—
for our vineyards are in bloom.(AP)
16 W My love is mine and I am his;(AQ)
he feeds among the lilies.
17 Before the day breaks[ac]
and the shadows flee,
turn to me, my love, and be like a gazelle
or a young stag(AR) on the divided mountains.[ad](AS)
In my bed at night[ae]
I sought the one I love;(AT)
I sought him, but did not find him.[af](AU)
I will arise now and go about the city,
through the streets and the plazas.(AV)
I will seek the one I love.
I sought him, but did not find him.
The guards who go about the city found me.(AW)
I asked them, “Have you seen the one I love?”
I had just passed them
when I found the one I love.
I held on to him and would not let him go
until I brought him to my mother’s house(AX)
to the chamber of the one who conceived me.
Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field:
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.[ag](AY)

N What is this(AZ) coming up from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
scented with myrrh and frankincense(BA)
from every fragrant powder of the merchant?
It is Solomon’s royal litter[ah]
surrounded by 60 warriors
from the mighty of Israel.
All of them are skilled with swords
and trained in warfare.
Each has his sword at his side(BB)
to guard against the terror of the night.(BC)

King Solomon made a sedan chair[ai] for himself
with wood from Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its back[aj] of gold,
and its seat of purple.
Its interior is inlaid with love[ak]
by the young women of Jerusalem.(BD)
11 Come out, young women of Zion,(BE)
and gaze at King Solomon,
wearing the crown his mother placed on him
the day of his wedding(BF)
the day of his heart’s rejoicing.

M How beautiful you are, my darling.
How very beautiful!
Behind your veil,
your eyes are doves.(BG)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down Mount Gilead.(BH)
Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
coming up from washing,
each one having a twin,
and not one missing.[al](BI)
Your lips are like a scarlet cord,(BJ)
and your mouth[am] is lovely.
Behind your veil,
your brow[an] is like a slice of pomegranate.(BK)
Your neck is like the tower of David,(BL)
constructed in layers.
A thousand bucklers are hung on it—
all of them shields of warriors.[ao]
Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,(BM) that feed among the lilies.
Before the day breaks[ap]
and the shadows flee,(BN)
I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.(BO)
You are absolutely beautiful,(BP) my darling,
with no imperfection in you.

Come with me from Lebanon,[aq](BQ) my bride(BR)
with me from Lebanon!
Descend from the peak of Amana,
from the summit of Senir and Hermon,(BS)
from the dens of the lions,
from the mountains of the leopards.
You have captured my heart,(BT) my sister,[ar](BU) my bride.
You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
10 How delightful your love is, my sister, my bride.
Your love is much better than wine,(BV)
and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam.
11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride.(BW)
Honey and milk(BX) are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

12 My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden—
a locked garden[as] and a sealed spring.(BY)
13 Your branches are a paradise[at] of pomegranates
with choicest fruits,(BZ)
henna with nard—
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,(CA)
with all the trees of frankincense,(CB)
myrrh and aloes,(CC)
with all the best spices.
15 You are a garden spring,
a well of flowing water(CD)
streaming from Lebanon.

16 W Awaken,(CE) north wind—
come, south wind.
Blow on my garden,
and spread the fragrance of its spices.
Let my love come to his garden
and eat its choicest fruits.(CF)

M I have come to my garden—my sister, my bride.
I gather[au] my myrrh with my spices.
I eat my honeycomb with my honey.
I drink my wine with my milk.

N Eat, friends!
Drink, be intoxicated with love![av](CG)

W I sleep, but my heart is awake.
A sound! My love is knocking!(CH)

M Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my perfect one.
For my head is drenched with dew,
my hair with droplets of the night.

W I have taken off my clothing.(CI)
How can I put it back on?
I have washed my feet.
How can I get them dirty?
My love thrust his hand through the opening,
and my feelings were stirred for him.
I rose to open for my love.
My hands dripped with myrrh,(CJ)
my fingers with flowing myrrh
on the handles of the bolt.
I opened to my love,
but my love had turned and gone away.
I was crushed[aw] that he had left.[ax]
I sought him, but did not find him.(CK)
I called him, but he did not answer.
The guards who go about the city found me.(CL)
They beat and wounded me;
they took my cloak[ay] from me—
the guardians of the walls.(CM)
Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you:(CN)
if you find my love,
tell him that I am lovesick.(CO)

Y What makes the one you love better than another,
most beautiful of women?(CP)
What makes him better than another,
that you would give us this charge?

10 W My love is fit and strong,[az](CQ)
notable among ten thousand.(CR)
11 His head is purest gold.
His hair is wavy[ba](CS)
and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves(CT)
beside streams of water,
washed in milk
and set like jewels.[bb]
13 His cheeks(CU) are like beds of spice,
towers of[bc] perfume.
His lips are lilies,
dripping with flowing myrrh.(CV)
14 His arms[bd] are rods of gold
set[be] with topaz.[bf](CW)
His body[bg] is an ivory panel
covered with sapphires.(CX)
15 His legs are alabaster pillars
set on pedestals of pure gold.
His presence is like Lebanon,(CY)
as majestic as the cedars.(CZ)
16 His mouth is sweetness.
He is absolutely desirable.(DA)
This is my love, and this is my friend,
young women of Jerusalem.

Y Where has your love gone,
most beautiful of women?
Which way has he[bh] turned?
We will seek him with you.

W My love has gone down to his garden,(DB)
to beds of spice,(DC)
to feed in the gardens(DD)
and gather lilies.(DE)
I am my love’s and my love is mine;(DF)
he feeds among the lilies.

M You are as beautiful as Tirzah,[bi] my darling,
lovely as Jerusalem,
awe-inspiring as an army with banners.(DG)
Turn your eyes away from me,
for they captivate me.(DH)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down from Gilead.(DI)
Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
coming up from washing,
each one having a twin,
and not one missing.[bj](DJ)
Behind your veil,(DK)
your brow[bk] is like a slice of pomegranate.
There are 60 queens
and 80 concubines(DL)
and young women[bl] without number.
But my dove,(DM) my virtuous one, is unique;(DN)
she is the favorite of her mother,
perfect to the one who gave her birth.
Women see her and declare her fortunate;(DO)
queens and concubines also, and they sing her praises:

10 Y[bm] Who is this[bn](DP) who shines like the dawn—
as beautiful as the moon,
bright as the sun,
awe-inspiring as an army with banners?(DQ)

11 W I came down to the walnut grove
to see the blossoms of the valley,
to see if the vines were budding(DR)
and the pomegranates blooming.
12 Before I knew it,
my desire put me
among the chariots of my noble people.[bo]

13 [bp]Y Come back, come back, Shulammite![bq][br]
Come back, come back, that we may look at you!

M Why are you looking at the Shulammite,
as you look at the dance(DS) of the two camps?[bs](DT)
How beautiful are your sandaled feet, princess![bt](DU)
The curves of your thighs are like jewelry,
the handiwork of a master.
Your navel is a rounded bowl;
it never lacks mixed wine.
Your waist[bu] is a mound of wheat
surrounded by lilies.
Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.(DV)
Your neck is like a tower of ivory,(DW)
your eyes like pools in Heshbon
by the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
looking toward Damascus.
Your head crowns you[bv] like Mount Carmel,
the hair of your head like purple cloth—
a king could be held captive(DX) in your tresses.
How beautiful you are and how pleasant,(DY)
my love, with such delights!
Your stature is like a palm tree;
your breasts are clusters of fruit.
I said, “I will climb the palm tree
and take hold of its fruit.”(DZ)
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes,
and the fragrance of your breath like apricots.(EA)
Your mouth[bw] is like fine wine(EB)

W flowing smoothly for my love,
gliding past my lips and teeth![bx]
10 I belong to my love,
and his desire(EC) is for me.(ED)

11 Come, my love,
let’s go to the field;
let’s spend the night among the henna blossoms.[by]
12 Let’s go early to the vineyards;
let’s see if the vine has budded,
if the blossom has opened,
if the pomegranates are in bloom.(EE)
There I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes(EF) give off a fragrance,
and at our doors is every delicacy—
new as well as old.
I have treasured them up for you, my love.
If only I could treat you like my brother,[bz]
one who nursed at my mother’s breasts,
I would find you in public and kiss you,
and no one would scorn me.
I would lead you, I would take you,
to the house of my mother(EG) who taught me.[ca]
I would give you spiced wine to drink
from my pomegranate juice.
His left hand is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.(EH)
Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you:
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.(EI)

Y Who is this(EJ) coming up from the wilderness,
leaning on the one she loves?

W I awakened you under the apricot tree.(EK)
There your mother conceived you;
there she conceived and gave you birth.
Set me as a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm.(EL)
For love is as strong as death;(EM)
ardent love is as unrelenting as Sheol.
Love’s flames are fiery flames(EN)
the fiercest of all.[cb]
Mighty waters cannot extinguish love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If a man were to give all his wealth[cc] for love,(EO)
it would be utterly scorned.

B Our sister is young;
she has no breasts.(EP)
What will we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?
If she is a wall,
we will build a silver parapet on it.
If she is a door,
we will enclose it with cedar planks.[cd](EQ)

10 W I am[ce] a wall
and my breasts like towers.
So in his eyes I have become
like one who finds peace.[cf]

11 Solomon owned a vineyard in Baal-hamon.(ER)
He leased the vineyard to tenants.(ES)
Each was to bring for his fruit
1,000 pieces of silver.(ET)
12 I have my own vineyard.[cg](EU)
The 1,000 are for you, Solomon,
but 200 for those who guard its fruits.

13 M You[ch] who dwell in the gardens—
companions(EV) are listening for your voice—
let me hear you!(EW)

14 W Hurry to me, my love,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
on the mountains of spices.(EX)

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 1:1 Or The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s
  2. Song of Solomon 1:2 The W, M, Y, N, and B indicate the editors’ opinions of the changes of speakers: W = Woman, M = Man, Y = Young women of Jerusalem, N = Narrator, B = Brothers. If a letter is in parenthesis (W), there is a question about the identity of the speaker.
  3. Song of Solomon 1:2 Unexpected change of grammatical persons, here from he and his to your, is a Hb poetic device.
  4. Song of Solomon 1:2 Or your caresses are, or your lovemaking is
  5. Song of Solomon 1:3 Or wonder virgins
  6. Song of Solomon 1:4 Or The king has brought
  7. Song of Solomon 1:6 Lit my vineyard, which is mine
  8. Song of Solomon 1:7 Or who wanders
  9. Song of Solomon 1:7 To express shame or grief, or to conceal identity as a prostitute would; Gn 38:14-15
  10. Song of Solomon 1:8 Some understand the young women to be the speakers in this verse.
  11. Song of Solomon 1:8 Lit go out for yourself into
  12. Song of Solomon 1:9 Lit my
  13. Song of Solomon 1:9 Pharaoh’s chariot horses were stallions.
  14. Song of Solomon 1:12 Or is at his table
  15. Song of Solomon 1:12 Lit nard
  16. Song of Solomon 1:14 = Wellspring of the Young Goat
  17. Song of Solomon 1:17 Or firs, or pines
  18. Song of Solomon 2:1 Or meadow saffron
  19. Song of Solomon 2:1 Not the modern flower but a common wildflower in northern Israel
  20. Song of Solomon 2:1 Or lotus
  21. Song of Solomon 2:3 Or apple
  22. Song of Solomon 2:4 Lit the house of wine
  23. Song of Solomon 2:4 Or and his banner over me is love
  24. Song of Solomon 2:5 Or apples
  25. Song of Solomon 2:6 Or Let his left hand be under . . . and his right arm embrace me
  26. Song of Solomon 2:7 Lit until it pleases
  27. Song of Solomon 2:12 Or pruning
  28. Song of Solomon 2:14 Or form
  29. Song of Solomon 2:17 Lit breathes
  30. Song of Solomon 2:17 Or the Bether mountains, or the mountains of spices; Hb obscure
  31. Song of Solomon 3:1 Or bed night after night
  32. Song of Solomon 3:1 LXX adds I called him, but he did not answer me
  33. Song of Solomon 3:5 Lit until it pleases
  34. Song of Solomon 3:7 A conveyance carried on the shoulders of servants
  35. Song of Solomon 3:9 In Hb, the term sedan chair is possibly a synonym for “litter”; it is also called a palanquin.
  36. Song of Solomon 3:10 Or base, or canopy
  37. Song of Solomon 3:10 Or leather
  38. Song of Solomon 4:2 Lit and no one bereaved among them
  39. Song of Solomon 4:3 Or speech
  40. Song of Solomon 4:3 Or temple, or cheek, or lips
  41. Song of Solomon 4:4 Perhaps describing the woman’s necklace
  42. Song of Solomon 4:6 Lit breathes
  43. Song of Solomon 4:8 In Hb, the word for Lebanon is similar to “frankincense” in Sg 4:6,14,15.
  44. Song of Solomon 4:9 A term of endearment
  45. Song of Solomon 4:12 Some Hb mss read locked fountain
  46. Song of Solomon 4:13 Or park, or orchard
  47. Song of Solomon 5:1 Lit pluck
  48. Song of Solomon 5:1 Or Drink your fill, lovers
  49. Song of Solomon 5:6 Lit My soul went out
  50. Song of Solomon 5:6 Or spoken
  51. Song of Solomon 5:7 Or veil, or shawl
  52. Song of Solomon 5:10 Or is radiant and ruddy
  53. Song of Solomon 5:11 Or is [like] palm leaves; Hb obscure
  54. Song of Solomon 5:12 Lit milk sitting in fullness
  55. Song of Solomon 5:13 LXX, Vg read spice, yielding
  56. Song of Solomon 5:14 Lit hands
  57. Song of Solomon 5:14 Lit filled; Sg 5:2,12
  58. Song of Solomon 5:14 Probably yellow topaz
  59. Song of Solomon 5:14 Lit abdomen
  60. Song of Solomon 6:1 Lit your love
  61. Song of Solomon 6:4 = a mountain city in Manasseh
  62. Song of Solomon 6:6 Lit and no one bereaved among them
  63. Song of Solomon 6:7 Or temple, or cheek, or lips
  64. Song of Solomon 6:8 Or and virgins; Sg 1:3
  65. Song of Solomon 6:10 Some see v. 10 as spoken by M.
  66. Song of Solomon 6:10 In Hb, the word for “this” is feminine.
  67. Song of Solomon 6:12 Or of Amminadib, or of my people of a prince; Hb obscure
  68. Song of Solomon 6:13 Sg 7:1 in Hb
  69. Song of Solomon 6:13 Or the peaceable one
  70. Song of Solomon 6:13 Perhaps an inhabitant of the town of Shunem, or a feminine form of Solomon’s name
  71. Song of Solomon 6:13 Or dance of Mahanaim
  72. Song of Solomon 7:1 Lit daughter of a nobleman or prince
  73. Song of Solomon 7:2 Or belly
  74. Song of Solomon 7:5 Lit head upon you is
  75. Song of Solomon 7:9 Lit palate
  76. Song of Solomon 7:9 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads past lips of sleepers
  77. Song of Solomon 7:11 Or the villages
  78. Song of Solomon 8:1 Lit Would that you were like a brother to me
  79. Song of Solomon 8:2 LXX adds and into the chamber of the one who bore me
  80. Song of Solomon 8:6 Or the blaze of the Lord
  81. Song of Solomon 8:7 Lit all the wealth of his house
  82. Song of Solomon 8:9 Vv. 8-9 may record what the girl’s brothers used to say.
  83. Song of Solomon 8:10 Or was
  84. Song of Solomon 8:10 In Hb, the word for peace sounds similar to Solomon and Shulammite.
  85. Song of Solomon 8:12 Lit My vineyard, which is mine, is before me; Sg 1:6
  86. Song of Solomon 8:13 In Hb, the word for You is feminine.

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