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Song of Songs 5-8
New International Reader's Version
Song of Songs 5-8
New International Reader's Version
The king says
5 “My bride, I have come into my garden.
My sister, I’ve gathered my myrrh and my spice.
I’ve eaten my honeycomb and my honey.
I’ve drunk my wine and my milk.”
The other women say to the Shulammite woman and to Solomon
“Friends, eat and drink.
Drink up all the love you want.”
The woman says
2 “I slept, but my heart was awake.
Listen! The one who loves me is knocking.
He says, ‘My sister, I love you.
Open up so I can come in.
You are my dove.
You are perfect in every way.
My head is soaked with dew.
The night air has made my hair wet.’
3 “But I’ve taken off my robe.
Must I put it on again?
I’ve washed my feet.
Must I get them dirty again?
4 My love put his hand through the opening.
My heart began to pound for him.
5 I got up to open the door for my love.
My hands dripped with myrrh.
It flowed from my fingers
onto the handles of the lock.
6 I opened the door for my love.
But he had left and was gone.
My heart sank because he had left.
I looked for him but didn’t find him.
I called out to him, but he didn’t answer.
7 Those on guard duty found me
as they were walking around in the city.
They beat me. They hurt me.
Those on guard duty at the walls
took my coat away from me.
8 Women of Jerusalem, make me a promise.
If you find the one who loves me,
tell him our love has made me weak.”
The other women say
9 “You are the most beautiful woman of all.
How is the one you love better than others?
How is he better than anyone else?
Why do you ask us to make you this promise?”
The woman says
10 “The one who loves me is tanned and handsome.
He’s the finest man among 10,000.
11 His head is like the purest gold.
His hair is wavy and as black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
by streams of water.
They look as if they’ve been washed in milk.
They are set like jewels in his head.
13 His cheeks are like beds of spice
giving off perfume.
His lips are like lilies
dripping with myrrh.
14 His arms are like rods of gold
set with topaz.
His body is like polished ivory
decorated with lapis lazuli.
15 His legs are like pillars of marble
set on bases of pure gold.
He looks like the finest cedar tree
in the mountains of Lebanon.
16 His mouth is very sweet.
Everything about him is delightful.
That’s what the one who loves me is like.
That’s what my friend is like, women of Jerusalem.”
The other women say
6 “You are the most beautiful woman of all.
Where has the one who loves you gone?
Which way did he turn?
We’ll help you look for him.”
The woman says
2 “My love has gone down to his garden.
He’s gone to the beds of spices.
He’s eating in the gardens.
He’s gathering lilies.
3 I belong to my love, and he belongs to me.
He’s eating among the lilies.”
The king says
4 “My love, you are as beautiful as the city of Tirzah.
You are as lovely as Jerusalem.
You are as majestic as troops carrying their banners.
5 Turn your eyes away from me.
They overpower me.
Your hair flows like a flock of black goats
coming down from the hills of Gilead.
6 Your teeth are as clean as a flock of sheep
coming up from being washed.
Each of your teeth has its twin.
Not one of them is missing.
7 Your cheeks behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
8 There might be 60 queens and 80 concubines.
There might be more virgins than anyone can count.
9 But you are my perfect dove.
There isn’t anyone like you.
You are your mother’s favorite daughter.
The young women see you and call you blessed.
The queens and concubines praise you.”
The other women say
10 “Who is this woman?
She is like the sunrise in all its glory.
She is as beautiful as the moon.
She is as bright as the sun.
She is as majestic as the stars traveling across the sky.”
The king says
11 “I went down to a grove of nut trees.
I wanted to look at the new plants growing in the valley.
I wanted to find out whether the vines had budded.
I wanted to see if the pomegranate trees had bloomed.
12 Before I realized it,
I was among the royal chariots of my people.”
The other women say
13 “Come back to us.
Come back, Shulammite woman.
Come back to us.
Come back. Then we can look at you.”
The king says to the women
“Why do you want to look at the Shulammite woman
as you would watch a dancer at Mahanaim?”
The king says to the Shulammite woman
7 “You are like a prince’s daughter.
Your feet in sandals are so beautiful.
Your graceful legs are like jewels.
The hands of an artist must have shaped them.
2 Your navel is like a round bowl
that always has mixed wine in it.
Your waist is like a mound of wheat
surrounded by lilies.
3 Your two breasts are lovely.
They are like two young antelopes.
4 Your neck is smooth and beautiful like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the towering mountains of Lebanon
that face the city of Damascus.
5 Your head is like a crown on you.
It is as beautiful as Mount Carmel.
Your hair is as smooth as purple silk.
I am captured by your flowing curls.
6 You are so beautiful! You please me so much!
You are so delightful, my love!
7 You are as graceful as a palm tree.
Your breasts are as sweet as the freshest fruit.
8 I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree.
I’ll take hold of its fruit.’
May your breasts be as sweet as grapes on the vine.
May your breath smell like the tastiest apples.
9 May your lips be like the finest wine.”
The woman says
“May my wine go straight to you, my love.
May it flow gently over our lips as we sleep.
10 “I belong to you, my love.
And you long for me.
11 Come, my love. Let’s go to the country.
Let’s spend the night in the villages.
12 Let’s go out to the vineyards early.
Let’s go and see if the vines have budded.
Let’s find out whether their flowers have opened.
Let’s see if the pomegranate trees are blooming.
There I will give you my love.
13 The mandrake flowers give off their strong smell.
All the best things are waiting for us,
new and old alike.
I’ve stored them up for you, my love.
8 “I wish you were like a brother to me.
I wish my mother’s breasts had nursed you.
Then if I found you outside,
I could kiss you.
No one would look down on me.
2 I’d bring you to my mother’s house.
She taught me everything I know.
I’d give you spiced wine to drink.
It’s the juice of my pomegranates.
3 Your left arm is under my head.
Your right arm is around me.
4 Women of Jerusalem, make me a promise.
Don’t stir up love.
Don’t wake it up until it’s ready.”
The other women say
5 “Who is this woman coming up from the desert?
She’s leaning on the one who loves her.”
The woman says to the king
“Under the apple tree I woke you up.
That’s where your mother became pregnant with you.
She went into labor, and you were born there.
6 Hold me close to your heart where your royal seal is worn.
Keep me as close to yourself as the bracelet on your arm.
My love for you is so strong it won’t let you go.
Love is as powerful as death.
Love’s jealousy is as strong as the grave.
Love is like a blazing fire.
Love burns like a mighty flame.
7 No amount of water can put it out.
Rivers can’t sweep it away.
Suppose someone offers
all their wealth to buy love.
That won’t even come close to being enough.”
The woman’s brothers say
8 “We have a little sister.
Her breasts are still small.
What should we do for our sister
when she gets engaged?
9 If she were a wall,
we’d build silver towers on her.
If she were a door,
we’d cover her with cedar boards.”
The woman says to the king
10 “I am a wall.
My breasts are like well-built towers.
So in your eyes I’ve become
like someone who makes you happy.
11 Solomon, you had a vineyard in Baal Hamon.
You rented your vineyard to others.
They had to pay 25 pounds
of silver for its fruit.
12 But I can give my own vineyard to anyone I want to.
So I give my 25 pounds of silver to you, Solomon.
Give 5 pounds to those who take care of its fruit.”
The king says
13 “My love, you live in the gardens.
My friends listen for your voice.
But let me hear it now.”
The woman says
14 “Come away with me, my love.
Be like an antelope
or like a young deer
on mountains that are full of spices.”
Song of Songs 5-8
New International Version
Song of Songs 5-8
New International Version
He
5 I have come into my garden,(A) my sister, my bride;(B)
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk.(C)
Friends
Eat, friends, and drink;
drink your fill of love.
She
2 I slept but my heart was awake.
Listen! My beloved is knocking:
“Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove,(D) my flawless(E) one.(F)
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe—
must I put it on again?
I have washed my feet—
must I soil them again?
4 My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening;
my heart began to pound for him.
5 I arose to open for my beloved,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,(G)
my fingers with flowing myrrh,
on the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened for my beloved,(H)
but my beloved had left; he was gone.(I)
My heart sank at his departure.[a]
I looked(J) for him but did not find him.
I called him but he did not answer.
7 The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.(K)
They beat me, they bruised me;
they took away my cloak,
those watchmen of the walls!
8 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(L)—
if you find my beloved,(M)
what will you tell him?
Tell him I am faint with love.(N)
Friends
9 How is your beloved better than others,
most beautiful of women?(O)
How is your beloved better than others,
that you so charge us?
She
10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,
outstanding among ten thousand.(P)
11 His head is purest gold;
his hair is wavy
and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves(Q)
by the water streams,
washed in milk,(R)
mounted like jewels.
13 His cheeks(S) are like beds of spice(T)
yielding perfume.
His lips are like lilies(U)
dripping with myrrh.(V)
14 His arms are rods of gold
set with topaz.
His body is like polished ivory
decorated with lapis lazuli.(W)
15 His legs are pillars of marble
set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,(X)
choice as its cedars.
16 His mouth(Y) is sweetness itself;
he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,(Z) this is my friend,
daughters of Jerusalem.(AA)
Friends
6 Where has your beloved(AB) gone,
most beautiful of women?(AC)
Which way did your beloved turn,
that we may look for him with you?
She
2 My beloved has gone(AD) down to his garden,(AE)
to the beds of spices,(AF)
to browse in the gardens
and to gather lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;(AG)
he browses among the lilies.(AH)
He
4 You are as beautiful as Tirzah,(AI) my darling,
as lovely as Jerusalem,(AJ)
as majestic as troops with banners.(AK)
5 Turn your eyes from me;
they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Gilead.(AL)
6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin,
not one of them is missing.(AM)
7 Your temples behind your veil(AN)
are like the halves of a pomegranate.(AO)
8 Sixty queens(AP) there may be,
and eighty concubines,(AQ)
and virgins beyond number;
9 but my dove,(AR) my perfect one,(AS) is unique,
the only daughter of her mother,
the favorite of the one who bore her.(AT)
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.(AU)
12 Before I realized it,
my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.[b]
Friends
13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite;
come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!
He
7 [d]How beautiful your sandaled feet,
O prince’s(AW) 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(AX) are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.(AY)
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon(AZ)
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon(BA)
looking toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.(BB)
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.
6 How beautiful(BC) you are and how pleasing,
my love, with your delights!(BD)
7 Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts(BE) 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,(BF)
9 and your mouth like the best wine.
She
May the wine go straight to my beloved,(BG)
flowing gently over lips and teeth.[e]
10 I belong to my beloved,
and his desire(BH) is for me.(BI)
11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,
let us spend the night in the villages.[f]
12 Let us go early to the vineyards(BJ)
to see if the vines have budded,(BK)
if their blossoms(BL) have opened,
and if the pomegranates(BM) are in bloom(BN)—
there I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes(BO) send out their fragrance,
and at our door is every delicacy,
both new and old,
that I have stored up for you, my beloved.(BP)
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(BQ)—
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.(BR)
4 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.(BS)
Friends
5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness(BT)
leaning on her beloved?
She
Under the apple tree I roused you;
there your mother conceived(BU) you,
there she who was in labor gave you birth.
6 Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love(BV) is as strong as death,
its jealousy[g](BW) unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.[h]
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[i] would be utterly scorned.(BX)
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(BY) in Baal Hamon;
he let out his vineyard to tenants.
Each was to bring for its fruit
a thousand shekels[j](BZ) of silver.
12 But my own vineyard(CA) is mine to give;
the thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,
and two hundred[k] 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
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 5:6 Or heart had gone out to him when he spoke
- Song of Songs 6:12 Or among the chariots of Amminadab; or among the chariots of the people of the prince
- Song of Songs 6:13 In Hebrew texts this verse (6:13) is numbered 7:1.
- Song of Songs 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-13 is numbered 7:2-14.
- Song of Songs 7:9 Septuagint, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew lips of sleepers
- Song of Songs 7:11 Or the henna bushes
- Song of Songs 8:6 Or ardor
- Song of Songs 8:6 Or fire, / like the very flame of the Lord
- Song of Songs 8:7 Or he
- Song of Songs 8:11 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms; also in verse 12
- Song of Songs 8:12 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
New International Reader's Version (NIRV) 
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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.