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Song of Solomon 1-8
Young's Literal Translation
Song of Solomon 1-8
Young's Literal Translation
1 The Song of Songs, that [is] Solomon's.
2 Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth, For better [are] thy loves than wine.
3 For fragrance [are] thy perfumes good. Perfume emptied out -- thy name, Therefore have virgins loved thee!
4 Draw me: after thee we run, The king hath brought me into his inner chambers, We do joy and rejoice in thee, We mention thy loves more than wine, Uprightly they have loved thee!
5 Dark [am] I, and comely, daughters of Jerusalem, As tents of Kedar, as curtains of Solomon.
6 Fear me not, because I [am] very dark, Because the sun hath scorched me, The sons of my mother were angry with me, They made me keeper of the vineyards, My vineyard -- my own -- I have not kept.
7 Declare to me, thou whom my soul hath loved, Where thou delightest, Where thou liest down at noon, For why am I as one veiled, By the ranks of thy companions?
8 If thou knowest not, O fair among women, Get thee forth by the traces of the flock, And feed thy kids by the shepherds' dwellings!
9 To my joyous one in chariots of Pharaoh, I have compared thee, my friend,
10 Comely have been thy cheeks with garlands, Thy neck with chains.
11 Garlands of gold we do make for thee, With studs of silver!
12 While the king [is] in his circle, My spikenard hath given its fragrance.
13 A bundle of myrrh [is] my beloved to me, Between my breasts it lodgeth.
14 A cluster of cypress [is] my beloved to me, In the vineyards of En-Gedi!
15 Lo, thou [art] fair, my friend, Lo, thou [art] fair, thine eyes [are] doves!
16 Lo, thou [art] fair, my love, yea, pleasant, Yea, our couch [is] green,
17 The beams of our houses [are] cedars, Our rafters [are] firs, I [am] a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys!
2 As a lily among the thorns,
2 So [is] my friend among the daughters!
3 As a citron among trees of the forest, So [is] my beloved among the sons, In his shade I delighted, and sat down, And his fruit [is] sweet to my palate.
4 He hath brought me in unto a house of wine, And his banner over me [is] love,
5 Sustain me with grape-cakes, Support me with citrons, for I [am] sick with love.
6 His left hand [is] under my head, And his right doth embrace me.
7 I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes or by the hinds of the field, Stir not up nor wake the love till she please!
8 The voice of my beloved! lo, this -- he is coming, Leaping on the mountains, skipping on the hills.
9 My beloved [is] like to a roe, Or to a young one of the harts. Lo, this -- he is standing behind our wall, Looking from the windows, Blooming from the lattice.
10 My beloved hath answered and said to me, `Rise up, my friend, my fair one, and come away,
11 For lo, the winter hath passed by, The rain hath passed away -- it hath gone.
12 The flowers have appeared in the earth, The time of the singing hath come, And the voice of the turtle was heard in our land,
13 The fig-tree hath ripened her green figs, And the sweet-smelling vines have given forth fragrance, Rise, come, my friend, my fair one, yea, come away.
14 My dove, in clefts of the rock, In a secret place of the ascent, Cause me to see thine appearance, Cause me to hear thy voice, For thy voice [is] sweet, and thy appearance comely.
15 Seize ye for us foxes, Little foxes -- destroyers of vineyards, Even our sweet-smelling vineyards.
16 My beloved [is] mine, and I [am] his, Who is delighting among the lilies,
17 Till the day doth break forth, And the shadows have fled away, Turn, be like, my beloved, To a roe, or to a young one of the harts, On the mountains of separation!
3 On my couch by night, I sought him whom my soul hath loved; I sought him, and I found him not!
2 -- Pray, let me rise, and go round the city, In the streets and in the broad places, I seek him whom my soul hath loved! -- I sought him, and I found him not.
3 The watchmen have found me, (Who are going round about the city), `Him whom my soul have loved saw ye?'
4 But a little I passed on from them, Till I found him whom my soul hath loved! I seized him, and let him not go, Till I brought him in unto the house of my mother -- And the chamber of her that conceived me.
5 I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes or by the hinds of the field, Stir not up nor wake the love till she please!
6 Who [is] this coming up from the wilderness, Like palm-trees of smoke, Perfumed [with] myrrh and frankincense, From every powder of the merchant?
7 Lo, his couch, that [is] Solomon's, Sixty mighty ones [are] around it, Of the mighty of Israel,
8 All of them holding sword, taught of battle, Each his sword by his thigh, for fear at night.
9 A palanquin king Solomon made for himself, Of the wood of Lebanon,
10 Its pillars he made of silver, Its bottom of gold, its seat of purple, Its midst lined [with] love, By the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go forth, and look, ye daughters of Zion, On king Solomon, with the crown, With which his mother crowned him, In the day of his espousals, And in the day of the joy of his heart!
4 Lo, thou [art] fair, my friend, lo, thou [art] fair, Thine eyes [are] doves behind thy veil, Thy hair as a row of the goats That have shone from mount Gilead,
2 Thy teeth as a row of the shorn ones That have come up from the washing, For all of them are forming twins, And a bereaved one is not among them.
3 As a thread of scarlet [are] thy lips, And thy speech [is] comely, As the work of the pomegranate [is] thy temple behind thy veil,
4 As the tower of David [is] thy neck, built for an armoury, The chief of the shields are hung on it, All shields of the mighty.
5 Thy two breasts [are] as two fawns, Twins of a roe, that are feeding among lilies.
6 Till the day doth break forth, And the shadows have fled away, I will get me unto the mountain of myrrh, And unto the hill of frankincense.
7 Thou [art] all fair, my friend, And a blemish there is not in thee. Come from Lebanon, O spouse,
8 Come from Lebanon, come thou in. Look from the top of Amana, From the top of Shenir and Hermon, From the habitations of lions, From the mountains of leopards.
9 Thou hast emboldened me, my sister-spouse, Emboldened me with one of thine eyes, With one chain of thy neck.
10 How wonderful have been thy loves, my sister-spouse, How much better have been thy loves than wine, And the fragrance of thy perfumes than all spices.
11 Thy lips drop honey, O spouse, Honey and milk [are] under thy tongue, And the fragrance of thy garments [Is] as the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 A garden shut up [is] my sister-spouse, A spring shut up -- a fountain sealed.
13 Thy shoots a paradise of pomegranates, With precious fruits,
14 Cypresses with nard -- nard and saffron, Cane and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices.
15 A fount of gardens, a well of living waters, And flowings from Lebanon!
16 Awake, O north wind, and come, O south, Cause my garden to breathe forth, its spices let flow, Let my beloved come to his garden, And eat its pleasant fruits!
5 I have come in to my garden, my sister-spouse, I have plucked my myrrh with my spice, I have eaten my comb with my honey, I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, drink, Yea, drink abundantly, O beloved ones!
2 I am sleeping, but my heart waketh: The sound of my beloved knocking! `Open to me, my sister, my friend, My dove, my perfect one, For my head is filled [with] dew, My locks [with] drops of the night.'
3 I have put off my coat, how do I put it on? I have washed my feet, how do I defile them?
4 My beloved sent his hand from the net-work, And my bowels were moved for him.
5 I rose to open to my beloved, And my hands dropped myrrh, Yea, my fingers flowing myrrh, On the handles of the lock.
6 I opened to my beloved, But my beloved withdrew -- he passed on, My soul went forth when he spake, I sought him, and found him not. I called him, and he answered me not.
7 The watchmen who go round about the city, Found me, smote me, wounded me, Keepers of the walls lifted up my veil from off me.
8 I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, If ye find my beloved -- What do ye tell him? that I [am] sick with love!
9 What [is] thy beloved above [any] beloved, O fair among women? What [is] thy beloved above [any] beloved, That thus thou hast adjured us?
10 My beloved [is] clear and ruddy, Conspicuous above a myriad!
11 His head [is] pure gold -- fine gold, His locks flowing, dark as a raven,
12 His eyes as doves by streams of water, Washing in milk, sitting in fulness.
13 His cheeks as a bed of the spice, towers of perfumes, His lips [are] lilies, dropping flowing myrrh,
14 His hands rings of gold, set with beryl, His heart bright ivory, covered with sapphires,
15 His limbs pillars of marble, Founded on sockets of fine gold, His appearance as Lebanon, choice as the cedars.
16 His mouth is sweetness -- and all of him desirable, This [is] my beloved, and this my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!
6 Whither hath thy beloved gone, O fair among women? Whither hath thy beloved turned, And we seek him with thee?
2 My beloved went down to his garden, To the beds of the spice, To delight himself in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
3 I [am] my beloved's, and my beloved [is] mine, Who is delighting himself among the lilies.
4 Fair [art] thou, my friend, as Tirzah, Comely as Jerusalem, Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts.
5 Turn round thine eyes from before me, Because they have made me proud. Thy hair [is] as a row of the goats, That have shone from Gilead,
6 Thy teeth as a row of the lambs, That have come up from the washing, Because all of them are forming twins, And a bereaved one is not among them.
7 As the work of the pomegranate [is] thy temple behind thy veil.
8 Sixty are queens, and eighty concubines, And virgins without number.
9 One is my dove, my perfect one, One she [is] of her mother, The choice one she [is] of her that bare her, Daughters saw, and pronounce her happy, Queens and concubines, and they praise her.
10 `Who [is] this that is looking forth as morning, Fair as the moon -- clear as the sun, Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts?'
11 Unto a garden of nuts I went down, To look on the buds of the valley, To see whither the vine had flourished, The pomegranates had blossomed --
12 I knew not my soul, It made me -- chariots of my people Nadib.
13 Return, return, O Shulammith! Return, return, and we look upon thee. What do ye see in Shulammith?
7 As the chorus of `Mahanaim.' How beautiful were thy feet with sandals, O daughter of Nadib. The turnings of thy sides [are] as ornaments, Work of the hands of an artificer.
2 Thy waist [is] a basin of roundness, It lacketh not the mixture, Thy body a heap of wheat, fenced with lilies,
3 Thy two breasts as two young ones, twins of a roe,
4 Thy neck as a tower of the ivory, Thine eyes pools in Heshbon, near the gate of Bath-Rabbim, Thy face as a tower of Lebanon looking to Damascus,
5 Thy head upon thee as Carmel, And the locks of thy head as purple, The king is bound with the flowings!
6 How fair and how pleasant hast thou been, O love, in delights.
7 This thy stature hath been like to a palm, And thy breasts to clusters.
8 I said, `Let me go up on the palm, Let me lay hold on its boughs, Yea, let thy breasts be, I pray thee, as clusters of the vine, And the fragrance of thy face as citrons,
9 And thy palate as the good wine --' Flowing to my beloved in uprightness, Strengthening the lips of the aged!
10 I [am] my beloved's, and on me [is] his desire.
11 Come, my beloved, we go forth to the field,
12 We lodge in the villages, we go early to the vineyards, We see if the vine hath flourished, The sweet smelling-flower hath opened. The pomegranates have blossomed, There do I give to thee my loves;
13 The mandrakes have given fragrance, And at our openings all pleasant things, New, yea, old, my beloved, I laid up for thee!
8 Who doth make thee as a brother to me, Sucking the breasts of my mother? I find thee without, I kiss thee, Yea, they do not despise me,
2 I lead thee, I bring thee in unto my mother's house, She doth teach me, I cause thee to drink of the perfumed wine, Of the juice of my pomegranate,
3 His left hand [is] under my head, And his right doth embrace me.
4 I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, How ye stir up, And how ye wake the love till she please!
5 Who [is] this coming from the wilderness, Hasting herself for her beloved? Under the citron-tree I have waked thee, There did thy mother pledge thee, There she gave a pledge [that] bare thee.
6 Set me as a seal on thy heart, as a seal on thine arm, For strong as death is love, Sharp as Sheol is jealousy, Its burnings [are] burnings of fire, a flame of Jah!
7 Many waters are not able to quench the love, And floods do not wash it away. If one give all the wealth of his house for love, Treading down -- they tread upon it.
8 We have a little sister, and breasts she hath not, What do we do for our sister, In the day that it is told of her?
9 If she is a wall, we build by her a palace of silver. And if she is a door, We fashion by her board-work of cedar.
10 I [am] a wall, and my breasts as towers, Then I have been in his eyes as one finding peace.
11 Solomon hath a vineyard in Baal-Hamon, He hath given the vineyard to keepers, Each bringeth for its fruit a thousand silverlings;
12 My vineyard -- my own -- is before me, The thousand [is] for thee, O Solomon. And the two hundred for those keeping its fruit. O dweller in gardens!
13 The companions are attending to thy voice, Cause me to hear. Flee, my beloved, and be like to a roe,
14 Or to a young one of the harts on mountains of spices!
Song of Songs 1-8
New International Version
Song of Songs 1-8
New International Version
1 Solomon’s Song of Songs.(A)
She[a]
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
for your love(B) is more delightful than wine.(C)
3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;(D)
your name(E) is like perfume poured out.
No wonder the young women(F) love you!
4 Take me away with you—let us hurry!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.(G)
Friends
She
How right they are to adore you!
5 Dark am I, yet lovely,(J)
daughters of Jerusalem,(K)
dark like the tents of Kedar,(L)
like the tent curtains of Solomon.[c]
6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
because I am darkened by the sun.
My mother’s sons were angry with me
and made me take care of the vineyards;(M)
my own vineyard I had to neglect.
7 Tell me, you whom I love,
where you graze your flock
and where you rest your sheep(N) at midday.
Why should I be like a veiled(O) woman
beside the flocks of your friends?
Friends
8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women,(P)
follow the tracks of the sheep
and graze your young goats
by the tents of the shepherds.
He
9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare
among Pharaoh’s chariot horses.(Q)
10 Your cheeks(R) are beautiful with earrings,
your neck with strings of jewels.(S)
11 We will make you earrings of gold,
studded with silver.
She
12 While the king was at his table,
my perfume spread its fragrance.(T)
13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh(U)
resting between my breasts.
14 My beloved(V) is to me a cluster of henna(W) blossoms
from the vineyards of En Gedi.(X)
He
She
16 How handsome you are, my beloved!(AA)
Oh, how charming!
And our bed is verdant.
He
17 The beams of our house are cedars;(AB)
our rafters are firs.
She[d]
He
2 Like a lily among thorns
is my darling among the young women.
She
3 Like an apple[f] tree among the trees of the forest
is my beloved(AF) among the young men.
I delight(AG) to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.(AH)
4 Let him lead me to the banquet hall,(AI)
and let his banner(AJ) over me be love.
5 Strengthen me with raisins,
refresh me with apples,(AK)
for I am faint with love.(AL)
6 His left arm is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.(AM)
7 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(AN)
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.(AO)
8 Listen! My beloved!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.(AP)
9 My beloved is like a gazelle(AQ) or a young stag.(AR)
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke and said to me,
“Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, come with me.
11 See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;(AS)
the blossoming(AT) vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.”
He
14 My dove(AU) in the clefts of the rock,
in the hiding places on the mountainside,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.(AV)
15 Catch for us the foxes,(AW)
the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,(AX)
our vineyards that are in bloom.(AY)
She
16 My beloved is mine and I am his;(AZ)
he browses among the lilies.(BA)
17 Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,(BB)
turn, my beloved,(BC)
and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag(BD)
on the rugged hills.[g](BE)
3 All night long on my bed
I looked(BF) for the one my heart loves;
I looked for him but did not find him.
2 I will get up now and go about the city,
through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
So I looked for him but did not find him.
3 The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.(BG)
“Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
4 Scarcely had I passed them
when I found the one my heart loves.
I held him and would not let him go
till I had brought him to my mother’s house,(BH)
to the room of the one who conceived me.(BI)
5 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(BJ)
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.(BK)
6 Who is this coming up from the wilderness(BL)
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh(BM) and incense
made from all the spices(BN) of the merchant?
7 Look! It is Solomon’s carriage,
escorted by sixty warriors,(BO)
the noblest of Israel,
8 all of them wearing the sword,
all experienced in battle,
each with his sword at his side,
prepared for the terrors of the night.(BP)
9 King Solomon made for himself the carriage;
he made it of wood from Lebanon.
10 Its posts he made of silver,
its base of gold.
Its seat was upholstered with purple,
its interior inlaid with love.
Daughters of Jerusalem, 11 come out,
and look, you daughters of Zion.(BQ)
Look[h] on King Solomon wearing a crown,
the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
the day his heart rejoiced.(BR)
He
4 How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil(BS) are doves.(BT)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from the hills of Gilead.(BU)
2 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin;
not one of them is alone.(BV)
3 Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;
your mouth(BW) is lovely.(BX)
Your temples behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.(BY)
4 Your neck is like the tower(BZ) of David,
built with courses of stone[i];
on it hang a thousand shields,(CA)
all of them shields of warriors.
5 Your breasts(CB) are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle(CC)
that browse among the lilies.(CD)
6 Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,(CE)
I will go to the mountain of myrrh(CF)
and to the hill of incense.
7 You are altogether beautiful,(CG) my darling;
there is no flaw(CH) in you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,(CI)
come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
from the top of Senir,(CJ) the summit of Hermon,(CK)
from the lions’ dens
and the mountain haunts of leopards.
9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;(CL)
you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.(CM)
10 How delightful(CN) is your love(CO), my sister, my bride!
How much more pleasing is your love than wine,(CP)
and the fragrance of your perfume(CQ)
more than any spice!
11 Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
milk and honey are under your tongue.(CR)
The fragrance of your garments
is like the fragrance of Lebanon.(CS)
12 You are a garden(CT) locked up, my sister, my bride;(CU)
you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.(CV)
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates(CW)
with choice fruits,
with henna(CX) and nard,
14 nard and saffron,
calamus and cinnamon,(CY)
with every kind of incense tree,
with myrrh(CZ) and aloes(DA)
and all the finest spices.(DB)
15 You are[j] a garden(DC) fountain,(DD)
a well of flowing water
streaming down from Lebanon.
She
16 Awake, north wind,
and come, south wind!
Blow on my garden,(DE)
that its fragrance(DF) may spread everywhere.
Let my beloved(DG) come into his garden
and taste its choice fruits.(DH)
He
5 I have come into my garden,(DI) my sister, my bride;(DJ)
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk.(DK)
Friends
Eat, friends, and drink;
drink your fill of love.
She
2 I slept but my heart was awake.
Listen! My beloved is knocking:
“Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove,(DL) my flawless(DM) one.(DN)
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe—
must I put it on again?
I have washed my feet—
must I soil them again?
4 My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening;
my heart began to pound for him.
5 I arose to open for my beloved,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,(DO)
my fingers with flowing myrrh,
on the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened for my beloved,(DP)
but my beloved had left; he was gone.(DQ)
My heart sank at his departure.[k]
I looked(DR) for him but did not find him.
I called him but he did not answer.
7 The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.(DS)
They beat me, they bruised me;
they took away my cloak,
those watchmen of the walls!
8 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(DT)—
if you find my beloved,(DU)
what will you tell him?
Tell him I am faint with love.(DV)
Friends
9 How is your beloved better than others,
most beautiful of women?(DW)
How is your beloved better than others,
that you so charge us?
She
10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,
outstanding among ten thousand.(DX)
11 His head is purest gold;
his hair is wavy
and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves(DY)
by the water streams,
washed in milk,(DZ)
mounted like jewels.
13 His cheeks(EA) are like beds of spice(EB)
yielding perfume.
His lips are like lilies(EC)
dripping with myrrh.(ED)
14 His arms are rods of gold
set with topaz.
His body is like polished ivory
decorated with lapis lazuli.(EE)
15 His legs are pillars of marble
set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,(EF)
choice as its cedars.
16 His mouth(EG) is sweetness itself;
he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,(EH) this is my friend,
daughters of Jerusalem.(EI)
Friends
6 Where has your beloved(EJ) gone,
most beautiful of women?(EK)
Which way did your beloved turn,
that we may look for him with you?
She
2 My beloved has gone(EL) down to his garden,(EM)
to the beds of spices,(EN)
to browse in the gardens
and to gather lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;(EO)
he browses among the lilies.(EP)
He
4 You are as beautiful as Tirzah,(EQ) my darling,
as lovely as Jerusalem,(ER)
as majestic as troops with banners.(ES)
5 Turn your eyes from me;
they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Gilead.(ET)
6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin,
not one of them is missing.(EU)
7 Your temples behind your veil(EV)
are like the halves of a pomegranate.(EW)
8 Sixty queens(EX) there may be,
and eighty concubines,(EY)
and virgins beyond number;
9 but my dove,(EZ) my perfect one,(FA) is unique,
the only daughter of her mother,
the favorite of the one who bore her.(FB)
The young women saw her and called her blessed;
the queens and concubines praised her.
Friends
10 Who is this that appears like the dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
majestic as the stars in procession?
He
11 I went down to the grove of nut trees
to look at the new growth in the valley,
to see if the vines had budded
or the pomegranates were in bloom.(FC)
12 Before I realized it,
my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.[l]
Friends
13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite;
come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!
He
7 [n]How beautiful your sandaled feet,
O prince’s(FE) daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
the work of an artist’s hands.
2 Your navel is a rounded goblet
that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
encircled by lilies.
3 Your breasts(FF) are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.(FG)
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon(FH)
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon(FI)
looking toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.(FJ)
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.
6 How beautiful(FK) you are and how pleasing,
my love, with your delights!(FL)
7 Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts(FM) like clusters of fruit.
8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree;
I will take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine,
the fragrance of your breath like apples,(FN)
9 and your mouth like the best wine.
She
May the wine go straight to my beloved,(FO)
flowing gently over lips and teeth.[o]
10 I belong to my beloved,
and his desire(FP) is for me.(FQ)
11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,
let us spend the night in the villages.[p]
12 Let us go early to the vineyards(FR)
to see if the vines have budded,(FS)
if their blossoms(FT) have opened,
and if the pomegranates(FU) are in bloom(FV)—
there I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes(FW) send out their fragrance,
and at our door is every delicacy,
both new and old,
that I have stored up for you, my beloved.(FX)
8 If only you were to me like a brother,
who was nursed at my mother’s breasts!
Then, if I found you outside,
I would kiss you,
and no one would despise me.
2 I would lead you
and bring you to my mother’s house(FY)—
she who has taught me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the nectar of my pomegranates.
3 His left arm is under my head
and his right arm embraces me.(FZ)
4 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.(GA)
Friends
5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness(GB)
leaning on her beloved?
She
Under the apple tree I roused you;
there your mother conceived(GC) you,
there she who was in labor gave you birth.
6 Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love(GD) is as strong as death,
its jealousy[q](GE) unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.[r]
7 Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of one’s house for love,
it[s] would be utterly scorned.(GF)
Friends
8 We have a little sister,
and her breasts are not yet grown.
What shall we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
we will build towers of silver on her.
If she is a door,
we will enclose her with panels of cedar.
She
10 I am a wall,
and my breasts are like towers.
Thus I have become in his eyes
like one bringing contentment.
11 Solomon had a vineyard(GG) in Baal Hamon;
he let out his vineyard to tenants.
Each was to bring for its fruit
a thousand shekels[t](GH) of silver.
12 But my own vineyard(GI) is mine to give;
the thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,
and two hundred[u] are for those who tend its fruit.
He
13 You who dwell in the gardens
with friends in attendance,
let me hear your voice!
She
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 1:2 The main male and female speakers (identified primarily on the basis of the gender of the relevant Hebrew forms) are indicated by the captions He and She respectively. The words of others are marked Friends. In some instances the divisions and their captions are debatable.
- Song of Songs 1:4 The Hebrew is masculine singular.
- Song of Songs 1:5 Or Salma
- Song of Songs 2:1 Or He
- Song of Songs 2:1 Probably a member of the crocus family
- Song of Songs 2:3 Or possibly apricot; here and elsewhere in Song of Songs
- Song of Songs 2:17 Or the hills of Bether
- Song of Songs 3:11 Or interior lovingly inlaid / by the daughters of Jerusalem. / 11 Come out, you daughters of Zion, / and look
- Song of Songs 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Song of Songs 4:15 Or I am (spoken by She)
- Song of Songs 5:6 Or heart had gone out to him when he spoke
- Song of Songs 6:12 Or among the chariots of Amminadab; or among the chariots of the people of the prince
- Song of Songs 6:13 In Hebrew texts this verse (6:13) is numbered 7:1.
- Song of Songs 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-13 is numbered 7:2-14.
- Song of Songs 7:9 Septuagint, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew lips of sleepers
- Song of Songs 7:11 Or the henna bushes
- Song of Songs 8:6 Or ardor
- Song of Songs 8:6 Or fire, / like the very flame of the Lord
- Song of Songs 8:7 Or he
- Song of Songs 8:11 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms; also in verse 12
- Song of Songs 8:12 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
New International Version (NIV) 
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