Song of Solomon 6:2-8:14
New International Version - UK
She
2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to browse in the gardens
and to gather lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;
he browses among the lilies.
He
4 You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling,
as lovely as Jerusalem,
as majestic as troops with banners.
5 Turn your eyes from me;
they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin,
not one of them is missing.
7 Your temples behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
8 Sixty queens there may be,
and eighty concubines,
and virgins beyond number;
9 but my dove, my perfect one, is unique,
the only daughter of her mother,
the favourite of the one who bore her.
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.
12 Before I realised it,
my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.[a]
Friends
13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite;
come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!
He
Why would you gaze on the Shulammite
as on the dance of Mahanaim?[b]
7 [c]How beautiful your sandalled feet,
O prince’s 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 are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
looking towards Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.
6 How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
my love, with your delights!
7 Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts 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,
9 and your mouth like the best wine.
She
May the wine go straight to my beloved,
flowing gently over lips and teeth.[d]
10 I belong to my beloved,
and his desire is for me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,
let us spend the night in the villages.[e]
12 Let us go early to the vineyards
to see if the vines have budded,
if their blossoms have opened,
and if the pomegranates are in bloom –
there I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes send out their fragrance,
and at our door is every delicacy,
both new and old,
that I have stored up for you, my beloved.
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 –
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.
4 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:
do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.
Friends
5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness
leaning on her beloved?
She
Under the apple tree I roused you;
there your mother conceived you,
there she who was in labour gave you birth.
6 Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy[f] unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.[g]
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[h] would be utterly scorned.
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 in Baal Hamon;
he let out his vineyard to tenants.
Each was to bring for its fruit
a thousand shekels[i] of silver.
12 But my own vineyard is mine to give;
the thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,
and two hundred[j] 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
14 Come away, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag
on the spice-laden mountains.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 6:12 Or among the chariots of Amminadab; or among the chariots of the people of the prince
- Song of Solomon 6:13 In Hebrew texts this verse 6:13 is numbered 7:1.
- Song of Solomon 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-13 is numbered 7:2-14.
- Song of Solomon 7:9 Septuagint, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew lips of sleepers
- Song of Solomon 7:11 Or the henna bushes
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Or ardour
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Or fire, / like the very flame of the Lord
- Song of Solomon 8:7 Or he
- Song of Solomon 8:11 That is, about 12 kilograms; also in verse 12
- Song of Solomon 8:12 That is, about 2.3 kilograms
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