Add parallel Print Page Options

The Song of Songs, that [is] Solomon's.

Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth, For better [are] thy loves than wine.

For fragrance [are] thy perfumes good. Perfume emptied out -- thy name, Therefore have virgins loved thee!

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!

Dark [am] I, and comely, daughters of Jerusalem, As tents of Kedar, as curtains of Solomon.

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.

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?

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!

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!

Solomon’s Song of Songs.(A)

She[a]

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
    for your love(B) is more delightful than wine.(C)
Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;(D)
    your name(E) is like perfume poured out.
    No wonder the young women(F) love you!
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!

Dark am I, yet lovely,(J)
    daughters of Jerusalem,(K)
dark like the tents of Kedar,(L)
    like the tent curtains of Solomon.[c]
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.
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

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

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