Song of Solomon 1-8

English Standard Version

² Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your ^(B)love is better than wine;
³     your ^(C)anointing oils are fragrant;
your ^(D)name is oil poured out;
    therefore virgins love you.
^4 (E)Draw me after you; ^(F)let us run.
    ^(G)The king has brought me into his chambers.

We will ^(H)exult and rejoice in you;
    we will extol ^(I)your love more than wine;
    rightly do they love you.

⁵ I am very dark, but ^(J)lovely,
    O ^(K)daughters of Jerusalem,
like ^(L)the tents of ^(M)Kedar,
    like the curtains of Solomon.
⁶ Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
    because the sun has looked upon me.
My ^(N)mother's sons were angry with me;
    they made me ^(O)keeper of ^(P)the vineyards,
    but ^(Q)my own vineyard I have not kept!
⁷ Tell me, you ^(R)whom my soul loves,
    where you ^(S)pasture your flock,
    where you make it ^(T)lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who veils herself
    beside the flocks of your ^(U)companions?

⁸ If you do not know,
    O ^(V)most beautiful among women,
follow in the tracks of the flock,
    and pasture your young goats
    beside the shepherds' tents.

¹¹ We will make for you^[b] ornaments of gold,
    studded with silver.

¹² While ^(Z)the king was on his couch,
    my ^(AA)nard gave forth its fragrance.
¹³ My beloved is to me a sachet of ^(AB)myrrh
    that lies between my breasts.
¹⁴ My beloved is to me a cluster of ^(AC)henna blossoms
    in the vineyards of ^(AD)Engedi.

^15 (AE)Behold, ^(AF)you are beautiful, ^(AG)my love;
    behold, you are beautiful;
    your ^(AH)eyes are doves.

¹⁶ Behold, you are beautiful, ^(AI)my beloved, truly ^(AJ)delightful.
Our couch is green;
¹⁷     the beams of our house are ^(AK)cedar;
    our rafters are ^(AL)pine.

² As a lily among brambles,
    so is ^(AN)my love among the young women.

³ As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
    so is my ^(AO)beloved among the young men.
With great delight I sat ^(AP)in his shadow,
    and his ^(AQ)fruit was sweet to my taste.
⁴ He ^(AR)brought me to the banqueting house,^[d]
    and his ^(AS)banner over me was love.
⁵ Sustain me with ^(AT)raisins;
    refresh me with apples,
    ^(AU)for I am sick with love.
⁶ His ^(AV)left hand is under my head,
    and his right hand ^(AW)embraces me!
⁷ I ^(AX)adjure you,^[e] O ^(AY)daughters of Jerusalem,
    by ^(AZ)the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
    until it pleases.

⁸ The voice of my beloved!
    Behold, he comes,
leaping ^(BA)over the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.
⁹ My beloved is like ^(BB)a gazelle
    or a young stag.
Behold, there he stands
    behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
    looking through the lattice.
¹⁰ My beloved speaks and says to me:
^(BC)“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
    and come away,
¹¹ for behold, the winter is past;
    ^(BD)the rain is over and gone.
^12 (BE)The flowers appear on the earth,
    the time of singing^[f] has come,
and the voice of ^(BF)the turtledove
    is heard in our land.
^13 (BG)The fig tree ripens its figs,
    and ^(BH)the vines are in blossom;
    they give forth fragrance.
^(BI)Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
    and come away.
¹⁴ O my ^(BJ)dove, in the ^(BK)clefts of the rock,
    in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
    let me ^(BL)hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
    and your face is ^(BM)lovely.
¹⁵ Catch ^(BN)the foxes^[g] for us,
    the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
    ^(BO)for our vineyards are in blossom.”

3 On my bed ^(BU)by night
I sought ^(BV)him whom my soul loves;
    ^(BW)I sought him, but found him not.
² I will rise now and go about the city,
    in ^(BX)the streets and in the squares;
I will seek ^(BY)him whom my soul loves.
    I sought him, but found him not.
^3 (BZ)The watchmen found me
    as they went about in the city.
“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
⁴ Scarcely had I passed them
    when I found ^(CA)him whom my soul loves.
I ^(CB)held him, and would not let him go
    until I had ^(CC)brought him into my mother's house,
    and into the chamber of ^(CD)her who conceived me.
^5 (CE)I adjure you, ^(CF)O daughters of Jerusalem,
    ^(CG)by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
    until it pleases.

^6 (CH)What is that coming up from the wilderness
    like ^(CI)columns of smoke,
perfumed with ^(CJ)myrrh and frankincense,
    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?
⁷ Behold, it is the litter^[j] of Solomon!
Around it are ^(CK)sixty ^(CL)mighty men,
    some of the mighty men of Israel,
⁸ all of them wearing swords
    and expert in war,
each with his ^(CM)sword at his thigh,
    against ^(CN)terror by night.
⁹ King Solomon made himself a carriage^[k]
    from the wood of Lebanon.
¹⁰ He made its posts of silver,
    its back of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior was inlaid with love
    by ^(CO)the daughters of Jerusalem.
¹¹ Go out, O ^(CP)daughters of Zion,
    and look upon King Solomon,
with the crown with which his mother crowned him
    on ^(CQ)the day of his wedding,
    on the day of the gladness of his heart.

4 Behold, ^(CR)you are beautiful, my love,
    behold, you are beautiful!
^(CS)Your eyes are doves
    ^(CT)behind your veil.
^(CU)Your hair is like a flock of goats
    leaping down ^(CV)the slopes of Gilead.
² Your ^(CW)teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
    that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
    and not one among them has lost its young.
³ Your lips are like ^(CX)a scarlet thread,
    and your mouth is ^(CY)lovely.
Your ^(CZ)cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
    ^(DA)behind your veil.
⁴ Your ^(DB)neck is like the tower of David,
    built in ^(DC)rows of stone;^[l]
on it ^(DD)hang a thousand shields,
    all of ^(DE)them shields of warriors.
⁵ Your ^(DF)two breasts are like two ^(DG)fawns,
    twins of a gazelle,
    that ^(DH)graze among the lilies.
^6 (DI)Until the day breathes
    and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of ^(DJ)myrrh
    and the hill of ^(DK)frankincense.
^7 (DL)You are altogether beautiful, my love;
    there is no ^(DM)flaw in you.
^8 (DN)Come with me from ^(DO)Lebanon, my ^(DP)bride;
    come with me from ^(DQ)Lebanon.
Depart^[m] from the peak of Amana,
    from the peak of ^(DR)Senir and ^(DS)Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
    from the mountains of leopards.

^(ES)Let my beloved come to his ^(ET)garden,
    and eat its ^(EU)choicest fruits.

5 I ^(EV)came to my garden, my ^(EW)sister, my bride,
    I gathered my ^(EX)myrrh with my spice,
    I ate my ^(EY)honeycomb with my honey,
    I ^(EZ)drank my wine with my milk.

Eat, ^(FA)friends, drink,
    and be drunk with love!

² I slept, but my heart was awake.
A sound! My beloved is ^(FB)knocking.
“Open to me, my ^(FC)sister, my ^(FD)love,
    my ^(FE)dove, my ^(FF)perfect one,
for my head is wet with dew,
    my ^(FG)locks with the drops of the night.”
^3 (FH)I had put off my garment;
    how could I put it on?
I had ^(FI)bathed my feet;
    how could I soil them?
⁴ My beloved put his hand to the latch,
    and my heart was thrilled within me.
⁵ I arose to open to my beloved,
    and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with ^(FJ)liquid myrrh,
    on the handles of the bolt.
⁶ I opened to my beloved,
    but my beloved had turned and gone.
My soul failed me when he ^(FK)spoke.
^(FL)I sought him, but found him not;
    ^(FM)I called him, but he gave no answer.
^7 (FN)The watchmen found me
    as they went about in the city;
they beat me, they bruised me,
    they took away my veil,
    those watchmen of the walls.
⁸ I ^(FO)adjure you, O ^(FP)daughters of Jerusalem,
    if you find my beloved,
that you tell him
    ^(FQ)I am sick with love.

⁹ What is your beloved more than another beloved,
    O ^(FR)most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved more than another beloved,
    that you thus ^(FS)adjure us?

¹⁰ My beloved is radiant and ^(FT)ruddy,
    ^(FU)distinguished among ten thousand.
¹¹ His head is the finest gold;
    ^(FV)his locks are wavy,
    black as a raven.
¹² His ^(FW)eyes are like doves
    beside streams of water,
bathed in milk,
    sitting beside a full pool.^[n]
13 His ^(FX)cheeks are like ^(FY)beds of spices,
    mounds of sweet-smelling herbs.
His lips are ^(FZ)lilies,
    dripping ^(GA)liquid myrrh.
¹⁴ His arms are rods of gold,
    set with ^(GB)jewels.
His body is polished ivory,^[o]
    bedecked with ^(GC)sapphires.^[p]
15 His legs are alabaster columns,
    set on bases of gold.
His appearance is like ^(GD)Lebanon,
    choice as the cedars.
¹⁶ His ^(GE)mouth^[q] is most sweet,
    and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
    O ^(GF)daughters of Jerusalem.

6 Where has your beloved gone,
    O ^(GG)most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned,
    that we may seek him with you?

² My beloved has gone down to his ^(GH)garden
    to ^(GI)the beds of spices,
to ^(GJ)graze^[r] in the gardens
    and to gather ^(GK)lilies.
^3 (GL)I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine;
    he grazes among the lilies.

⁴ You are beautiful as ^(GM)Tirzah, ^(GN)my love,
    ^(GO)lovely as ^(GP)Jerusalem,
    ^(GQ)awesome as an army with banners.
⁵ Turn away your eyes from me,
    for they overwhelm me—
^(GR)Your hair is like a flock of goats
    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
^6 (GS)Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
    that have come up from the washing;
all of them bear twins;
    not one among them has lost its young.
^7 (GT)Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
    behind your veil.
⁸ There are ^(GU)sixty ^(GV)queens and eighty ^(GW)concubines,
    and ^(GX)virgins without number.
⁹ My ^(GY)dove, my ^(GZ)perfect one, is the only one,
    the only one of her mother,
    pure to ^(HA)her who bore her.
^(HB)The young women saw her and called her blessed;
    ^(HC)the queens and ^(HD)concubines also, and they praised her.

¹¹ I went down to the nut orchard
    to look at ^(HG)the blossoms of the valley,
^(HH)to see whether the vines had budded,
    whether the pomegranates were in bloom.
^12 (HI)Before I was aware, my desire set me
    among ^(HJ)the chariots of my kinsman, a prince.^[s]

^13 [t] Return, return, O ^(HK)Shulammite,
    return, return, that we may look upon you.

Why should you look upon ^(HL)the Shulammite,
    as upon ^(HM)a dance before ^(HN)two armies?^[u]

It goes down smoothly for my beloved,
    gliding over lips and teeth.^[x]

^11 (IG)Come, my beloved,
    let us go out into the fields
    and lodge in the villages;^[y]
12 let us go out early to the vineyards
    ^(IH)and see whether the vines have budded,
whether ^(II)the grape blossoms have opened
    and the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
^13 (IJ)The mandrakes give forth fragrance,
    and beside our doors are all choice fruits,
^(IK)new as well as old,
    which I have laid up for you, O my beloved.

8 Oh that you were like a brother to me
    who nursed at my mother's breasts!
If I found you outside, I would kiss you,
    and none would despise me.
² I would lead you and ^(IL)bring you
    into the house of my mother—
    she who used to teach me.
I would give you ^(IM)spiced wine to drink,
    the juice of my pomegranate.
^3 (IN)His left hand is under my head,
    and his right hand embraces me!
⁴ I ^(IO)adjure you, O ^(IP)daughters of Jerusalem,
    ^(IQ)that you not stir up or awaken love
    until it pleases.

⁸ We have a little sister,
    and she ^(IX)has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
    on the day when she is spoken for?
⁹ If she is a wall,
    we will build on her a battlement of silver,
but if she is a door,
    we will enclose her with ^(IY)boards of cedar.

^10 (IZ)I was a wall,
    and my ^(JA)breasts were like towers;
then I was in his eyes
    as one who finds^[ac] peace.

^13 (JG)O you who dwell in the gardens,
    with ^(JH)companions listening for your voice;
    ^(JI)let me hear it.

^14 (JJ)Make haste, my beloved,
    and be ^(JK)like a gazelle
or a young stag
    on ^(JL)the mountains of spices.