Song of Solomon 1-4
New American Standard Bible
The Young Shulammite Bride and Jerusalem’s Daughters
1 The [a]Song of (A)Songs, which is Solomon’s.
[b]The Bride
2 “May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your (B)love is [c]sweeter than wine.
3 Your (C)oils have a pleasing fragrance,
Your (D)name is like [d]purified oil;
Therefore the [e](E)young women love you.
4 Draw me after you and let’s run together!
The (F)king has brought me into his chambers.”
The Chorus
“We will rejoice in you and be joyful;
We will praise your (G)love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you.”
The Bride
5 “I am black and (H)beautiful,
You (I)daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the (J)tents of (K)Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not stare at me because I am [f]dark,
For the sun has tanned me.
My (L)mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me (M)caretaker of the vineyards,
But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, you (N)whom my soul loves,
Where do you (O)pasture your flock,
Where do you have it (P)lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who [g]veils herself
Beside the flocks of your (Q)companions?”
Solomon, the Lover, Speaks
8 “If you yourself do not know,
(R)Most beautiful among women,
Go out on the trail of the flock,
And pasture your young goats
By the tents of the shepherds.
9 “[h]To me, (S)my darling, you are like
My (T)mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.
10 Your (U)cheeks are delightful with jewelry,
Your neck with strings of (V)beads.”
The Chorus
11 “We will make for you jewelry of gold
With beads of silver.”
The Bride
12 “While the king was at his table,
My [i](W)perfume gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a pouch of (X)myrrh
Which lies all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of (Y)henna blossoms
In the vineyards of (Z)Engedi.”
The Groom
15 “[j](AA)How beautiful you are, my darling,
[k]How beautiful you are!
Your (AB)eyes are like doves.”
The Bride
16 “[l]How handsome you are, (AC)my beloved,
And so delightful!
Indeed, our bed is luxuriant!
17 The beams of our house are (AD)cedars,
Our rafters, (AE)junipers.
The Bride’s Admiration
The Groom
The Bride
3 “Like an (AJ)apple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my beloved among the [o]young men.
In his shade I took great delight and sat down,
And his (AK)fruit was sweet to my [p]taste.
4 He has (AL)brought me to his [q]banquet hall,
And his (AM)banner over me is love.
5 Refresh me with (AN)raisin cakes,
Sustain me with (AO)apples,
Because (AP)I am lovesick.
6 (AQ)His left hand is under my head,
And (AR)his right hand (AS)embraces me.”
The Groom
7 “(AT)Swear to me, you (AU)daughters of Jerusalem,
By the (AV)gazelles or by the (AW)does of the field,
(AX)That you will not disturb or awaken my love
Until she pleases.”
The Bride
8 “Listen! My beloved!
Behold, he is coming,
Leaping (AY)on the mountains,
Jumping on the hills!
9 My beloved is like a (AZ)gazelle or a (BA)young [r]stag.
Behold, he is standing behind our wall,
He is looking through the windows,
He is peering (BB)through the lattice.
10 “My beloved responded and said to me,
‘(BC)Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
11 For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12 The blossoms have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for [s]pruning the vines,
And the voice of the (BD)turtledove has been heard in our land.
13 The (BE)fig tree has ripened its fruit,
And the (BF)vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along!’”
The Groom
14 “(BG)My dove, (BH)in the clefts of the [t]rock,
In the hiding place of the mountain pathway,
Let me see [u]how you look,
(BI)Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is pleasant,
And [v]you look (BJ)delightful.”
The Chorus
15 “(BK)Catch the [w]foxes for us,
The [x]little [y]foxes that are ruining the vineyards,
While our (BL)vineyards are in blossom.”
The Bride
16 “(BM)My beloved is mine, and I am his;
He (BN)pastures his flock among the lilies.
17 (BO)Until the cool of the day, when the shadows flee,
Turn, my beloved, and be like a (BP)gazelle
Or a young stag (BQ)on the mountains of [z]Bether.”
The Bride’s Troubled Dream
3 “On my bed night after night I sought him
(BR)Whom my soul loves;
I (BS)sought him but did not find him.
2 ‘[aa]I must arise now and [ab]go around in the city;
In the (BT)streets and in the public squares
[ac]I must seek him whom my soul loves.’
I sought him but did not find him.
3 (BU)The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’
4 (BV)Hardly had I [ad]left them
When I found him whom my soul loves;
I (BW)held on to him and would not let him go
Until I had (BX)brought him to my mother’s house,
And into the room of her who conceived me.”
The Groom
5 “(BY)Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem,
By the (BZ)gazelles or by the does of the field,
That you will not disturb or awaken my love
Until she pleases.”
Solomon’s Wedding Day
The Bride
6 “[ae](CA)What is this coming up from the wilderness
Like (CB)columns of smoke,
Perfumed with (CC)myrrh and (CD)frankincense,
With all the scented powders of the merchant?
The Chorus
7 Behold, it is [af]the traveling couch of Solomon;
Sixty warriors around it,
Of the warriors of Israel.
8 All of them are wielders of the sword,
(CE)Expert in war;
Each man has his (CF)sword at his side,
Guarding against the [ag](CG)terrors of the night.
9 King Solomon has made for himself a [ah]sedan chair
From the timber of Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
Its [ai]back of gold
And its seat of purple fabric,
With its interior lovingly inlaid
By the (CH)daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go out, you (CI)daughters of Zion,
And look at King Solomon with the [aj]crown
With which his mother has crowned him
On the (CJ)day of his wedding,
And on the day of the joy of his heart.”
Solomon’s Love Expressed
4 “[ak]How beautiful (CK)you are, my darling,
[al]How beautiful you are!
Your (CL)eyes are like doves (CM)behind your veil;
Your (CN)hair is like a flock of goats
That have descended from Mount (CO)Gilead.
2 Your (CP)teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
Which have come up from their watering place,
All of which bear twins,
And not one among them has lost her young.
3 Your lips are like a (CQ)scarlet thread,
And your (CR)mouth is beautiful.
Your (CS)temples are like a slice of a pomegranate
Behind your veil.
4 Your (CT)neck is like the tower of David,
Built with layers of stones
On which are (CU)hung a thousand shields,
All the round (CV)shields of the warriors.
5 Your (CW)two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle
That (CX)graze among the lilies.
6 (CY)Until [am]the cool of the day
When the shadows flee,
I will go my way to the mountain of (CZ)myrrh
And to the hill of (DA)frankincense.
7 “(DB)You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
And there is no blemish on you.
8 Come with me from (DC)Lebanon, my (DD)bride,
You shall come with me from Lebanon.
You shall [an]come down from the summit of (DE)Amana,
From the summit of (DF)Senir and Hermon,
From the dens of lions,
From the mountains of leopards.
9 You have [ao]enchanted my heart, (DG)my sister, my bride;
You have [ap]enchanted my heart with a single glance of your eyes,
With a single strand of your (DH)necklace.
10 (DI)How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much [aq](DJ)sweeter is your love than wine,
And the (DK)fragrance of your oils
Than that of all kinds of balsam oils!
11 Your lips (DL)drip (DM)honey, my bride;
Honey and milk are under your tongue,
And the fragrance of your garments is like the (DN)fragrance of Lebanon.
12 A locked garden is my sister, my bride,
A locked spring, a (DO)sealed (DP)fountain.
13 Your branches are an [ar](DQ)orchard of (DR)pomegranates
With (DS)delicious fruits, (DT)henna with nard plants,
14 (DU)Nard and saffron, spice reed and (DV)cinnamon,
With all the trees of (DW)frankincense,
(DX)Myrrh, and aloes, along with all the finest balsam oils.
15 You are a garden spring,
A well of [as](DY)fresh water,
And flowing streams from Lebanon.”
The Bride
16 “Awake, north wind,
And come, wind of the south;
[at]Make my (DZ)garden breathe out fragrance,
May its balsam oils flow.
May (EA)my beloved come into his garden
And eat its (EB)delicious fruits!”
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:1 Or Best of the Songs
- Song of Solomon 1:2 The speaker identifications are not from the Hebrew text nor the Septuagint, but reflect an ancient tradition which appears in some manuscripts.
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Lit more pleasant
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Lit oil poured from one vessel to another
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Or virgins
- Song of Solomon 1:6 Or swarthy, blackish
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Some ancient versions wanders
- Song of Solomon 1:9 Lit I have compared you to
- Song of Solomon 1:12 Lit nard
- Song of Solomon 1:15 Lit Behold
- Song of Solomon 1:15 Lit Behold
- Song of Solomon 1:16 Lit Behold
- Song of Solomon 2:1 Lit asphodel
- Song of Solomon 2:2 Lit daughters
- Song of Solomon 2:3 Lit sons
- Song of Solomon 2:3 Lit palate
- Song of Solomon 2:4 Lit house of wine
- Song of Solomon 2:9 Lit of the stags
- Song of Solomon 2:12 Or singing
- Song of Solomon 2:14 Or crag
- Song of Solomon 2:14 Lit your appearance
- Song of Solomon 2:14 Lit your appearance
- Song of Solomon 2:15 Or jackals
- Song of Solomon 2:15 Or young
- Song of Solomon 2:15 Or jackals
- Song of Solomon 2:17 Or ravines; or perfumes
- Song of Solomon 3:2 Or Let me arise
- Song of Solomon 3:2 Or Let me go about
- Song of Solomon 3:2 Or Let me seek
- Song of Solomon 3:4 Lit passed
- Song of Solomon 3:6 Lit Who
- Song of Solomon 3:7 I.e., an elegant couch designed to be carried with poles by servants
- Song of Solomon 3:8 Lit terror in the nights
- Song of Solomon 3:9 I.e., an elegant throne with poles, carried by servants
- Song of Solomon 3:10 Or support
- Song of Solomon 3:11 Or wreath
- Song of Solomon 4:1 Lit Behold
- Song of Solomon 4:1 Lit Behold
- Song of Solomon 4:6 Lit the day blows
- Song of Solomon 4:8 Or look
- Song of Solomon 4:9 Or stolen
- Song of Solomon 4:9 Or stolen
- Song of Solomon 4:10 Lit better
- Song of Solomon 4:13 Or park; or garden
- Song of Solomon 4:15 Lit living; i.e., running
- Song of Solomon 4:16 Or Drift through my
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