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Song of Solomon 1
Lexham English Bible

Title

1 The Song of Songs,[a] which is for[b] Solomon.

Maiden’s Soliloquy

2 May[c] you kiss me[d] passionately with your lips,[e]
    for your love is better than wine.[f]
3 As fragrance, your perfumes[g] are delightful;[h]
    your name is poured out perfume;[i]
        therefore young women love you.
4 Draw me after you, let us run!
    May the king bring me into his chambers![j]
Let us be joyful and let us rejoice in you;
    let us extol your love more than wine.
        Rightly do they love you!

Maiden’s Self-Description

5 I am black but beautiful,[k] O maidens of Jerusalem,[l]
    like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not gaze at me because I am black, [m]
    because the sun has stared at me.
The sons of my mother were angry with me;
    they made me keeper of the vineyards,
        but my own “vineyard”[n] I did not keep.

Dialogue between Shepherdess and Shepherd

7 Tell me, you whom my heart[o] loves,
    where do you pasture your flock,
        where do your sheep lie down at the noon?
For why should I be like[p] one who is veiled[q]
    beside the flocks of your companions?
8 If you do not know, O fairest among women,
    follow the tracks[r] of the flock,
        and pasture your little lambs[s] beside the tents of the shepherds.

Man’s Poetic Praise of His Beloved

9 To a mare[t] among the chariots[u] of Pharaoh,
    I compare you, my beloved.
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments,
    your neck with strings of jewels.
11 We will make ornaments of gold for you
    with studs[v] of silver.

Maiden’s Poetic Praise of Her Beloved

12 While the king was on his couch,
    my nard gave its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a pouch[w] of myrrh,
    he spends the night[x] between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of blossoms of henna
    in the vineyards of En Gedi.

Mutual Admiration

15 Look! You are beautiful, my beloved.
    Look! You are beautiful;
        your eyes are doves.
16 Look! You are beautiful, my beloved,
    truly pleasant.
Truly our couch is verdant;[y]
17     the beams of our house are cedar;
        our rafter is cypress.

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 1:1 This construction conveys a superlative connotation, e.g., “The most exquisite song”
  2. Song of Solomon 1:1 Or “by Solomon” or “about/concerning Solomon”
  3. Song of Solomon 1:2 In the maiden’s soliloquy, she thinks about her beloved in her thoughts (“May he kiss me!”), then poetically speaks to him as if he were in her presence (“for your love is better than wine”). To avoid confusion, the translation uses the second-person form throughout vv. 2–4
  4. Song of Solomon 1:2 Literally “May he kiss me”
  5. Song of Solomon 1:2 Literally “with the kisses of his mouth”
  6. Song of Solomon 1:2 The shift from the third person “he … his” to the second person “you … your” in vv. 2–4 should not be interpreted as suggesting two different referents, that is, one male whom the maiden is addressing as “you,” and another to whom she refers as “he.” Rather, this shift is a poetic device (called “grammatical differentiation”) that is not uncommon in Hebrew poetry (e.g., Gen 49:4; Deut 32:15; Psa 23:2–5; Isa 1:29; 42:20; 54:1; Jer 22:24; Amos 4:1; Mic 7:19; Lam 3:1; Song 4:2; 6:6). This shift is characteristic of a soliloquy, a dramatic or literary form in which a character reveals her thoughts without addressing a listener who is actually present (e.g., 2 Sam 19:4). In this case, the maiden’s private thoughts about her beloved (v. 2a) shift to an imaginary address to her beloved (vv. 2b–4a)
  7. Song of Solomon 1:3 Literally “your oil lotions”
  8. Song of Solomon 1:3 Literally “good”
  9. Song of Solomon 1:3 Literally “oil lotion”
  10. Song of Solomon 1:4 Or “The king has brought me into his chambers”
  11. Song of Solomon 1:5 Or “black and beautiful”
  12. Song of Solomon 1:5 Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
  13. Song of Solomon 1:6 This is figurative for the maiden’s physical appearance; her skin was darkly tanned
  14. Song of Solomon 1:6 Literally “my vineyard that for me”
  15. Song of Solomon 1:7 Literally “soul”
  16. Song of Solomon 1:7 Literally “For to what will I be like”
  17. Song of Solomon 1:7 The reading of the MT (“like one who is veiled”) is supported by the LXX. However, several ancient versions (Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate, Symmachus) reflect an alternate Hebrew textual tradition in which two letters are transposed, resulting in the reading “like one who wanders about.” This makes good sense contextually, since the maiden does not know where her beloved would be at noon
  18. Song of Solomon 1:8 Literally “in the tracks”
  19. Song of Solomon 1:8 Or “your kids”
  20. Song of Solomon 1:9 Or “my mare”
  21. Song of Solomon 1:9 Or “chariot horses”
  22. Song of Solomon 1:11 Or “droplets”
  23. Song of Solomon 1:13 Literally “the bag”
  24. Song of Solomon 1:13 Or “he lays”
  25. Song of Solomon 1:16 Literally “green”
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Song of Songs 1
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

We rejoice and delight(H) in you[b];
    we will praise your love(I) more than wine.

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

15 How beautiful(Y) you are, my darling!
    Oh, how beautiful!
    Your eyes are doves.(Z)

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.

Footnotes

  1. 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.
  2. Song of Songs 1:4 The Hebrew is masculine singular.
  3. Song of Songs 1:5 Or Salma
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Ecclesiastes 12
Song of Solomon 2
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