Song of Solomon 1-6
Lexham English Bible
Title
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.
Dialogue between Maiden and Her Beloved
2 I am a rose[z] of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.
2 Like a lily among the thorns,[aa]
so is my love among the maidens.
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my beloved among the young men.
In his shade I sat down with delight,[ab]
and his fruit was sweet to my palate.
Banquet Hall of Love
4 He brought me to the house of the wine,
and his intention was love toward me.
5 Sustain me with the raisins,
refresh me with the apples,
for I am lovesick.[ac]
Double Refrain: Embrace and Adjuration
6 His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand embraces[ad] me.
7 I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,[ae]
by the gazelles or by the does of the field,
do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases![af]
Rendezvous in the Countryside
8 The voice of my beloved!
Look! Here he[ag] comes leaping upon the mountains,
bounding over the hills!
9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.[ah]
Look! He is[ai] standing behind our wall,
gazing through[aj] the window,
looking through[ak] the lattice.
10 My beloved answered and said to me,
“Arise,[al] my beloved! Come, my beauty![am]
11 For look! The winter is over;
the rainy season[an] has turned and gone away.[ao]
12 The blossoms appear[ap] in the land;[aq]
the time of singing[ar] has arrived;[as]
the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her figs,
and the vines are in blossom; they give fragrance.
Arise,[at] my beloved! Come, my beauty!”[au]
14 My dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the secluded place[av][aw] in the mountain,[ax][ay]
Let me see your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.
15 Catch for us the foxes,
the little foxes destroying vineyards,
for[az] our vineyards are in blossom!
Poetic Refrain(s)
16 My beloved belongs to me and I belong to him;[ba]
he pastures his flock among the lilies.
17 Until the day breathes and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved!
Be like[bb] a gazelle[bc] or young stag[bd] on the cleft mountains.[be]
Maiden’s Dream (?): Seeking and Finding
3 On my bed in the night,
I sought[bf] him whom my heart[bg] loves.
I sought him, but I did not find him.
2 Now I will arise, and I will go about in the city,
in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my heart[bh] loves.
I sought him, but I did not find him.
3 The sentinels who go about in the city found me.
“Have you seen the one whom my heart[bi] loves?”
4 Scarcely had I passed[bj] by them
when I found him whom my heart[bk] loves.
I held him and I would not let him go
until I brought him to the house of my mother,
into the bedroom chamber of she who conceived me.
Adjuration Refrain
5 I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,[bl]
by the gazelles or by the does of the field,
do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases![bm]
Royal Wedding Procession
6 What is this coming up from the desert
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense
from all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
7 Look! It is Solomon’s portable couch![bn]
Sixty mighty men surround it,[bo]
the mighty men of Israel.
8 All of them wield swords;[bp]
they are trained in warfare,[bq]
each with his sword at his thigh
to guard against terror[br] in the night.
9 King Solomon[bs] made for himself a sedan chair
from the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made its column of silver, its back[bt] of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior is inlaid with leather[bu] by the maidens of Jerusalem.[bv]
11 Come out and look, O maidens of Zion,[bw] at King Solomon,[bx]
at the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
on the day of the joy of his heart!
Groom’s Praise of His Bride
4 Oh my![by] You are beautiful, my beloved!
Oh my![bz] You are beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
from behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
that move down from the mountains of Gilead.
2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
that came up from the washing,
all of them bearing twins,
and there is none bereaved among them.
3 Your lips are like a thread of crimson,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your temple is like pomegranate
from behind your veil.
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,
built in courses;
a thousand ornaments[ca] are hung on it,
all the shields of the warriors.
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle that feed among the lilies.
6 Until the day breathes and the shadows flee,
I will go to the mountain of the myrrh,
to the hill of the frankincense.
7 You are completely beautiful, my beloved!
You are flawless![cb]
The Mountains and Fragrance of Lebanon
8 Come[cc] with me from Lebanon, my bride!
Come with me[cd] from Lebanon!
Look from the top of Amana,
from the top of Senir and Hermon,
from the dwelling places of the lions,
from the mountains of leopard.
9 You have stolen (my) heart, my sister bride!
You have stolen my heart with one glance from your eyes,
with one ornament from your necklaces.
10 How beautiful is your love, my sister bride!
How better is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
11 Your lips drip nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your lips;
the scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon.
The Locked Garden of Delights Is Unlocked
12 A garden locked is my sister bride,
a spring enclosed,[ce] a fountain sealed.
13 Your shoots[cf] are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruit,[cg]
henna with nard;
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon spice with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes with all chief spices.
15 A garden fountain, a well of living water,
flowing (streams) from Lebanon.
16 Awake, O north wind! Come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden! Let its fragrances[ch] waft forth![ci]
Let my beloved come to his garden,
let him eat his choice fruit!
5 I have come to my garden, my sister bride,
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice,
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey,
I have drunk my wine with my milk!
Eat, O friends! Drink and become drunk with love![cj]
Maiden’s Dream: Seeking and Not Finding
2 I was asleep but[ck] my heart was awake.
A sound! My beloved knocking![cl]
“Open to me, my sister, my beloved,
my dove, my perfect one!
For my head is full of dew,
my hair drenched from the moist night air.”[cm]
3 I have taken off my tunic, must I put it on?[cn]
I have bathed my feet, must I soil them?[co]
4 My beloved thrust his hand into the opening,
and my inmost yearned for him.
5 I myself arose to open to my beloved;
my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh
upon the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened myself to my beloved,
but my beloved had turned and gone;[cp]
my heart sank[cq] when he turned away.[cr]
I sought him, but I did not find him;
I called him, but he did not answer me.
7 The sentinels making rounds in the city found me;
they beat me, they wounded me;
they took my cloak[cs] away from me—
those sentinels on the walls![ct]
Adjuration Refrain
8 I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,[cu]
if you find my beloved, what will you tell him?
Tell him that I am lovesick![cv]
Maiden’s Praise of Her Beloved
9 How is your beloved better than another lover,[cw]
O most beautiful among women?
How is your beloved better than another lover, [cx]
that you adjure us thus?
10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,[cy]
distinguished among[cz] ten thousand.
11 His head is gold, refined gold;
his locks are wavy, black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves beside springs[da] of water,
bathed in milk, set like mounted jewels.[db][dc]
13 His cheeks are like beds of spice, a tower of fragrances;
his lips are lilies dripping liquid myrrh.
14 His arms are rods[dd][de] of gold engraved with[df] jewels;
his belly[dg] is polished ivory covered with sapphires.[dh]
15 His legs are columns of alabaster,[di] set on bases of gold;
his appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.[dj]
16 His mouth[dk] is sweet,
and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved;
this is my friend, O young women of Jerusalem.[dl]
6 Where has your beloved gone,
O most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned
that we may seek him with you?
2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to the garden bed of the spice,
to pasture his flock and to gather lilies in the garden.
Mutual Possession Refrain
3 I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me;[dm]
he pastures his flock among the lilies.
Solomon’s Praise of His Beloved
4 You are beautiful, my beloved, as Tirzah,
lovely as Jerusalem,
overwhelming as an army with banners.[dn]
5 Turn away your eyes from before me,
for they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of the goats
that moves down from Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of the ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of them bearing twins,
and there is none bereaved among them.
7 Your cheeks behind[do] your veil
are like halves of a pomegranate.
The Maiden’s Beauty Is without Peer
8 Sixty queens there are, eighty concubines,
and maidens beyond number.
9 My dove, she is the one;[dp][dq]
my perfect, she is the only one;[dr][ds]
she is the favorite of[dt][du] her mother who bore her.
Maidens see her and consider her fortunate;[dv]
queens and concubines praise her:
10 “Who is this that looks down like the dawn,
beautiful as the moon,
bright as the sun,[dw][dx]
overwhelming as an army with banners?”[dy]
The Journey to the Valley
11 I went down to the orchard of the walnut trees
to look at the blossoms of the valley,
to see whether the vines have sprouted,
whether the pomegranates have blossomed.
12 I did not know my heart[dz] set me
in a chariot of my princely people.[ea]
13 [eb] Turn, turn,[ec] O Shulammite![ed]
Turn, turn[ee] so that we may look upon you!
Why do you look upon the Shulammite
as at a dance of the two armies?
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:1 This construction conveys a superlative connotation, e.g., “The most exquisite song”
- Song of Solomon 1:1 Or “by Solomon” or “about/concerning Solomon”
- 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
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Literally “May he kiss me”
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Literally “with the kisses of his mouth”
- 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)
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Literally “your oil lotions”
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Literally “good”
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Literally “oil lotion”
- Song of Solomon 1:4 Or “The king has brought me into his chambers”
- Song of Solomon 1:5 Or “black and beautiful”
- Song of Solomon 1:5 Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
- Song of Solomon 1:6 This is figurative for the maiden’s physical appearance; her skin was darkly tanned
- Song of Solomon 1:6 Literally “my vineyard that for me”
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Literally “soul”
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Literally “For to what will I be like”
- 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
- Song of Solomon 1:8 Literally “in the tracks”
- Song of Solomon 1:8 Or “your kids”
- Song of Solomon 1:9 Or “my mare”
- Song of Solomon 1:9 Or “chariot horses”
- Song of Solomon 1:11 Or “droplets”
- Song of Solomon 1:13 Literally “the bag”
- Song of Solomon 1:13 Or “he lays”
- Song of Solomon 1:16 Literally “green”
- Song of Solomon 2:1 More likely “meadow saffron” or “crocus.” Hebrew scholars and botanists suggest the term refers to Ashodelos (lily family), Narcissus tazetta (narcissus or daffodil), or Colchicum autumnale (meadow saffron or crocus) (e.g., Isa 35:1). The location of this flower in Sharon suggests a common wild flower rather than a rose. The maiden compares herself to a simple, common flower of the field
- Song of Solomon 2:2 Or “brambles”
- Song of Solomon 2:3 Literally “I sat down and I delighted”
- Song of Solomon 2:5 Literally “for I myself am sick with love”
- Song of Solomon 2:6 Or “would embrace me”
- Song of Solomon 2:7 Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
- Song of Solomon 2:7 Or “Do not stir up or awaken the love until it is willing,” or “Do not disturb or interrupt our lovemaking until it is satisfied”
- Song of Solomon 2:8 Literally “this one”
- Song of Solomon 2:9 Literally “the fawn of the stag”
- Song of Solomon 2:9 Literally “This is he”
- Song of Solomon 2:9 Literally “from”
- Song of Solomon 2:9 Literally “from”
- Song of Solomon 2:10 Literally “Arise, you”
- Song of Solomon 2:10 Literally “And come, you”
- Song of Solomon 2:11 Literally “the rain”
- Song of Solomon 2:11 Literally “is over; it is gone”
- Song of Solomon 2:12 Literally “is seen”
- Song of Solomon 2:12 Literally “on the earth”
- Song of Solomon 2:12 Most likely, a subtle word play occurs here since there are two different words in Hebrew spelled the same way: “pruning” and “singing.” The former plays upon the first line and the latter upon the third line
- Song of Solomon 2:12 Literally “the time of the song arrived”
- Song of Solomon 2:13 Literally “Arise, to you!”
- Song of Solomon 2:13 Literally “My beauty, come, you”
- Song of Solomon 2:14 Literally “in the secret place”
- Song of Solomon 2:14 Or “in the covering”
- Song of Solomon 2:14 Literally “foothold in the rock”
- Song of Solomon 2:14 Or “cliff”
- Song of Solomon 2:15 Or “while”
- Song of Solomon 2:16 Literally “My beloved for me and I for him”
- Song of Solomon 2:17 Literally “Be like for you”
- Song of Solomon 2:17 Or “a buck gazelle”
- Song of Solomon 2:17 Literally “the fawn of the stag”
- Song of Solomon 2:17 Or “the mountains of Bether”
- Song of Solomon 3:1 Or “I seek”
- Song of Solomon 3:1 Literally “soul”
- Song of Solomon 3:2 Literally “soul”
- Song of Solomon 3:3 Literally “soul”
- Song of Solomon 3:4 Literally “As little that I passed”
- Song of Solomon 3:4 Literally “soul”
- Song of Solomon 3:5 Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
- Song of Solomon 3:5 Or “Do not stir up or awaken the love until it is willing,” or “Do not disturb or interrupt our love-making until it is satisfied”
- Song of Solomon 3:7 Literally “couch” or “portable sedan chair”
- Song of Solomon 3:7 Literally “her”
- Song of Solomon 3:8 Literally “holders of sword”
- Song of Solomon 3:8 Literally “learnt of war”
- Song of Solomon 3:8 Literally “because of the fear”
- Song of Solomon 3:9 Literally “The king, Solomon”
- Song of Solomon 3:10 Or “its support,” “its base,” “its headrest,” “its litter,” “its cover”
- Song of Solomon 3:10 Or “love.” The Hebrew term here translated “leather” is spelled the same as the term for “love.” Most likely this is an example of a word play that puns on the intentional ambiguity: “Its interior was inlaid with leather//love by the maidens of Jerusalem”
- Song of Solomon 3:10 Literally “by the daughters of Jerusalem”
- Song of Solomon 3:11 Literally “O daughters of Zion”
- Song of Solomon 3:11 Literally “the king, Solomon”
- Song of Solomon 4:1 Literally “Behold!” Or “Look!”
- Song of Solomon 4:1 Literally “Behold!” Or “Look!”
- Song of Solomon 4:4 Literally “shields”
- Song of Solomon 4:7 Literally “There is no flaw in you!”
- Song of Solomon 4:8 Or “You must come”
- Song of Solomon 4:8 Or “With me”
- Song of Solomon 4:12 Or “a source locked”
- Song of Solomon 4:13 Or “your channel”
- Song of Solomon 4:13 Literally “fruit of choice things”
- Song of Solomon 4:16 Or “perfumes”
- Song of Solomon 4:16 Or “His perfumes can waft down”
- Song of Solomon 5:1 Or “Drink and become drunk, O lovers!”
- Song of Solomon 5:2 Or “and”
- Song of Solomon 5:2 Or “The sound of my beloved knocking!”
- Song of Solomon 5:2 Literally “my locks with drops of night”
- Song of Solomon 5:3 Literally “How will I put it on?”
- Song of Solomon 5:3 Literally “How will I soil them?”
- Song of Solomon 5:6 Or “my beloved had left; he was gone”
- Song of Solomon 5:6 Or “my soul left”
- Song of Solomon 5:6 Or “when he was speaking.” Translations equivocate on how to translate this verb, since there are two terms in Hebrew spelled identically: “to speak” and “to turn aside” (HALOT 1:210). The context suggests the latter
- Song of Solomon 5:7 Or “mantle”
- Song of Solomon 5:7 Literally “the sentinels of the walls”
- Song of Solomon 5:8 Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
- Song of Solomon 5:8 Literally “sick with love”
- Song of Solomon 5:9 Literally “What is your beloved more than another beloved …?”
- Song of Solomon 5:9 Literally “What is your beloved more than another beloved …?”
- Song of Solomon 5:10 Literally “red”
- Song of Solomon 5:10 Literally “more than”
- Song of Solomon 5:12 Or “streams”
- Song of Solomon 5:12 Literally “dwelling in a setting”
- Song of Solomon 5:12 Or “seated at a suitable mounting”
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Literally “cylinders”
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Or “rings”
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Literally “filled with”
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Or “body”
- Song of Solomon 5:14 Or “works of ivory set with sapphire”
- Song of Solomon 5:15 Or “marble”
- Song of Solomon 5:15 Literally “the cedars”
- Song of Solomon 5:16 Or “his palate”
- Song of Solomon 5:16 Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
- Song of Solomon 6:3 Literally “I for my beloved and he for me”
- Song of Solomon 6:4 Literally “terrible as the bannered ones”
- Song of Solomon 6:7 Literally “from behind”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Literally “she is one”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 The term “one” functions here as an adjective of quality: “unique, singular, the only one”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Literally “she is one”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Or “the only daughter of her mother.” Although the latter option is permissible, the term is used elsewhere of the heir as the favored child (e.g., Gen 22:2; Prov 4:3). This nuance is supported by the parallel term “favorite”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Or “she is the pure one.” Since there are two Hebrew terms spelled the same way, some relate this to the adjective that means “pure.” Others relate it to the verb that means “to choose, select.” The parallelism favors the latter
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Literally “the favorite for”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Or “call her happy” or “call her blessed” or “bless her”
- Song of Solomon 6:10 Literally “pure as the glow”
- Song of Solomon 6:10 Or “bright as the heat of the sun.” The Hebrew term “glow” poetically refers to the bright rays of the sun (Psa 19:7; Isa 24:23; 30:26)
- Song of Solomon 6:10 Literally “terrible as the bannered ones”
- Song of Solomon 6:12 Literally “soul”
- Song of Solomon 6:12 Or “Before I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib” (KJV, ASV) or “Before I knew it, my desire set me mid the chariots of Ammi-nadib” (JPS) or “Before I was aware, my soul set me over the chariots of my noble people” (NASB) or “Before I realized it, my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people” (NIV) or “… among the chariots of Amminadab” (NIV margin) or “… among the chariots of the people of the prince” (NIV margin)
- Song of Solomon 6:13 Song of Songs 6:13–7:13 in the English Bible is 7:1–14 in the Hebrew Bible
- Song of Solomon 6:13 Or “Return, return …!”
- Song of Solomon 6:13 Or “O perfect one,” “O peaceful one,” “O bride.” Many interpreters take this moniker as suggesting the maiden was from the village of Shulem (alternately called Shunem)
- Song of Solomon 6:13 Or “Return, return …!”
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