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Song of Solomon 1-2
New Living Translation
Song of Solomon 1-2
New Living Translation
1 This is Solomon’s song of songs, more wonderful than any other.
Young Woman[a]
2 Kiss me and kiss me again,
for your love is sweeter than wine.
3 How pleasing is your fragrance;
your name is like the spreading fragrance of scented oils.
No wonder all the young women love you!
4 Take me with you; come, let’s run!
The king has brought me into his bedroom.
Young Women of Jerusalem
How happy we are for you, O king.
We praise your love even more than wine.
Young Woman
How right they are to adore you.
5 I am dark but beautiful,
O women of Jerusalem—
dark as the tents of Kedar,
dark as the curtains of Solomon’s tents.
6 Don’t stare at me because I am dark—
the sun has darkened my skin.
My brothers were angry with me;
they forced me to care for their vineyards,
so I couldn’t care for myself—my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, my love, where are you leading your flock today?
Where will you rest your sheep at noon?
For why should I wander like a prostitute[b]
among your friends and their flocks?
Young Man
8 If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman,
follow the trail of my flock,
and graze your young goats by the shepherds’ tents.
9 You are as exciting, my darling,
as a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions.
10 How lovely are your cheeks;
your earrings set them afire!
How lovely is your neck,
enhanced by a string of jewels.
11 We will make for you earrings of gold
and beads of silver.
Young Woman
12 The king is lying on his couch,
enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume.
13 My lover is like a sachet of myrrh
lying between my breasts.
14 He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms
from the vineyards of En-gedi.
Young Man
15 How beautiful you are, my darling,
how beautiful!
Your eyes are like doves.
Young Woman
16 You are so handsome, my love,
pleasing beyond words!
The soft grass is our bed;
17 fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house,
and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters.
Young Woman
2 I am the spring crocus blooming on the Sharon Plain,[c]
the lily of the valley.
Young Man
2 Like a lily among thistles
is my darling among young women.
Young Woman
3 Like the finest apple tree in the orchard
is my lover among other young men.
I sit in his delightful shade
and taste his delicious fruit.
4 He escorts me to the banquet hall;
it’s obvious how much he loves me.
5 Strengthen me with raisin cakes,
refresh me with apples,
for I am weak with love.
6 His left arm is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.
7 Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and wild deer,
not to awaken love until the time is right.[d]
8 Ah, I hear my lover coming!
He is leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My lover is like a swift gazelle
or a young stag.
Look, there he is behind the wall,
looking through the window,
peering into the room.
10 My lover said to me,
“Rise up, my darling!
Come away with me, my fair one!
11 Look, the winter is past,
and the rains are over and gone.
12 The flowers are springing up,
the season of singing birds[e] has come,
and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.
13 The fig trees are forming young fruit,
and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming.
Rise up, my darling!
Come away with me, my fair one!”
Young Man
14 My dove is hiding behind the rocks,
behind an outcrop on the cliff.
Let me see your face;
let me hear your voice.
For your voice is pleasant,
and your face is lovely.
Young Women of Jerusalem
15 Catch all the foxes,
those little foxes,
before they ruin the vineyard of love,
for the grapevines are blossoming!
Young Woman
16 My lover is mine, and I am his.
He browses among the lilies.
17 Before the dawn breezes blow
and the night shadows flee,
return to me, my love, like a gazelle
or a young stag on the rugged mountains.[f]
Footnotes
- 1:1 The headings identifying the speakers are not in the original text, though the Hebrew usually gives clues by means of the gender of the person speaking.
- 1:7 Hebrew like a veiled woman.
- 2:1 Traditionally rendered I am the rose of Sharon. Sharon Plain is a region in the coastal plain of Palestine.
- 2:7 Or not to awaken love until it is ready.
- 2:12 Or the season of pruning vines.
- 2:17 Or on the hills of Bether.
Song of Songs 1-2
New International Version
Song of Songs 1-2
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
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
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.